Ethernet Shield based server which selects automatically an IP to host the page

Hello ,
I have an arduino mega with Ethernet Shield and also with a microSD card inserted
I've been trying to configure the arduino as a server which has the ability of selecting automatically a IP to host the webpage , because when faced with the situation of trying to connect to a wireless router which assigns IP addresses to a lot of devices is very time consuming to find manually a free IP address .
So far i tried to approaches but i failed : 1. I start with an address , but if i don't receive any client data within 5 seconds i proceed to incrementing the last byte of the IP address.
But this approach doesn't do anything but incrementing all the time the IP address without finding a free one to host the webpage

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

// initialize the library with the numbers of the interface pins
// MAC address from Ethernet shield sticker under board
byte mac[] = {
0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xFE, 0xED };
IPAddress ip(192, 168, 0, 14); // server IP address
EthernetServer server(80); // create a server at port 80 coresponds to HTTP

File webFile; // file stored on the uSD card

int i=1;

void setup() {
Ethernet.begin(mac, ip); // initialize Ethernet device
server.begin(); // start to listen for clients
Wire.begin(); // join i2c bus
Serial1.begin(9600);
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.print("server is at ");
Serial.println(Ethernet.localIP());

//

// initialize SD card
Serial.println("Initializing SD card...");
if (!SD.begin(4)) { // pin 4 stands for CS ( Chip Select ) of SPI
Serial.println("ERROR - SD card initialization failed!");
return; // init failed
}
Serial.println("SUCCESS - SD card initialized.");
// check for google2 file
if (!SD.exists("google2.htm")) {
Serial.println("ERROR - Can't find google2.htm file!");
return; // can't find google2 file
}
Serial.println("SUCCESS - Found google2.htm file.");
}

void loop() {

EthernetClient client = server.available(); // try to get client
while ( !client )
{ if ( client || millis()-timer>5000)
break;
}
if (client) { // got client?
Serial.println(" Gotclient ");
.......

} // end if (client)

else if ( !client) {

i++;
IPAddress ipv( 192,168,0,i);
Ethernet.begin(mac,ipv);
server.begin();
delay(5);

timer=millis();
Serial.print("server is at ");
Serial.println(Ethernet.localIP());
} // loop

  1. In the second approach i tried to use the DHCP to get a free address and then create the server with that address . This approach works fine for this task but i cannot use anymore my SD card - it's not being initialized anymore ( a get an IP address and by page displays everything except the content of the SD card ).
    I read that because SD and ethernet controller share one SPI bus they cannot be used at the same time , but i found out that this restriction doesn't apply if i don't use the DHCP and select manually the IP address

#include <Wire.h> // for IIC communication
#include <SPI.h>
#include <Ethernet.h>
#include <SD.h>

// initialize the library with the numbers of the interface pins
// MAC address from Ethernet shield sticker under board
byte mac[] = {
0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xFE, 0xED };

EthernetServer server(80); // create a server at port 80 coresponds to HTTP

File webFile; // file stored on the uSD card

int i=1;

char ipAddr[]={' ',' ',' ',' ',' '};

void setup() {

// start the Ethernet connection:
if (Ethernet.begin(mac) == 0) {
Serial.println("Failed to configure Ethernet using DHCP");
// no point in carrying on, so do nothing forevermore:
for(;:wink:
;
}
// print your local IP address:
Serial.print("My IP address: ");

for (byte thisByte = 0; thisByte < 4; thisByte++) {
// print the value of each byte of the IP address:

ipAddr[thisByte] = Ethernet.localIP()[thisByte];
Serial.print(Ethernet.localIP()[thisByte], DEC);
Serial.print(".");
}
IPAddress ip (ipAddr[0],ipAddr[1],ipAddr[2],ipAddr[3]);

Ethernet.begin(mac, ip); // initialize Ethernet device

server.begin(); // start to listen for clients

Serial1.begin(9600);

Serial.print("server is at ");
Serial.println(Ethernet.localIP());

Serial.println("Initializing SD card...");
if (!SD.begin(4)) { // pin 4 stands for CS ( Chip Select ) of SPI
Serial.println("ERROR - SD card initialization failed!");
return; // init failed
}
Serial.println("SUCCESS - SD card initialized.");
// check for google2 file
if (!SD.exists("google2.htm")) {
Serial.println("ERROR - Can't find google2.htm file!");
return; // can't find google2 file
}
Serial.println("SUCCESS - Found google2.htm file.");
}

//
}
// initialize SD card

void loop() {

EthernetClient client = server.available(); // try to get client

if (client) { // got client?
Serial.println(" Gotclient ");

......
} // end if (client)

} // loop

Does anyone have a clue how to solve this problem ??

Thank you

Why don't you modify your router dhcp server to not issue a some IPs in the localnet range? Then you can use one of those.

At my router it's no point in modifying my settings , because i usually don't have that much devices connected to it in order to challenge me in finding a free IP.

This arduino + ethernet shield is part of a bigger project , which i intend to present also elsewhere and i don't have the guarantee of having access all the time to all the available routers settings . I'm trying to find a solution in order to avoid just that

Thank you for your time ,

This arduino + ethernet shield is part of a bigger project , which i intend to present also elsewhere and i don't have the guarantee of having access all the time to all the available routers settings.

Then you have no choice. You must use dhcp to obtain network settings.

Yes i know that , but my problem is how can i use in the second approach both the DHCP server connection and the SD card

Laur91:
Yes i know that , but my problem is how can i use in the second approach both the DHCP server connection and the SD card

Exactly the same as you would with a static IP. Are you having problems with that?

edit: This will cause you problems. You are trying to start the ethernet service without disabling the SD SPI. That will almost guarantee a dhcp start fail.

void setup() {
  Ethernet.begin(mac, ip);  // initialize Ethernet device
  server.begin();           // start to listen for clients

Initializing the DHCP server first , followed by the SD card initialization generates errors to the SD card , i get an IP but the card doesn't initialize.

void setup () {
Ethernet.begin(mac, ip); // initialize Ethernet device
server.begin();

....
// initialize SD card
Serial.println("Initializing SD card...");
if (!SD.begin(4)) { // pin 4 stands for CS ( Chip Select ) of SPI
Serial.println("ERROR - SD card initialization failed!");
return; // init failed
}

I found somewhere to set HIGH pin 10 to disable the ethernet controller and pin 4 for the SD card , and set them LOW whenever they have to be renabled and to keep only one enabled at a time , but it still doesn't work. Maybe i didn't find a successful combination.
What do you suggest me to try ?

This should do it. Works for me.

void setup () {

  // disable SD SPI 
  pinMode(4,OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(4,HIGH);

  Ethernet.begin(mac, ip);  // initialize Ethernet device
  server.begin();

  // rest of your setup

It woks fine , thanks !