JSI Tip 2279. Switch from DHCP to Static IP address, and visa-versa, using NETSH.

When moving from site to site, it is often necessary to switch between static IP addressing and DHCP.

This used to be a real pain.

Using the NETSH command on my Windows 2000 laptop, I script it, without the need to even restart.

To implement this technique, determine what adapters / IP addresses you currently have by typing:

NETSH interface ip show ipaddress

If you have 2 NICs, the result would look something like:

MIB-II IP Address Entry
IP Address       Mask             BC Fmt  Reasm Sz  Interface
---------------  ---------------  ------  --------  -----------------------
127.0.0.1        255.0.0.0             1     65535  Loopback
192.168.0.50     255.255.255.0         1     65535  Local Area Connection
216.144.1.126    255.255.254.0         1     65535  Internet

NOTE: The RemoteAccess service must be started. If it is Disabled, set it to Manual or Automatic. Then type net start remoteaccess.

To switch the Local Area Connection to DHCP, type:

netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection" dhcp

To change the Local Area Connection to a static ip address, type:

netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection" static <ipaddr> <subnetmask>
netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection" gateway = <gateway> gwmetric = <metric>

where:

<ipaddr> is the ip address.

<subnetmask> is the subnet mask.

<gateway> is the default gateway.

<metric> is the metric.

To change the Local Area Connection to 192.168.0.50, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, default gateway 192.168.0.1 and a metric of 1, type:

netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection" static 192.168.0.50 255.255.255.0
netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection" gasteway = 192.168.0.1 gwmetric = 1

NOTE: Type netsh interface ip dump to see the settings of a configured PC.