For those expecting infrastructure components to have static ip addresses in small networks, you’d be confused by my hp 24 port semimanaged switch, which happily obtains its own administration address from the dhcp server resident on my standard issue centurylink consumer grade router, which happily makes the ip to mac reservation.
I learned my lesson once that the dhcp server has a better memory than I do, and is a better system of record than any document I could maintain.
Because your ISP may change IP addresses on you, you could use something like dynDNS, it costs to have, but then you get a URL to go to that is registered to the IP of your router and when it changes, the URL is updated with the new IP so you are able to reach your device. Have not tried it as I am new to Tablo myself, but have background in networking and have used it elsewhere.
I think there are two things being said. There’s the idea that the thing likely never under your control (for most home users), that is, your external IP address from your ISP. And the other is the LAN IP address which right now is set by DHCP, which is more or less “the norm” for appliance like devices on a home LAN. The latter is ultimately in the hands of control of the home user though. Which means that a home user could have the option of not running IPv4 DCHP at all. And that, indeed, is a case where being able to set a static IP on the Tablo device would be needed.
If, we ignore that case, and go back to home DHCP, then by nature of the protocol, we can create IP reservations based on the hardware MAC address of the Tablo device to ensure that for that given LAN, it will get the same IP, even via DHCP. This does assume that a given LAN DHCP implementation provides “a way” (easy?) for the home user to setup these reservations.
Anyhow, there are two IPs I think being discussed a bit too closely. They are different.
For Tablo, the more problematic IP is the setting of the IP of the Tablo device on the local LAN. Which again, is most problematic (can’t work) in a LAN with no DHCP. Such a configuration setting would be nice. Introduces other variables, but again, at this point, we’re talking to people that supposedly understand what they are doing.
Routers can assign static IP addresses for those devices, and they’re more easily managed.
I have Tablo, Roku, Rainforest Eagle ZigBee Gateway, Google Pixel 4a, Google Chromocast with Google TV, Google Hub, Google Nest Doorbell, Google Nest Thermostat…
Can’t set static IP for any of those devices on the devices themselves.
If I want any of those devices to have static IPs, my router does a great job handling that.