[tor-relays] New router, new IP address

Scott Bennett bennett at sdf.org
Fri Aug 8 03:53:15 UTC 2014


Rick <rerushg at gmail.com> wrote:

> So I saw the Craigslist post in tor-talk and checked to find that I'm at 
> full speed with them. Since I'm an exit relay (residential, US, 15 
> months) and have been experiencing the CL Dial-Up Retro for a few 
> months, I was surprised. It turns out that I have a new IP address so 
> for the moment I'm a shiny new exit.
> Two days ago I installed a new router. Nothing special: $45 Linksys but 
> selected specifically for use with DD-WRT. ROM burn and set-up was done 
> completely offline. It took maybe a minute to do the router hot swap and 
> all went well. IP address change never crossed my mind. After all, I was 
> down for four days back in the winter (ice storm) and hoping for a new 
> address when we came back up. No luck.
> Is this normal? Or at least not unusual? It seems a bit spooky to me. I 
> thought the address was tied to the cable modem (ISP's equipment) and 
> they couldn't care less about my LAN. :-\
>
     Many ISPs use the MAC address of the interface(s) on your side of the
cable/DSL modem as the tie to a particular IP address assigned in a DHCP
lease.  If you replace the NIC in your computer or replace your computer
with a router, then that address gets a different IP address assigned,
possibly because the old address is still assigned in an unexpired lease.
     BTW, I don't recommend running a relay behind an electronics store-
grade of router.  They usually don't have enough memory to keep track of
hundreds of NAT table entries or other functions necessary for serving an
active relay.  As long as you aren't stuck using a Micro$lop OS, you would
be far better off using your choice of your OS's packet filters to enable
your computer to serve as the gateway/router for your LAN.  Using DD-WRT
instead of the Linksys proprietary firmware is a good move, though, if only
because Linksys firmware tends to be rather buggy at handling DHCP leases
correctly and out-of-memory conditions gracefully.


                                  Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG
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