Ethernet - Ethernet.begin()

Description

Initializes the Ethernet library and network settings.

With version 1.0, the library supports DHCP. Using Ethernet.begin(mac) with the proper network setup, the Ethernet shield will automatically obtain an IP address. This increases the sketch size significantly. To make sure the DHCP lease is properly renewed when needed, be sure to call Ethernet.maintain() regularly.

Syntax

Ethernet.begin(mac);
Ethernet.begin(mac, ip);
Ethernet.begin(mac, ip, dns);
Ethernet.begin(mac, ip, dns, gateway);
Ethernet.begin(mac, ip, dns, gateway, subnet);

Parameters

mac: the MAC (Media access control) address for the device (array of 6 bytes). this is the Ethernet hardware address of your shield. Newer Arduino Ethernet Shields include a sticker with the device’s MAC address. For older shields, choose your own.
ip: the IP address of the device (array of 4 bytes)
dns: the IP address of the DNS server (array of 4 bytes). optional: defaults to the device IP address with the last octet set to 1
gateway: the IP address of the network gateway (array of 4 bytes). optional: defaults to the device IP address with the last octet set to 1
subnet: the subnet mask of the network (array of 4 bytes). optional: defaults to 255.255.255.0

Returns

The DHCP version of this function, Ethernet.begin(mac), returns an int: 1 on a successful DHCP connection, 0 on failure.
The other versions don’t return anything.

Example

#include <SPI.h>
#include <Ethernet.h>

// the media access control (ethernet hardware) address for the shield:
byte mac[] = { 0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xFE, 0xED };  
//the IP address for the shield:
byte ip[] = { 10, 0, 0, 177 };    

void setup()
{
  Ethernet.begin(mac, ip);
}

void loop () {}