VortexBox networking defaults to DHCP — Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol — in which your router picks an IP address for VortexBox every time the VortexBox reboots. This IP address can change from one reboot to the next. This sometimes makes it difficult to determine the VortexBox IP address.

An alternative to DHCP is to use a Static IP Address, which remains the same across reboots.

Here's how to do it:

1. In a browser, go to the Network Configuration page in the VB GUI: VortexBox Network Configuration(external link).

If http://vortexbox/network.php(external link) doesn't work, try http://vortexbox-ip-address/network.php;(external link) e.g. http://192.168.1.152/network.php(external link) on my network.

2. Click the Static IP Address Radio Button, then enter:

IP Address: the IP address you want for the VB. Make sure it is outside the DHCP pool of your router. See your router user manual or the router web page to determine the DHCP pool address range.

My router, a Linksys E4200, has a DHCP pool from 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.149. I chose 192.168.1.152 for the static IP address of my VB.

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Gateway: The IP address of your router; usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in the U.S. Check your router user manual.

DNS1: 8.8.8.8 (The Google Public DNS Server).

DNS2: 8.8.4.4 (The second Google Public DNS Server).

DNS3: 208.67.222.222 (An OpenDNS Server)

Other choices for DNS1, DNS2, and DNS3 are possible, but the above choices work well for me: • If you leave DNS1, DNS2, and DNS3 blank, the OpenDNS servers will be used. • You can also use the DNS servers provided by your ISP; check your router's web interface to get these IP addresses. • Many newer routers will forward DNS requests, so you can use the router's IP address as DNS1.

3. Click the Submit button. Your VB will reboot and come up with the IP address you specified.

If you can't access the VB GUI, you can connect a monitor and keyboard to the VB and set up networking there:

1. Log in to the VB as root.

2. Enter

system-config-network

3. Choose the appropriate options to set up a DHCP or static IP address.

This is an alternative to giving the VB a static IP address.

In a browser, go to your router web interface at http://router-ip-address(external link), log in, and go to the DHCP reservation page. Specify the VB MAC address and the IP address you want to reserve. See your router User Manual for details on how to log in and how to set up a reserved DHCP IP address.

Make sure that the VB is set up to use DHCP for its IP address.