Windows 10: Side effects of releasing/renewing IP addresses?

There is a fairly well know security package that is causing some users problems on Win 10 AU - browser connections get blocked. (Other TCP/IP connectivity is unaffected - just browsers.) A user of the product found that releasing and renewing DHCP-provided IP address - i.e., doing "ipconfig /release" followed by ipconfig /renew"" temporarily fixes the problem. Can someone explain to me what doing a release/renew does to Windows such that a program - even a program with deeply embedded hooks - would even know this has happened.

Obviously the computer will get a new IP address from DHCP. (Which, for many DHCP servers, will likely be the same as the old one.) If it gets a new address, will this make Windows switch it's network profile from "Private" to "Guest or Public"? (I know the security package will see that.)

And a few more questions relating to /release and /renew but unrelated to the problem:
I see there are IPv6 versions of /release and /renew. Does that mean that /release and /renew apply to only IPv4 addresses, or do those commands apply to both IPv4 and IPv6? If only IPv4, is there a way to release and renew all addresses? The DHCP server supplied a list of DNS servers as part of the DHCP handshake. Does the release and renew process also renew the list of DNS servers? If so, is there the same division of IPv4 and IPv6?

:)

 

ip address

If the address was assigned by DHCP: Release the lease and renew the lease.

If you assigned a static IP: Assign a different static IP.

 

DHCP Not Renewing

What would cause my wireless adapter to not release and renew it's IP after I switch from one network to another? On restart or initial boot my Surface Pro 3 will grab an IP and work fine, but if I switch to a different wireless network I have to go into
the command prompt and release and renew manually to get an IP from the network I am switch to.

 

Confused as to what security package that you are talking about and what it has to do with Redstone 2.

 

I purposefully didn't name the security package. That is not directly related to my questions, and I'm not convinced there is a connection (or at least a direct connection) to Redstone 2 (assuming that Redstone 2 is the Windows 10 version 1607). I have seen on several forums that there was a change in the AU that changed Windows' SMB security and a number of vendors had to scramble to become compatible. This problem with browser connections could just be buggy code resulting from a rewrite related to the SMB issues.

Whatever the problem is, it effects browser connections but not other IP connections where "effects" is defined by users as "blocking", and the problem goes away if the security package is uninstalled. Several users have reported that the "blocking" temporarily goes away by doing the ipconfig release/renew. I'm having trouble understanding that and would like to know what the release/renew do other than (sometimes) get new IP addresses.

 

My Version 1607 Build 14393.479 are showing as RS1 while my IP/Insider Preview Version 1607 Build 14986 is showing only RS so I think RS2 hasn't been released yet.

 

Need to know the Security software. that is really kind of important. Release and Renew of an IP does nothing. Unless you can break your problem down to a shorter story and state the security software, not much anyone can do. Third party Security software has always been the biggest cause of network issues, not a major update to Windows.

 

Sorry I even mentioned a security package. My questions have nothing to do with the security product other than to indicate that some program was aware that the release/renew had happened. And I'm not experiencing the problem I described so I can't break it down. Some other people are supposedly having the problem and I'm trying to make sense of it.

The questions are specifically about the behavior of ipconfig release and renew.

 

All it does is remove the IP then goes back to DHCP and gets another one which may be the same

 

Again you need to state what software you are using for Security, because yes it does matter. Being so cryptic and wanting to beat around the bush in trying to some how place all of this on Microsoft, when it is not always the case, is not going to change the fact that if you have a serious problem and want help, you have to do your part by putting in your post pertinent information, such as what Internet Security software that you are running on your computer.

 

When you boot up Windows will acquire an IP address via DHCP. Release releases that IP address and leaves you disconnected. Windows won't go looking for a new one on it's either. You will have no network connection. Renew starts the whole process over again and reacquires an IP address via DHCP. What IP address you get the second time around depends on what your getting it from. If your router reserves an IP for each device based on its MAC address you'll just get the same IP again. If not it will be the next available one from the IP scope set on the router. If there is no reserving IP addresses its first come first serve. They are given out in order as each device asks for one, from lowest to highest in the scope set.

 

Your type of connection could factor into this as well. Whether your IP address is Private (LAN via NAT) or public (WAN). It will effect what DHCP address is used. If this security software hijacks the DNCP address for its own it can block any site it wants too.

 

You've apparently missed the point of my posting. I'm not blaming Microsoft of anything. I'm not blaming the security software of anything, either. And I don't have the problem I mentioned or I'd do some experimenting myself.

I saw the report of a problem that didn't make any sense, realized I didn't know what ipconfig /release and /renew actually do, and wanted to undo that ignorance. I've now done some experimentation, gained a little knowledge, and found that my ignorance was even greater than I supposed.

The /release does have a significant side effect. Since it releases the IPv4 addrs (including default gateway and DNS servers) it obviously isolates the PC from the (IPv4) network. Windows reverts to Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) and gives the adapter an addr in the APIPA range - 169.254.0.1 - 169.254.255.254. So even if the PC could communicate with the router it would no longer be on the router's subnet. This all goes back to normal with the /renew. (I expected Windows to start using a "public" network profile, but it does not.)

The IPv6 addrs were not effected by any of this. Surprisingly, they were also not effected by /release6, but ISATAP tunneling shut down. Ipconfig /renew6 hung for a long time, and didn't seem to do anything except find an IPv6 DNS server ... and caused a complaint from the Teredo tunneling service.

This probably makes sence to someone that really understands IPv6, but that's not me.

 

Thank you. Our postings overlapped. I believe the DHCP server in my router reserves the IP addrs for (at least) the length of their lease - 24 hours. So if I disconnect and reconnect within 24 hours it will give the same address.

 

Normally there should be no ill effects from releasing and renewing an IP address. Network communication is inherently unreliable and properly designed software will handle any temporary disruptions this may cause.