[X-Newbies] Networking

[Chris Walker]

Hi all,

I'm setting up a mixed network - 1 Mac, 1 PC and two printers.  Both
printers are to be accessible from either computer. This will be set up
using manual (fixed) IP addresses.

Some points:

Do the IP addresses need to be consecutive or can they be more or less
random within a given range - 10.0.0.X or whatever?

In the OSX networking panel it offers DHCP with a manual address which
seems to offer the possibility of conflict if the router tried to assign
the same IP elsewhere, or am I missing something?

Has anyone any experience of USB print servers and are they effective/
reliable or the devil's invention?

Thanks for any help,

Chris