ISP want to "retire" our static IP address?? 1

[Arkroyal]

My company's ISP provider (TDS Metrocom) have just called me to inform me that they are going to "retire" our static IP address that we have had for years and years. They state that the servers that they are running are being decommissioned and the IP addresses are not transferable.

To me this seems just nonsense. Surely a static IP address remains static? Why can't they do something at their end instead of inflicting major distruption on their customers? This is going to cause us a major reconfiguration headache on our servers and clients.

Anyone else experience this?

 

[Crowtalks]

It sounds like your ISPs Backbone network which provides the IPs for you ISP is being migrated to another company which has it's own set of IPs.

Our ISp recently went through this when sold off the Backbone Network company in some sort of corporate reshuffle. They then bought a huge block of addresses and have been slowly migrating customers from the old to the new.

 

[Arkroyal]

Thanks Crowtalks

Even if that is the scenario surely there is something that they can do to redirect our 'old' IP address to whatever block of new IP addresses they have? Isn't that what happens anyway with a static IP address? It just gets redirected to the ISP provider's server?

 

[lhuegele]

It's a routing issue, and I'm sure if you keep trying, you'll reach the right person at your ISP that might be able to help you make that happen.

Good luck,

 

[Crowtalks]

If my scenario is what's going on, then that would only be a temporary fix because at some point the old public IPs would no longer be routed to the ISP's Border Router and DNS Servers serving your area.

It could be something else totally, but that's a possibility.

 

[ShackDaddy]

Why will this change be such a headache to both servers and clients? Don't you use DNS? I can see it being a hassle in the short term, but it shouldn't affect clients. The easiest way to prepare your external clients for the changeover is to start using FQDNs to reach resources and not IP addresses. Then, when the change happens, it's a DNS adjustment and a change to your firewall rules, that's all.

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting

 

[AJ1982]

Try being in South Africa... Telco came to me and said they were doing it that evening

===

AJ - (Formerly FatmanSuperstar)

 

[lhuegele]

Ask if they can have both your old IP range and your new IP range active at the same time so you can transition to the new IP addresses. I doubt they will go for that so your next best bet is to get the new IP ranges into your DNS records ahead of time so they have time to fully propagate before you remove your old DNS records. Good luck.

 

[Crowtalks]

That is basically what they do. The potential problem with that working for you, though, is if your ISP provides IP Routing instead of a Bridged network, they will be able to build both IPs into the DNS and BRAS in your area but you will still omly be able to authenticate with one of them in the Radius Server.

If you are hosting a web service make sure your ISP builds the new IPs early enough for your DNS Server to broadcast the info
to it's neighboring devices. This can take a few at times.

That way people who surf to your URL will be seamlessly redirected.

 

[lhuegele]

Yeah, it's never fun changing IP addresses, that's for sure.