Setting Static address via Windows or Router?

What are the differences and what is a better practice and why? Thanks for your thoughts.

Each device sets its own IP and both have its uses.

Setting the IP in Windows (or any OS really) provides the local IP address, while setting the IP of the router sets the external address, depending on your network wiring configuration. Each serves its purpose, so what are you trying to set?

Normally, the external IP is given by your ISP and most likely you'll use DHCP there to get whatever address it gives to you, unless you're using a dedicated connection. The local address is entirely up to you, because it's private to your network.

Alejandro85 said:

Each device sets its own IP and both have its uses.

Setting the IP in Windows (or any OS really) provides the local IP address, while setting the IP of the router sets the external address, depending on your network wiring configuration. Each serves its purpose, so what are you trying to set?

Normally, the external IP is given by your ISP and most likely you'll use DHCP there to get whatever address it gives to you, unless you're using a dedicated connection. The local address is entirely up to you, because it's private to your network.

Oh, I wasn't talking about private versus public (internet facing) IPs, but rather the setting of static IPs on client workstations, whether that be done through Windows or the router pushing the static IPs to the workstations in LAN.

user0x12 said:

Oh, I wasn't talking about private versus public (internet facing) IPs, but rather the setting of static IPs on client workstations, whether that be done through Windows or the router pushing the static IPs to the workstations in LAN.

That's always determined by each workstation itself. The router, at most, can configure a DHCP server defining a range of IPs that each computer can pick from, if it choses to. But for statics I think the only way is to define it in Windows.
For a large number of computers, DHCP is the preferred way for ease of use and prevention of conflicts (this gets dynamic IPs however).

bump

I prefer DHCP reservations too (fixed IP from DHCP according to MAC address). The difference would be if you set static from Windows you can set it outside of DHCP IP pool, with reservation you have to assign an IP from the pool.