My consumer-grade router currently uses its defaults for DHCP assignment (192.168.1.0/24)
However, I’d like a “tidier” network. I’m thinking about using 10.0.0.0/21. I’d like to assign IPs for each known user’s device into a respective subnet.
This is entirely unnecessary; I don’t think I will net any tangible benefits. However, doing so would allow me to achieve a few things:
- I learn about networking. I’m currently a total noob.
- I am able to build a marginally more organized network (subjective)
- example: client configuration in AdGuard Home is slightly more sensical to my human brain
| IP range | Usage |
|---|---|
| 10.0.0.x | “Common” devices; router (.1), home server (.2), Roku (.3), printer (.4) |
| 10.0.1.x | User A’s devices, manually assigned via MAC address in the router console |
| 10.0.2.x | User B’s devices, manually assigned via MAC address in the router console |
| 10.0.3.x | User C’s devices, manually assigned via MAC address in the router console |
| 10.0.4.x | Automatic DHCP assignment starts here; I would manually assign new and recognized devices (i.e. not guests) an IP in their proper subnet when I get around to it. |
Questions
- Does this make sense?
- Are there any consequences I am not anticipating?
- Are there any performance considerations?
Potentially very stupid questions
- I’ll never actually use all 2,048 addresses under the
/21mask – is there any kind of performance impact by making so many unused host addresses available? - I’ll never have 254 devices on this network, let alone 254 on a single subnet. Should I be… “spreading out” the assigned host addresses? Like instead of
.1,.2,.3, assign them.8,.16,.32, etc.?
Network information:
- Verizon FiOS 300Mbps
- CR1000B router/switch/access point all-in-one
- Wyse 5070 running a few Docker containers, including a DNS blocker
- roughly 12 connected devices, no IoT
- four laptops
- three smartphones
- some secondary devices (smart watches)
- one Roku, used between eight and twelve hours per week
- one printer, almost always off
I will not be replacing the CR1000B anytime soon. Proper VLANs seem to be out of the question. This router does offer -Guest and -IoT; I think -Guest is VLAN’d with a maximum of ten connected devices (weird arbitrary limit) and the -IoT one is 2.4 GHz only, but not VLAN’d.
I’m a networking noob, so please correct me politely.