unRAID OS 6.10.1 - Changing DHCP to static IP causes web UI "connection refused"

[crescentwire]

Hey everyone,

 

Brand-new unRAID user here with a problem I can't seem to figure out. I've installed the latest OS (6.10.1) on a Dell PowerEdge R520 with a single NIC connected to a flat /24 network at home. By default, bonding is enabled with eth0, eth1, eth2, and eth3 all part of bond0, but I've left those settings alone. (I have several riser cards installed, one with 10G transceivers I hope to use down the road.)

 

I'm able to reach the web UI over HTTP without any problems (when using DHCP). I've been trying to change to a static IP address using Settings > Network Settings > eth0, using a specific address, mask, gateway, and DNS. I can set this fine, but when I reboot, I'm no longer able to access the web UI; Chrome states "connection refused." However, I can access unRAID at the new IP address using SSH and even copy files via SFTP. ICMP also works in this state. It's almost as if there's some website listener/bound address not being updated, so the site refuses to load after the address change and reboot. I did try the unRAID v4 approach of manually updating /boot/config/network.cfg, but I get the same result.

 

(I'm aware I can set a DHCP reservation on my DHCP server/router, but I'd rather keep unRAID set with a static address below a classful range of addresses I use for my client DHCP pool.)

 

The only way to recover connectivity is to delete /boot/config/network.crfg and reboot, which returns things to DHCP once again. I'm at a complete loss of what to do. Diagnostic files are attached. Thank you very much in advance for your time and help!

ih-nas01-diagnostics-20220525-1921.zip

Edited May 26, 2022 by crescentwire
Clarity

[Frank1940]

9 hours ago, crescentwire said:

(I'm aware I can set a DHCP reservation on my DHCP server/router, but I'd rather keep unRAID set with a static address below a classful range of addresses I use for my client DHCP pool.)

 

It is still a good idea to reserve both the MAC and IP addresses in the router for static address that you have assigned on the server.  That way both ends know exactly what behavior is programmed for that MAC address.  (I do believe the preferred practice is to ALWAYS do static assignments on the router end...!!!  Remember that the DHCP assigned address will be there until the next time it is renewed.)

 

Are you using the static IP address to get to the Unraid server rather than the server name ('ih-nas01')?

 

Be sure that you clear the browser cache as 'old' data there can sometimes cause problems.

[crescentwire]

Thanks @Frank1940! I understand the preference for using DHCP reservations on the router side. I was just hoping to confirm the exact procedure for setting the address statically, as the unRAID v4 steps don’t seem aligned with the v6 steps (based on user feedback and other guides I’ve found). Is the method I referenced above (web UI steps) correct?

 

And yes, I’m using the new static address to try to reach the server (in my environment, 10.5.1.20/24). As I said, I’m able to log in via SSH using this new address, along with ICMP replies just fine. I just can’t load the web UI. I did also try incognito mode and a different machine/browser altogether, but without any success.

 

I could go the DHCP reservation route, but if I can successfully use a static address (outside my normal DHCP pool), I’d prefer to do that. If there’s any chance I’ve uncovered a bug, I’d want to properly document and note that as well.

 

Let me know what other ideas you (or anyone) has, please. Thank you very much once again!

[Frank1940]

6 minutes ago, crescentwire said:

I’m using the new static address to try to reach the server (in my environment, 10.5.1.20/24)

 

As a point of clarification, the IP address of your server is    10.5.1.20     (The   /24  is the subnet mask and not really a part of the IP address.)

 

26 minutes ago, crescentwire said:

I could go the DHCP reservation route, but if I can successfully use a static address (outside my normal DHCP pool), I’d prefer to do that.

 

That's fine, if everything works correctly.  You are now aware that is not standard practice.  (As a piece of information, I have four static IP addresses on my router.  Two are printers that were converted from their DHCP addresses to static addresses and my two servers which I had previously assigned their static addresses and I registered their IP addresses and MAC addresses in the routers table.  I also registered their 'Server Names' so now they look like any other DHCP assigned address.)

[crescentwire]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:57 AM, Frank1940 said:

As a point of clarification, the IP address of your server is    10.5.1.20     (The   /24  is the subnet mask and not really a part of the IP address.)

 

 

Yes, you're right. I included the mask to specify the broadcast domain (and to indicate my static address was in the same subnet as my DHCP pool). But yes, thank you for pointing that out.

 

I'll proceed to use a DHCP reservation to set the desired address. I wish there was some clarity around why a static address doesn't work, but I suppose this will have to be enough for me.

 

(As an aside, I've worked in IT as a Network Engineer for 10+ years, so my habit of "statically set it and record it in an IPAM solution" may be one that dies hard!)

 

Thanks again for all your help here. I hope you have a great weekend ahead!