Is it best practice to configure networked printer ports by IP or hostname?

[Vicenarian]

I noticed that (by default) many network printer setup utilities will define the printer's port by hostname (as far as I can tell, anyway). I generally manually change this to the IP address of the printer (seeing as I set the printer to a static IP anyways). Is this a good practice? I mean, the printer works either way (hostname or IP), but I just want some other opinions. Thanks in advance!


More explanation:

Let's say you install a Brother network printer via the Brother software program in Windows. Now, if you go to Devices and Printers in Windows (or equivalent), and select the printer's properties, and go to ports, the selected port has two main fields:

- Port Name
- Printer Name or IP Address

With many printers, the setup utility just uses the printer name by default. I'm guessing this requires/depends on hostname resolution in order to work; so by my reasoning, putting in the direct IP address is safer/makes more sense to me. Your opinions?

 

[Boston Pro Comp Serv LLC]

I usually set them static too, depends on the network really. Most places with a single sever and 10 or so desktops/laptop/phone I use a range for static devices a range for wireless and a range for DHCP's.

 

[Martyn]

I would always go for ip address as at the end of the day the name will resolve to that anyway. Names may be used maybe where a dynamic ip address is used but my experience is that printers mostly go on fixed ip.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I go by IP address
I prefer printers to have static IP addresses and be shared by a server....so I'll have DHCP reservations set for those IP addresses. In the DHCP reservations is where it will clearly be documented which printer is what IP.

 

[Vicenarian]

Thanks for the input everyone. The routers I've been working with lately (all the same model #), strangely enough, don't have a dedicated DHCP reservation table. (They're ISP issued routers) so I just set a static IP outside of the DHCP range.

 

[TechLoopPC]

double-edged-sword. If you use DHCP reservations, router fries and gets replaced by somebody else, looses reservations. == cannot print

If you use hostname, and for some reason DNS doesn't resolve correctly or name changes == cannot print

If you set static IP on printer, printer gets reset/replaced under warranty etc. or multiple printers get same IP, or DHCP assigns IP (if in assignable range) == cannot print.

I prefer to use DHCP reservations, I sleep better.

At the end of the day: printers are a PITA -- by far my least favorite technology to deal with. There are very few standards and every manufacturer has a different way of doing everything, getting better though.

 

[Martyn]

When I was a consultant doing printers our print controllers didn't always work well with dhcp. For instance if the tech had to work with his laptop direct to the print controller to isolate a problem he would have to hard code an ip address in the controller if it was on dhcp. My advice always to admins was fixed ip on the controller and just exclude it from the dhcp scope. Most admins had a block of ip addresses for printers and other devices.

 

[Long Time Tech]

I use static IPs and print directly to the printer seems to work best. I think they default to hostname for home users who do not know how to/ why they should set a static IP address.