New Network Detected

In the past, on dialup with Earthlink, which is a very large ISP, I've been granted IPs via DHCP from three different network ranges, two subnets in the 63. range and one from the 65. range. (Earthlink acquired a number of other ISPs and their servers and networks are kind of all over the place now.) ZAP 2.6, at that time, recognised each as a separate network (first time, each was "new", there after, they weren't.)

Are you sure that the new network detected is not just another range being used by your ISP because they are growing larger? What were these other networks (address/mask)? Maybe we can try to trace them back to see if they are something related.

 

Hey Bill,

Take a look at the following two links - they relate to APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) - which is used by Microsoft Windows systems when there is any delay in obtaining an IP address when DHCP is enabled on one of the network interfaces and no DHCP server was found. The addresses in the range 169.254.*.* are exclusively reserved for this function...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q220874

http://www.win2000mag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=7464

In the Microsoft link, don't worry that the OS listed are older, it's an older article. It still applies today all the way through Windows XP.

Do you know how your ISP gives you an IP address when you connect? Is it DHCP? If there is no reply from the DHCP server in time, then the OS assigns an address in the APIPA range.

Even if your ISP does not use DHCP, you need to check all your network interfaces and see if DHCP is enabled. For example, a common problem is when people using ADSL and connect through a network connectoid via a simulated dialup adapter, or other similar interface, but also have their LAN adapter configured improperly, looking for a DHCP address.

Can you describe your network connections to us? If you have an adapter that has a TCP/IP setting that says "obtain IP address automatically..." and that adapter is not your primary connection, this can also cause this situation. But, since this only happens to you very rarely, it may just be a timing issue when the DHCP server doesn't respond fast enough.

Overall though, note that this is not a major cause for concern. It's just annoying, so, let's see if we can figure it out.

Best Wishes,
LowWaterMark

 

Thanks for the kind words Bill

Yes, it could very likely be a temporary hiccup... I say this because you mentioned that it has only happened a couple times (or so) over a couple months. If it was a misconfiguration, it should happen everytime you boot up your system.

On your system, do you have only one defined connection in the Network Connection screen, or do you have two or more (such as a LAN card and another separate definition used to connect to your ISP)? On my system, I have a LAN card defined, see diagram (the "Local Area Connection" pipe), but, because my ADSL uses PPPoE, and I use an installed PPPoE application (called RASPPPoE), my actual ISP connection is established by what looks like a dialup network connectoid (the one highlighted).

If I configure the LAN adapter with its own TCP/IP settings, specifically to use DHCP (obtain an IP address automatically), then I will always end up with both my ISP's granted IP, once I connect, and an automagic IP from APIPA, shortly after booting up the PC. ZA will display both adapters in the networks screen. The system works, if I allow the adpaters, but, the second address is unneeded and could cause conflicts.

But, as I said, this will happen all the time because of a misconfiguration. The fact that your's rarely happens, and if you tell me you only have 1 network adapter defined, then it's probably just a hiccup based on timing, slow DHCP, or another issue, easily cleared by rebooting.