Chapter Overview

 Introduction to DHCP

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Understanding DHCP
 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
is a service and a protocol that work together
to automatically assign Internet Protocol (IP)
addresses and other Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
configuration settings to computers on a
network.
 DHCP overcomes the limitations of manually
configuring TCP/IP clients and tracking IP
addresses.

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DHCP Overview
 DHCP dynamically assigns IP addresses to clients
from a pool.
 Each time a DHCP client starts, it requests IP
addressing information from a DHCP server.
 When a DHCP server receives the request, it selects
IP addressing information from a pool of addresses
(called a scope) and offers it to the DHCP client.
 If the client accepts the offer, the IP addressing
information is leased to the client for a specified
time.

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DHCP Overview (Cont.)
 As the lease interval progresses, the client
computer renews the address assignment
each time the computer is started.
 If the lease expires without a renewal, the IP
address is returned to the pool for
reassignment.
 DHCP is based on open standards published
by the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF).
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DHCP Client/Server Interaction

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Manual vs. Automatic Configuration
 Configuring TCP/IP manually on client
computers has many limitations.
 Errors in assigning or typing IP addresses can lead
to difficult-to-trace network problems.
 Manual configuration requires a large amount of
administrative maintenance.
 Using DHCP to automatically configure IP
addressing information overcomes all of these
limitations.

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DHCP Address Allocation Types
 The core function of DHCP is to assign IP
addresses.
 There are three types of IP address
allocation: manual, automatic, and dynamic.
 Manual allocation: an administrator assigns a
specific IP address for the DHCP server to
provide to a specific DHCP client.
 This method is necessary for some computers that
require permanently assigned IP addresses.

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DHCP Address Allocation Types
(Cont.)
 Automatic allocation: the DHCP server supplies
clients with IP addresses taken from a common
pool, and the clients permanently retain the
assigned addresses.
 This method works well when computers are rarely
moved.
 Dynamic allocation: the DHCP server supplies IP
addresses to clients from a pool on a leased basis.
 The client must periodically renew the lease or the
address expires and is returned to the pool.
 Most DHCP installations use dynamic allocation.

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How DHCP Works
 A typical transaction between a DHCP client
and server has four phases:
 DHCPDISCOVER: the DHCP client requests
configuration parameters from a DHCP server.
 DHCPOFFER: the DHCP server offers IP
addressing information to the requesting client.
 DHCPREQUEST: the client accepts or renews an IP
address assignment.
 DHCPACK: the DHCP server acknowledges the
client’s acceptance of an offered IP address.

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DHCP Client/Server Communications

10
DHCP Leasing
 When a DHCP server dynamically allocates
settings, the client leases its IP address for a
specified time and must renew the lease to
continue using it.
 An IP address lease is typically measured in days.
 The lease renewal process begins when a bound
client reaches renewal time value (or T1 value) of
its lease and begins generating DHCPREQUEST
unicast messages to the server that holds the
lease.

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DHCP Leasing (Cont.)
 If the DHCP server is available, it responds with one of the
following messages:
 A DHCPACK message, which renews the lease and restarts the lease
timer
 A DHCPNAK message, which terminates the lease and forces the
client to begin again
 If the server does not respond, the client begins transmitting
DHCPREQUEST broadcast messages, soliciting an address
assignment from any DHCP server on the network.
 If the lease expires
 The client’s IP address is released
 All of the client’s TCP/IP communication ceases, except for
DHCPDISCOVER broadcast transmissions

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The DHCP Lease Renewal Process

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Releasing an IP Address
 A DHCP client can terminate an IP address
lease at any time by transmitting a
DHCPRELEASE message to the DHCP server.
 On a computer running Microsoft Windows 2000,
use the Ipconfig.exe utility to manually release the
client computer’s IP address.
 On a computer running Microsoft Windows Me,
Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows 95,
use the Winipcfg.exe utility.

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When No DHCP Servers Are Online
 If there is no response from a DHCP server, a
client computer running Windows 2000 uses
Automatic Private IP Addressing to automatically
assign itself an IP address and subnet mask.
 The IP address is from the range 169.254.0.1 through
169.254.255.254.
 The subnet mask is 255.255.0.0.
 The client continues to check for a DHCP server
every five minutes.
 If it contacts a DHCP server, the client abandons its
autoconfigured IP address.

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Pros and cons of DHCP
 DHCP makes it easier for network
administrators to add or move devices within
a network, whether it be a LAN or WAN.
 But DHCP is not inherently secure, and if
malicious actors access the DHCP server, they
can wreak havoc.
 Also, if the DHCP server does not have a
backup and the server fails, so do the devices
served by it.
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Monitoring Server Performance
 Monitoring the performance of a Windows 2000
DHCP server can help in troubleshooting
performance problems.
 The Windows 2000 DHCP server performance
counters can monitor
 All types of DHCP messages sent and received by the
DHCP Server service
 The average amount of processing time spent by the
DHCP server per message packet sent and received
 The number of message packets dropped because of
internal delays on the DHCP server

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Summary
 Most DHCP problems present themselves as a failure of
clients to obtain IP addressing information from a DHCP
server.
 When troubleshooting clients, ensure that
 The network connection is functioning
 The client is configured to obtain its IP address by using a
DHCP server
 When troubleshooting a DHCP server, make sure that
the DHCP Server service is running.
 To ensure that both services operate properly, install the
DHCP Relay Agent service and the DHCP Server service
on separate computers running Windows 2000 Server.

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