[This document describes a field in the Princeton University Host Database. You may also view descriptions of other fields.]
This field specifies the "home network" IP address for a network interface that speaks IP. (IP is the "Internet Protocol"; nearly all devices speak this protocol.)
If the IP address is an OIT Static IP Address, this IP address is the one the network interface is assigned to use when it is attached to its home network. If the IP address is not an OIT Static IP Address, it is is a placeholder, used to indicate the network interface speaks IP but without assigning an OIT Static IP Address to it.
Nearly all network interfaces do speak IP, and need an IP address assigned. (If you are not sure if your device speaks IP, assume that it does.) Many devices do not need an OIT Static IP Address assigned, just an IP address.
The exact meaning of this field varies depending on whether you are adding a new entry to the Host Database, changing an existing entry, or simply viewing an existing entry:
If you wish for no IP address to assigned (e.g. the device does not speak IP on the campus network), select the value no-ip-address.
The field may instead be used to request that the entry's existing IP address (if any) be discarded, and that no new IP address be assigned. To do that, select the value no-ip-address. (You can only remove the IP address if the entry currently has exactly 1 IP address; if the entry has more, you cannot use this Web form to remove an IP address. To remove an IP address from an entry that currently has multiple IP addreses, contact hostmaster@princeton.edu )
If your device already has an IP address assigned, do not fill in this field unless you truly mean to change or delete your device's IP address. (You may need to change your device's IP address, for example, if your device is being relocated to a different home network; see below.) If the existing IP address does not need to be changed, then do not fill in this field; doing so will needlessly cause your IP address to be re-assigned or discarded.
For devices with multiple interfaces, this field may appear once for each interface that has been assigned an IP address.
The campus network is composed of dozens of individual networks (a.k.a. "subnets"), each of which uses a different range of IP addresses. Therefore, in order to assign an appropriate IP address to your host, we need to know to which "subnet" (a.k.a. "network") your host will be attached. The forms used to add or change a Host Database entry display a list of all the campus subnets; you select the name of the subnet to which your device will be attached (it's "home network"). If you are not sure of the correct subnet name, see the Princeton Network List.
If you relocate your device to another location, check the Princeton Network List to see if the new location is on the same subnet as your old location. If it isn't, you will need to change your host's entry in the Host Database, using the IP-SUBNET-OR-ADDRESS field to specify the new subnet to which your host is attached. (If the relocation is temporary (under two weeks) and you will be using OIT's OIT Mobile IP Service, you need not update your Host Database entry.)
The IP-SUBNET-OR-ADDRESS field can only be used to assign or change the IP address of a Host Database entry's first interface. It can only be used to delete the IP address of a Host Database entry that currently has a single IP address.
For entries other than Dormnet subscriptions, to assign or change the IP address of an additional interface, or to delete an IP address from an entry with multiple IP addresses, send email to hostmaster@princeton.edu . One exception to this is for an additional interface that is a Wireless interface; for both Dormnet and non-Dormnet entries, that is handled via the Web (follow the special instructions in OIT Wireless Service).
(If the Host Database ENTRY-TYPE is SUBNET, this field instead contains the address of the IP Subnet.)