Installation of Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller and DNS Server Setup

Installation of Windows Server 2003
Domain Controller and DNS Server

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SEZ Blo c k- A 5t h, 6t h, 7t h Step By Step Guide for Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller and
Flo o r To w e r A I, A II, A III DNS Server Setup
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7/12/2011

Step By Step Guide for Windows Server 2003 Domain
Controller and DNS Server Setup
Windows Server 2003 includes all the functionality customers expect from a mission critical Windows
Server operating system, such as security, reliability, availability, and scalability. In addition, Microsoft
has improved and extended the Windows server product family to enable organizations to experience the
benefits of Microsoft .NET—a set of software for connecting information, people, systems, and devices.

This tutorial will explain how to create a first domain controller (DC) in your network or company
includes DNS server setup in windows server 2003 .You have to install DNS server for DC without DNS
the client computers wouldn’t know which one is DC. You can host DNS on a different server than DC.

Before Starting the DC installation process you need to make sure the following points

 You have installed Basic windows server 2003 installation

 Make sure you have assigned a static IP address to your server

Now start DC and DNS Setup process

First you need to go to Start–>All Programs–>Administrative Tools–>Manage Your Server

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Here you need to select Add or remove a role

Verify the following steps click on Next


Select Server Role as Domain Controller option click on Next


Summary of Your Selections click on Next


Active Directory Installation Wizard click on Next


Click “Next” on the compatibility window

Next window select the default option of “Domain Controller for a new domain” and click “Next”


In this tutorial we will create a domain in a new forest, because it is the first DC, so keep that option
selected


Now we have to think of a name for our domain. If you have a domain like windowsreference.com”, you
can use it, but it isn’t suggested because computers inside of your domain may not be able to reach the
company website. Active directory domains don’t need to be “real” domains like the one above – they can
be anything you wish. So I will create “windowsreference.int”.

Now in order to keep things simple, we will use “windowsreferenc”, which is the default selection, as the
NetBIOS name of the domain.


The next dialog suggests storing the AD database and log on separate hard disks and you can just leave
the default settings.


The SYSVOL folder is a public share, where things like .msi software packages can be kept when you will
distribute packages and you can just leave the default settings or you can change the path.

Next Screen basically says that you will need a DNS server in order for everything to work the way we
want it (i.e., our “windowsreference.int” to be reachable).We will install the DNS server on this machine
or if you want you can installed elsewhere select “Install and Configure…” and click next.


Here you need to select the permissions for win 2000 or win 2003 server if you have any NT4 select first
option otherwise select second option and click next


The restore mode password is the single password that all administrators hope to never use, however
they should also never forget it because this is the single password that might save a failed server. Click
next

Now we will see a summary of what will happen click next


Active directory installation process started this can take several minutes. It’s likely that you will be
prompted for your Windows Server 2003 CD (for DNS) so have it handy.

Active directory Installation finish screen click Finish.


Now you need to select “Restart Now” option to reboot your server.

After rebooting you can see new option for logon


After logging in you can see similar to the following screen saying your server is now domain controller.

That’s it now your server is configured as domain controller and DNS server.

If you want Step by step guide how to install windows server 2003 check here


Install and Configure DHCP Server in Windows Server 2003 Step by Step Guide

A DHCP Server assigns IP addresses to client computers. This is very often used in enterprise networks to
reduce configuration efforts. All IP addresses of all computers are stored in a database that resides on a
server machine.

Installing DHCP Server is very easy in win server 2003

First you need to go to Start–>All Programs–>Administrative Tools–>Manage Your Server


Here you need to select Add or remove a role

Verify the following steps click on Next


Select Server Role as DHCP Server option click on Next


Summary selection click on Next


Installing DHCP Server in progress


Now this will prompt new scope welcome scree click next


A scope is a collection of IP addresses for computers on a subnet that use DHCP.
enter the name and description of your scope click next


Now you need to define the range of addresses that the scope will distribute across the network,the
subnet mask for the IP address . Enter the appropriate details and click next.

Enter the IP address range that you want to exclude and click on next


Select lease duration how long a client can use an IP address assigned to it from this scope. It is
recommended to add longer leases for a fixed network (in the office for example) and shorter leases for
remote connections or laptop computers and click next


You are given a choice of whether or not you wish to configure the DHCP options for the scope now or
later.You can select Yes,I want to… radion button and click next

Enter the router, or gateway, IP address click next. The client computers will then know which ro uter to
use and click next


Enter the DNS and domain name settings can be entered. The DNS server IP address will be distributed
by the DHCP server and given to the client click next


If you have WINS setup then here is where to enter the IP Address of the WINS server. You can just input
the server name into the appropriate box and press Resolve” to allow it to find the IP address itself click
next

Now you need to activate this scope now and click next


DHCP Server new scope installation was finished and click finish

Now your server is now a DHCP server message and click finish


Configuring DHCP

Now you need to go to Start—>Administrative Tools—>DHCP


Right Click on your server click on Authorize your DHCP Server


Authorization completed now your DHCP server is up and running


DHCP servers permit you to reserve an IP address for a client. This means that the specific network client
will have the same IP for as long as you wanted it to. To do this you will have to know the physical
address (MAC) of each network card. Enter the reservation name, desired IP address, MAC address and
description – choose whether you want to support DHCP or BOOTP and press add. The new reservation
will be added to the list.


That’s it is very easy to configure DHCP server in win server 2003 now you can configure your windows
client pc to check your DHCP server is working or not.

If you want to install and configure win server 2003 domain controller with DNS setup check here


1. Describe how the DHCP lease is obtained.

It’s a four-step process consisting of (a) IP request, (b) IP offer, © IP selection and (d) acknowledgement.

2. I can’t seem to access the Internet, don’t have any access to the corporate network and on
ipconfig my address is 169.254.*.*. What happened?

The 169.254.*.* netmask is assigned to Windows machines running 98/2000/XP if the DHCP server is not
available. The name for the technology is APIPA (Automatic Private Internet Protocol Addressing).

3. We’ve installed a new Windows-based DHCP server, however, the users do not seem to be
getting DHCP leases off of it.

The server must be authorized first with the Active Directory.

4. How can you force the client to give up the dhcp lease if you have access to the client PC?
ipconfig /release

5. What authentication options do Windows 2000 Servers have for remote clients?

PAP, SPAP, CHAP, MS-CHAP and EAP.

6. What are the networking protocol options for the Windows clients if for some reason you do
not want to use TCP/IP?

NWLink (Novell), NetBEUI, AppleTalk (Apple).

7. What is data link layer in the OSI reference model responsible for?

Data link layer is located above the physical layer, but below the network layer. Taking raw data bits and
packaging them into frames. The network layer will be responsible for addressing the frames, while the
physical layer is responsible for retrieving and sending raw data bits.

8. What is binding order?

The order, by which the network protocols are used for client-server communications. The most
frequently used protocols should be at the top.

9. How do cryptography-based keys ensure the validity of data transferred across the network?

Each IP packet is assigned a checksum, so if the checksums do not match on both receiving and
transmitting ends, the data was modified or corrupted.


10. Should we deploy IPSEC-based security or certificate-based security?

They are really two different technologies. IPSec secures the TCP/IP communication and protects the
integrity of the packets. Certificate-based security ensures the validity of authenticated clients and
servers.

11. What is LMHOSTS file?

It’s a file stored on a host machine that is used to resolve NetBIOS to specific IP addresses.

12. What’s the difference between forward lookup and reverse lookup in DNS?

Forward lookup is name-to-address; the reverse lookup is address-to-name.

13. How can you recover a file encrypted using EFS?

Use the domain recovery agent.

Physical and Logical Structure of Active Directory
In comparison to the logical structure, which performs administrative tasks, the Active Directory physical
structure checks when and where logon and replication traffic occurs. The physical structure of Active
Directory contains all the physical subnets present in your network like domain controllers and
replication between domain controllers.

The physical structure of Active Directory:
Domain Controllers: These computers run Microsoft Windows Server 2003/2000, and Active Directory.
Every Domain Controller performs specific functions like replication, storage and authentication. It can
support maximum one domain. It is always advised to have more than one domain controller in each
domain.

Active Directory Sites: These sites are collection of well-connected computers. The reason why we
create site is domain controllers can communicate frequently within the site. This way it minimizes the
latency within site say changes made on one domain controller to be replicated to other domain
controllers. The other reason behind creating a site is to optimize bandwidth between domain controllers
which are located in different locations.

All IP subnets who share the common Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity without knowing the actual
physical location of computers is called site.


Let's take an example: A site has subnets 192.168.5. A and 192.168.50.A, where 192.168.5.A computer is
located in Texas and 192.168.50.A computer is located in London. In this case physical location of bo th
the computer is not known to user. Because of proper bandwidth between these two, they are able to
work and configure computers within the same Active Directory Site.

Few considerations an Administrator should examine before creating a new site are pro per bandwidth,
available bandwidth cost and replication traffic expected.

• Active Directory Partitions: Each Domain Controller contains the following active directory partitions:

• The Domain Partition contains a copy of all the objects in that domain. Replication in Domain Partition
is only to other domain controllers which are in the same domain.

• The Schema Partition is forest wide. Every forest has one schema with consistent object class. The
Schema and Configuration take part in replication, and get replicated to all domain controllers in a forest.

• Application Partition which is optional carries objects which are not related to security and can be used
by one or more applications. Application Partition replicates to specific domain controller in th e forest.

Logical Structure of an Active Directory
Active Directory fulfills all the needs of an organization by designing a directory structure. It provides
flexibility in designing the business structure according to current and future needs for an organ ization,
so it should be examined prior to installing active directory. In Active Directory, resources are organized
in a logical structure, and this grouping of resources logically enables a resource to be found by its name
rather than by its physical location.

Benefits of AD Logical Structure

 Logical Structure provides more network security by means of providing access to resources to
only specified groups (OU).
 Logical structure simplified the network management by administration, configuration and
control of the network.
 The relationship between the logical structure of domains and forests simplifies resource sharing
across an organization.
 As logical structure provides simplified network management, it reduces the load on network
resources and lower the total cost of ownership.

Components of AD Logical Structure

The logical structure components have relationship with each other so it manage to control access to
stored data and finds how the data will be managed between different domains in a forest.


 Objects: like a user, computer, group, printer etc…
 Organizational Units – like any folder but in control of Active Directory
 Domains – Logical boundaries for objects
 Trees – Logical boundary for multiple domains
 Forests – Logical boundary for multiple trees

Overall, one physical machine running as a Microsoft Domain controller can control all these logical
divisions with the help of 'A Operation Master' dedicated to perform specific tasks.

An Overview on Global Catalog Servers
The Global Catalog (GC) is an important component in Active Directory because it serves as the central
information store of the Active Directory objects located in domains, and forests. Because the GC
maintains a list of the Active Directory objects in domains and forests, without actually including all
information on the objects; and it is used when users search for Active Directory objects or for specific
attributes of an object; the GC improves network performance and provides maximum accessibility to
Active Directory objects.

The Global Catalog server is the domain controller that stores a full copy of all objects in its host domain.
It also stores a partial copy of all objects in all other domains within the forest. The partial copy holds the
list of objects most frequently searched for.

The first domain controller that is created in the first domain in a forest is by default the Global Catalog
server. If a domain only has one domain controller, that particular domain controller and the GC server
are the same server. If you add an additional domain controller to the domain, you can configure that
domain controller as the GC server. You can also assign additional domain controllers to serve as GC
servers for a domain. This is usually done to improve response time for user logon requests and search
requests.

In order for Global Catalog servers to store a full copy of all objects in its host domain, and a partial copy
of all objects in all other domains within the forest, GC replication has to occur between those domain
controllers that are configured as GC servers. GC replication does not occur between domain controllers
that are not GC servers.

The functions of the GC server are discussed in the following section. The functions performed by the GC
server can be summarized as follows:


 GC servers are crucial for Active Directory's UPN functionality because they resolve user principal
names (UPNs) when the domain controller handling the authentication request is unable to
authenticate the user account because the user account actually exists in another domain. The
authenticating domain controller would have no knowledge of the particular user account. The GC
server in this case assists in locating the user account so that the authenticating domain controller
can proceed with the logon request for the user.
 The GC server deals with all search requests of users searching for information in Active Directory. It
can find all Active Directory data irrespective of the domain in which the data is held. The GC
server deals with requests for the entire forest.
 The GC also makes it possible for users to provide Universal Group membership information to the
domain controller for network logon requests.

Universal Groups are available when the domain functional level is raised or set to least Windows 2000
Native. Universal Groups can contain members that belong to different domains within the forest, and
their Universal Group membership information is only stored in the GC. What this means is that only
those domain controllers configured as GC servers would contain Universal Group membership
information. The remainder of the domain controllers would not hold Universal Group membership
information.

The universal group membership caching feature introduced in Windows Server 2003 Active Directory,
enables a site that has no GC server to cache universal group membership information for users who log
on to domain controllers within the site. In this manner, a domain controller can serve logon requests for
directory information when a GC server is unavailable. The settings of the Active Directory replication
schedule determine how often the cache is refreshed.

Configure a New Global Catalog Server
To configure a Windows 2000/2003 Domain Controller as a GC server, perform the following steps:

1. Start the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory Sites and Services Manager.
(From the Start menu, select Programs, Administrative Tools, Active Directory Sites and Services
Manager).
2. Select the Sites branch.
3. Select the site that owns the server, and expand the Servers branch.
4. Select the server you want to configure.
5. Right-click NTDS Settings and select Properties.

1. Remember, after Click Apply, OK You must allow for the GC to replicate itself throughout the
forest. This process might take anywhere between 10-15 minutes to even several days, all
depending on your AD infrastructure.

Read more: http://newadmins.blogspot.com/#ixzz1Ot5gTlMH


1. Select or clear the Global Catalog Server checkbox, which the Screen shows.


2. Click Apply, OK

DHCP FAQ
1. What is DHCP?

DHCP stands for "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol".

2. What is DHCP's purpose?

DHCP's purpose is to enable individual computers on an IP network to extract their configurations
from a server (the 'DHCP server') or servers, in particular, servers that have no exact information
about the individual computers until they request the information. The overall purpose of this is to
reduce the work necessary to administer a large IP network. The most significant p iece of
information distributed in this manner is the IP address.

3. Can DHCP work with Appletalk or IPX?

No, it is too tied to IP. Furthermore, they don't need it since they have always had automated
mechanisms for assigning their own network addresses.


4. Who Created It? How Was It Created?

DHCP was created by the Dynamic Host Configuration Working Group of the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF; a volunteer organization which defines protocols for use on the Internet). As
such, its definition is recorded in an Internet RFC and the Internet Activities Board (IAB) is
asserting its status as to Internet Standardization. As of this writing (June 1998), DHCP is an
Internet Draft Standard Protocol and is Elective. BOOTP is an Internet Draft Standard Protocol and
is recommended. For more information on Internet standardization, see RFC2300 (May 1998)

5. How is it different than BOOTP or RARP?

DHCP is based on BOOTP and maintains some backward compatibility. The main difference is that
BOOTP was designed for manual pre-configuration of the host information in a server database,
while DHCP allows for dynamic allocation of network addresses and configurations to newly
attached hosts. Additionally, DHCP allows for recovery and reallocation of network addresses
through a leasing mechanism.

RARP is a protocol used by Sun and other vendors that allows a computer to find out its own IP
number, which is one of the protocol parameters typically passed to the client system by DHCP or
BOOTP. RARP doesn't support other parameters and using it, a server can only serve a single LAN.
DHCP and BOOTP are designed so they can be routed.

6. How is it different than VLANs?

DHCP and VLANs, which are very different in concept, are sometimes cited as different solutions
to the same problem. While they have a goal in common (easing moves of networked computers),
VLANs represent a more revolutionary change to a LAN than DHCP. A DHCP server and
forwarding agents can allow you to set things up so that you can unplug a client computer from
one network or subnet and plug it into another and have it come alive immediately, it having been
reconfigured automatically. In conjunction to Dynamic DNS, it could automatically be given its
same name in its new place. VLAN-capable LAN equipment with dynamic VLAN assignment allows
you to configure things so a client computer can be plugged into any port and have the same IP
number (as well as name) and be on the same subnet. The VLAN-capable network either has its
own configuration that lists which MAC addresses are to belong to each VLAN, or it makes the
determination from the source IP address of the IP packets that the client computer sends. Some
differences in the two approaches:

o DHCP handles changes by reconfiguring the client while a VLAN-capable network handles
it by reconfiguring the network port the client is moved to.
o DHCP dynamic reconfiguration requires a DHCP server, forwarding agent in each router,
and DHCP capability in each client's TCP/IP support. The analogous capability in VLANs
requires that all hubs throughout the network be VLAN-capable, supporting the same
VLAN scheme. To this point VLAN support is proprietary with no vendor interoperability,
but standards are being developed.
o DHCP can configure a new client computer for you while a VLAN-capable network can't.


o DHCP is generally aimed at giving "easy moves" capability to networks that are divided into
subnets on a geographical basis, or on separate networks. VLANs are generally aimed at
allowing you to set up subnets on some basis other than geographical, e.g. instead of
putting everyone in one office on the same subnet, putting each person on a subnet that has
access to the servers that that person requires.

There is an issue with trying to use DHCP (or BOOTP) and VLANs at the same time, in particular,
with the scheme by which the VLAN-capable network determines the client's VLAN based upon
the client computer's source IP address. Doing so assumes the client computer is already
configured, which precludes the use of network to get the configuration information from a DHCP
or BOOTP server.

7. What protocol and port does DHCP use?

DHCP, like BOOTP runs over UDP, utilizing ports 67 and 68.

8. What is an IP address?

An IP address (also called an IP number) is a number (typically written as four numbers separated
by periods, i.e. 107.4.1.3 or 84.2.1.111) which uniquely identifies a computer that is making use of
the Internet. It is analogous to your telephone number in that the telephone number is used by the
telephone network to direct calls to you. The IP address is used by the Internet to direct data to
your computer, e.g. the data your web browser retrieves and displays when you surf the net. One
task of DHCP is to assist in the problem of getting a functional and unique IP number into the
hands of the computers that make use of the Internet.

9. What is a MAC address?

A MAC address (also called an Ethernet address or an IEEE MAC address) is a number (typically
written as twelve hexadecimal digits, 0 through 9 and A through F, or as six hexadecimal numbers
separated by periods or colons, i.e. 0080002012ef, 0:80:0:2:20: ef) which uniquely identifies a
computer that has an Ethernet interface. Unlike the IP number, it includes no indication of where
your computer is located. In DHCP's typical use, the server uses a requesting computer's MAC
address to uniquely identify it.

10. What is a DHCP lease?

A DHCP lease is the amount of time that the DHCP server grants to the DHCP client permission to
use a particular IP address. A typical server allows its administrator to set the lease time.

11. What is a Client ID?

What is termed the Client ID for the purposes of the DHCP protocol is whatever is used by the
protocol to identify the client computer. By default, DHCP implementations typically employ the
client's MAC address for this purpose, but the DHCP protocol allows other options. Some DHCP
implementations have a setup option to specify the client ID you want. One alternative to the MAC


address is simply a character string of your choice. In any case, in order for DHCP to function, you
must be certain that no other client is using the client ID you choose, and you must be sure the
DHCP server will accept it.

12. Why shouldn't clients assign IP numbers without the use of a server?

It is theoretically possible to develop software for client-machines that finds an unused address by
picking them out of the blue and broadcasting a request of all the other client machines to see if
they are using them. AppleTalk is designed around this idea, and Apple's MacTCP can be
configured to do this for IP. However, this method of IP address assignment has disadvantages.

1. A computer that needs a permanently-assigned IP number might be turned off and lose its
number to a machine coming up. This has problems both for finding services and for
security.
2. A network might be temporarily divided into two non-communicating networks while a
network component is not functioning. During this time, two different client-machines
might end up claiming the same IP number. When the network comes back, they start
malfunctioning.
3. If such dynamic assignment is to be confined to ranges of IP addresses, then the ranges are
configured in each desktop machine rather than being centrally administered. This can lead
both to hidden configuration errors and to difficulty in changing the range. Another
problem with the use of such ranges is keeping it easy to move a computer from one subnet
to another.

13. Can DHCP support statically defined addresses?

Yes. At least there is nothing in the protocol to preclude this and one expects it to be a feature of
any DHCP server. This is really a server matter and the client should work either way. The RFC
refers to this as manual allocation.

14. How do DHCP and BOOTP handle multiple subnets?

For the situations where there is more than one LAN, each with its own subnet number, there are
two ways. First of all, you can set up a seperate server on each subnet. Secondly, a feature of some
routers known as "BOOTP forwarding" to forward DHCP or BOOTP requests to a server on
another subnet and to forward the replies back to the client. The part of such a router (or server
acting as a router) that does this is called a "BOOTP forwarding agent". Typically you have to
enable it on the interface to the subnet to be served and have to configure it with the IP address of
the DHCP or BOOTP server. On a Cisco router, the address is known as the "UDP Helper Address".

15. Can a BOOTP client boot from a DHCP server?

Only if the DHCP server is specifically written to also handle BOOTP queries.


16. Can a DHCP client boot from a BOOTP server?

Only if the DHCP client were specifically written to make use of the answer from a BOOTP server.
It would presumably treat a BOOTP reply as an unending lease on the IP address.

In particular, the TCP/IP stack included with Windows 95 does not have this capability.

17. Is a DHCP server "supposed to" be able to support a BOOTP client?

The RFC on such interoperability (1534) is clear: "In summary, a DHCP server: ... MAY support
BOOTP clients," (section 2). The word "MAY" indicates such support, however useful, is left as an
option.

A source of confusion on this point is the following statement in section 1.5 of RFC 1541: "DHCP
must provide service to existing BOOTP clients." However, this statement is one in a list of
"general design goals for DHCP", i.e. what the designers of the DHCP protocol set as their own
goals. It is not in a list of requirements for DHCP servers.

18. Is a DHCP client "supposed to" be able to use a BOOTP server?

The RFC on such interoperability (1534) is clear: "A DHCP client MAY use a reply from a BOOTP
server if the configuration returned from the BOOTP server is acceptable to the DHCP client."
(section 3). The word "MAY" indicates such support, however useful, is left as an option.

Can a DHCP client or server make a DNS server update the client's DNS entry to match the client's
dynamically assigned address?

RFCs 2136 and 2137 indicate a way in which DNS entries can be updated dynamically. Using this
requires a DNS server that supports this feature and a DHCP server that makes use of it. The RFCs
are very recent (as of 5/97) and implementations are few. In the mean time, there are DNS and
DHCP servers that accomplish this through proprietary means.

19. Can a DHCP server back up another DHCP server?

You can have two or more servers handing out leases for different addresses. If each has a
dynamic pool accessible to the same clients, then even if one server is down, one of those clients
can lease an address from the other server.

However, without communication between the two servers to share their information on current
leases, when one server is down, any client with a lease from it will not be able to renew their
lease with the other server. Such communication is the purpose of the "server to server protocol"
(see next question). It is possible that some server vendors have addressed this issue with their
own proprietary server-to-server communication.


20. When will the server to server protocol be defined?

The DHC WG of the IETF is actively investigating the issues in inter-server communication. The
protocol should be defined "soon".

Is there a DHCP mailing list?

There are several:

List Purpose
---- -------
dhcp-v4@bucknell.edu General discussion: a good list for
server administrators.
dhcp-bake@bucknell.edu DHCP bakeoffs
dhcp-impl@bucknell.edu Implementations
dhcp-serve@bucknell.edu Server to server protocol
dhcp-dns@bucknell.edu DNS-DHCP issues
dhcp-v6@bucknell.edu DHCP for IPv6

The lists are run by listserv@bucknell.edu which can be used to subscribe and sign off. Archives
for the dhcp-v4 list (which used to be called the host-conf list) are stored at
ftp://ftp.bucknell.edu/pub/dhcp/.

21. In a subnetted environment, how does the DHCP server discover what subnet a
request has come from?

DHCP client messages are sent to off-net servers by DHCP relay agents, which are often a part of
an IP router. The DHCP relay agent records the subnet from which the message was received in
the DHCP message header for use by the DHCP server.

Note: a DHCP relay agent is the same thing as a BOOTP relay agent, and technically speaking, the
latter phrase is correct.

22. If a single LAN has more than one subnet number, how can addresses be served
on subnets other than the primary one?

A single LAN might have more than one subnet number applicable to the same set of ports
(broadcast domain). Typically, one subnet is designated as primary, the others as secondary. A site
may find it necessary to support addresses on more than one subnet number associated with a
single interface. DHCP's scheme for handling this is that the server has to be configured with the
necessary information and has to support such configuration & allocation. Here are four cases a
server might have to handle:

0. Dynamic allocation supported on secondary subnet numbers on the LAN to which the
server is attached.
1. Dynamic allocation supported on secondary subnet numbers on a LAN which is handled
through a DHCP/BOOTP Relay. In this case, the DHCP/BOOTP Relay sends the server a


gateway address associated with the primary subnet and the server must know what to do
with it.

The other two cases are the same capabilities during manual allocation. It is possible that a
particular server-implementation can handle some of these cases, but not all of them. See section
below listing the capabilities of some servers.

If a physical LAN has more than one logical subnet, how different groups of clients could
be allocated addresses on different subnets?

One way to do this is to preconfigure each client with information about what group it belongs to.
A DHCP feature designed for this is the user class option. To do this, the client software must allow
the user class option to be preconfigured and the server software must support its use to control
which pool a client's address is allocated from.

Where is DHCP defined?

In Internet RFCs.

RFC 2131
R. Droms, "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol", 3/97. Supersedes RFC 1541 and RFC 1531.
[Note that some of the references in this FAQ are to RFC 1541: I'll update them when I get a chance. --
Author]
RFC 1534
R. Droms, "Interoperation Between DHCP and BOOTP", 10/08/1993.
RFC 2132
S. Alexander, R. Droms, "DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor Extensions", 3/97. Supersedes RFC
1533.

Some websites with copies of RFCs:
http://info.internet.isi.edu/1s/in-notes/rfc/
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/information/rfc.html
http://www.pmg.lcs.mit.edu/rfc.html

What other sources of information are available?

See the dhcp-v4 mailing list mentioned above as well as its archives.

DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~droms/dhcp/
Problems and Solutions of DHCP: Experiences with DHCP implementation and Operation
A. Tominaga, O. Nakamura, F. Teraoka, J. Murai.
http://info.isoc.org/HMP/PAPER/127/html/paper.html
DHCP Resources


Alan Dobkin. http://NWS.CC.Emory.Edu/WebStaff/Alan/Net-Man/Computing/DHCP/
DHCP Reading Room
Eric Hall. http://www.ehsco.com/reading/dhcp.html
Internet Drafts
Internet drafts are works in progress intended to update the current RFCs or specify additional
functionality, and sometimes there is one or more draft related to DHCP. All Internet Drafts are
available from various sites: the US East Cost site is ftp://ds.internic.net/internet-drafts/; a web
site is http://ds.internic.net/ds/dsintdrafts.html. The DHCP-related drafts currently have
filenames of the form "draft-ietf-dhc-SOMETHING". These DHCP-related drafts are also stored at
ftp://ftp.bucknell.edu/pub/dhcp/, and are available through
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~droms/dhcp/. I cannot be more specific about the documents
because they are by their nature temporary.
"DHCP Clients: Do They Really Work?"
Eric Hall. Network Computing, Vol. 7, No. 7, May 1, 1996, pp. 114-120. Reviews DHCP-client-
function of some popular Windows IP stacks.
http://www.ehsco.com/reading/19960515ncw2.html
"The Heaven And Hell Of DHCP Servers"
Eric Hall. Network Computing, Vol. 7, No. 8, May 15, 1996, pp. 118-121. Reviews DHCP servers.
http://www.ehsco.com/reading/19960515ncw1.html

Can DHCP support Remote Access?
PPP has its own non-DHCP way in which communications servers can hand clients an IP address
called IPCP (IP Control Protocol) but doesn't have the same flexibility as DHCP or BOOTP in
handing out other parameters. Such a communications server may support the use of DHCP to
acquire the IP addresses it gives out. This is sometimes called doing DHCP by proxy for the client. I
know that Windows NT's remote access support does this.

A feature of DHCP under development (DHCPinform) is a method by which a DHCP server can
supply parameters to a client that already has an IP number. With this, a PPP client could get its IP
number using IPCP, then get the rest of its parameters using this feature of DHCP.

SLIP has no standard way in which a server can hand a client an IP address, but many
communications servers support non-standard ways of doing this that can be utilized by scripts,
etc. Thus, like communications servers supporting PPP, such communications servers could also
support the use of DHCP to acquire the IP addresses to give out.

The DHCP protocol is capable of allocating an IP address to a device without an IEEE-style MAC
address, such as a computer attached through SLIP or PPP, but to do so, it makes use of a feature
which may or may not be supported by the DHCP server: the ability of the server to use something
other than the MAC address to identify the client. Communications servers that acquire IP
numbers for their clients via DHCP run into the same roadblock in that they have just one MAC
address, but need to acquire more than one IP address. One way such a communications server
can get around this problem is through the use of a set of unique pseudo -MAC addresses for the
purposes of its communications with the DHCP server. Another way (used by Shiva) is to use a


different "client ID type" for your hardware address. Client ID type 1 means you're using MAC
addresses. However, client ID type 0 means an ASCII string.

Can a client have a home address and still float?

There is nothing in the protocol to keep a client that already has a leased or permanent IP n umber
from getting a(nother) lease on a temporary basis on another subnet (i.e., for that laptop which is
almost always in one office, but occasionally is plugged in in a conference room or class room).
Thus it is left to the server implementation to support such a feature. I've heard that Microsoft's
NT-based server can do it.

How can I relay DHCP if my router does not support it?

A server on a net (subnet) can relay DHCP or BOOTP for that net. Microsoft has software to make
Windows NT do this.

How do I make to be migrated my site from BOOTP to DHCP?

I don't have an answer for this, but will offer a little discussion. The answer depends a lot on what
BOOTP server you are using and how you are maintaining it. If you depend heavily on BOOTP
server software to support your existing clients, then the demand to support clients that support
DHCP but not BOOTP presents you with problems. In general, you are faced with the choice:

0. Find a server that is administered like your BOOTP server only that also serves D HCP. For
example, one popular BOOTP server, the CMU server, has been patched so that it will
answer DHCP queries.
1. Run both a DHCP and a BOOTP server. It would be good if I could find out the gotcha's of
such a setup.
2. Adapt your site's administration to one of the available DHCP/BOOTP servers.
3. Handle the non-BOOTP clients specially, e.g. turn off DHCP and configure them statically:
not a good solution, but certainly one that can be done to handle the first few non -BOOTP
clients at your site.
Can you limit which MAC addresses are allowed to roam?

Sites may choose to require central pre-configuration for all computers that will be able to acquire
a dynamic address. A DHCP server could be designed to implement such a requirement,
presumably as an option to the server administrator. See section below on servers that implement
this.

Is there an SNMP MIB for DHCP?

There is no standard MIB; creating one is on the list of possible activities of the DHCP working
group. It is possible that some servers implement private MIBs.

What is DHCP Spoofing?


Ascend Pipeline ISDN routers (which attach Ethernets to ISDN lines) incorporate a feature that
Ascend calls "DHCP spoofing" which is essentially a tiny server implementation that hands an IP
address to a connecting Windows 95 computer, with the intention of giving it an IP number during
its connection process.

How long should a lease be?

I've asked sites about this and have heard answers ranging from 15 minutes to a year. Most
administrators will say it depends upon your goals, your site's usage patterns, and service
arrangements for your DHCP server.

A very relevant factor is that the client starts trying to renew the lease when it is halfway throug h:
thus, for example, with a 4 day lease, the client which has lost access to its DHCP server has 2 days
from when it first tries to renew the lease until the lease expires and the client must stop using the
network. During a 2-day outage, new users cannot get new leases, but no lease will expire for any
computer turned on at the time that the outage commences.

Another factor is that the longer the lease the longer time it takes for client configuration changes
controlled by DHCP to propogate.

Some relevant questions in deciding on a lease time:

Do you have more users than addresses?
If so, you want to keep the lease time short so people don't end up sitting on leases. Naturally,
there are degrees. In this situation, I've heard examples cited of 15 minutes, 2 hours, and 2 days.
Naturally, if you know you will have 20 users using 10 addresses in within a day, a 2 day lease is
not practical.
Are you supporting mobile users?
If so, you may be in the situation of having more users than addresses on some par ticular IP
number range. See above.
Do you have a typical or minimum amount of time that you are trying to support?
If your typical user is on for an hour at minimum, that suggest a hour lease at minimum.
How many clients do you have and how fast are the communications lines over which the DHCP
packets will be run?
The shorter the lease, the higher the server and network load. In general, a lease of at least 2 hours
is long enough that the load of even thousands of clients is negligible. For shorter lea ses, there may
be a point beyond which you will want to watch the load. Note that if you have a communication
line down for a long enough time for the leases to expire, you might see an unusually high load it
returns. If the lease-time is at least double the communication line outage, this is avoided.
How long would it take to bring back up the DHCP server, and to what extent can your users live
without it?
If the lease time is at least double the server outage, then running clients who already have lease s
will not lose them. If you have a good idea of your longest likely server outage, you can avoid such
problems. For example, if your server-coverage is likely to recover the server within three hours
at any time that clients are using their addresses, then a six hour lease will handle such an outage.


If you might have a server go down on Friday right after work and may need all Monday's work-
day to fix it, then your maximum outage time is 3 days and a 6-day lease will handle it.
Do you have users who want to tell other users about their IP number?
If your users are setting up their own web servers and telling people how to get to them either by
telling people the IP number or through a permanent DNS entry, then they are looking for an IP
number that won't be changing. While some sites would manually allocate any address that people
expected to remain stable, other sites want to use DHCP's ability to automate distribution of
relatively permanent addresses. The relevant time is the maximum amount of time tha t you wish
to allow the user to keep their machine turned off yet keep their address. For example, in a
university, if students might have their computers turned off for as long as three weeks between
semesters, and you wish them to keep their IP address, then a lease of six weeks or longer would
suffice.

Some examples of lease-times that sites have used & their rationales:

15 minutes
To keep the maximum number of addresses free for distribution in cases where there will be more
users than addresses.
6 hours
Long enough to allow the DHCP server to be fixed, e.g. 3 hours.
12 hours
If you need to take back an address, then you know that it will only take one night for the users'
lease to expire.
3 days
This is apparently Microsoft's default, thus many sites use it.
6 days
Long enough that a weekend server outage that gets fixed on Monday will not result in leases
terminating.
4 months
Long enough that students can keep their IP address over the summer hiatus. I believe this
rational is workable if the summer hiatus is no more than 2 months.
One year
If a user has not used their address in six months, then they are likely to be gone. Allowing
administrator to recover those addresses after someone has moved on.

How can I control which clients get leases from my server?

There is no ideal answer: you have to give something up or do some extra work.

o You can put all your clients on a subnet of your own along with your own DHCP server.
o You can use manual allocation.
o Perhaps you can find DHCP server software that allows you to list which MAC addresses
the server will accept. DHCP servers that support roaming machines may be adapted to
such use.


o You can use the user class option assuming your clients and server support it: it will
require you to configure each of your clients with a user class name. You still depend upon
the other clients to respect your wishes.

How can I prevent unauthorized laptops from using a network that uses
DHCP for dynamic addressing?

This would have to be done using a mechanism other than DHCP. DHCP does not prevent other
clients from using the addresses it is set to hand out nor can it distinguish between a computer's
permanent MAC address and one set by the computer's user. DHCP can impose no restrictions on
what IP address can use a particular port nor control the IP address used by any client.

What are the Gotcha's?
o A malicious user could make trouble by putting up an unofficial DHCP server.
 The immediate problem would be a server passing out numbers already belonging
to some computer yielding the potential for two or more "innocent bystander"
nodes ending up with the same IP number. Net result is problems using the nodes,
possibly intermittent of one or the other is sometimes turned off.
 A lot of problems are possible if a renegade server manages to get a client to accept
its lease offering, and feeds the client its own version of other booting parameters.
One scenario is a client that loads its OS over the network via tftp being directed to a
different file (possibly on a different server), thus allowing the perpetrator to take
over the client. Given that boot parameters are often made to control many different
things about the computers' operation and communication, many other scenarios
are just as serious.

Note that BOOTP has the same vulnerabilities.

o The "broadcast flag": DHCP includes a way in which client implementations unable to
receive a packet with a specific IP address can ask the server or relay agent to use the
broadcast IP address in the replies (a "flag" set by the client in the requests). The definition
of DHCP states that implementations "should" honor this flag, but it doesn't say they
"must". Some Microsoft TCP/IP implementations used this flag, which meant in practical
terms, relay agents and servers had to implement it. A number of BOOTP-relay-agent
implementations (e.g. in routers) handled DHCP just fine except for the need for this
feature, thus they announced new versions stated to handle DHCP.
o Some of the virtual LAN schemes, i.e., those that use the packet's IP number to decide which
"virtual LAN" a client-computer is on for the purposes of TCP/IP, don't work when using
DHCP to dynamically assign addresses. DHCP servers and relay agents use their knowledge
of what LAN the client-station is on to select the subnet number for the client-station's new
IP address whereas such switches use the subnet number sent by the client-station to
decide which (virtual) LAN to put the station on.
o Routers are sometimes configured so that one LAN on one port has multiple network (or
subnet) numbers. When the router is relaying requests from such a LAN to the DHCP


server, it must pass along as IP number that is associated with one of the network (or
subnet) numbers. The only way the DHCP server can allocate addresses on one of the LAN's
other network (or subnet) numbers is if the DHCP server is specifically written to have a
feature to handle such cases, and it has a configuration describing the situation.
o The knowledge that a particular IP number is associated with a particular node is often
used for various functions. Examples are: for security purposes, for network management,
and even for identifying resources. Furthermore, if the DNS's names are going to identify IP
numbers, the numbers, the IP numbers have to be stable. Dynamic configuration of the IP
numbers undercuts such methods. For this reason, some sites try to keep the continued use
of dynamically allocatable IP numbers to a minimum.
o With two or more servers serving a LAN, clients that are moved around (e.g. mobile clients)
can end up with redundant leases. Consider a home site with two DHCP servers, a remote
site with DHCP services, and a mobile client. The client first connects to the home site and
receives an address from one of the two serves. He/she then travels to the remote site
(without releasing the lease at the home site) and attempts to use the acquired address. It
is of course NAK'ed and the client receives an address appropriate for the remote site. The
client then returns home and tries to use the address from the remote site. It is NAK'ed but
now the client broadcasts a DHCPDISCOVER to get a address. The server that holds the
previous lease will offer the address back to the client but there is no guarantee that the
client will accept that address; consequently, it is possible for the client to acquire an
address on the other server and therefore have two leases within the site. The problem can
be solved by using only one server per subnet/site and can be mitigated by short lease
lengths. But in a very mobile environment, it is possible for these transient clients to
consume more than their fair share of addresses.
o If departments, offices, or individuals run DHCP servers with their own small address pools
on LANs shared by other departments, offices, or individuals, they can find that their
addresses are being used by anyone on the LAN that happens to set their IP configuration
to use DHCP.
o An easy mistake to make in setting up a DHCP server is to fail to set all the necessary global
parameters. This can result in some functions working while others are not, or functions
working when the client is set up manually, but failing to work when set to use DHCP.
o Long leases can be disadvantageous in cases where you need to change a configuration
parameter or withdraw an address from use. The length of the lease can mean the
difference between having to go to every affected client and rebooting it, or merely waiting
a certain amount of time for the leases to be renewed. (Note: one workaround is to foo l
with the client computer's clock).

Q &A
1. What features or restrictions can a DHCP server have?


While the DHCP server protocol is designed to support dynamic management of IP addresses,
there is nothing to stop someone from implementing a server that uses the DHCP protocol, but
does not provide that kind of support. In particular, the maintainer of a BOOTP server -
implementation might find it helpful to enhance their BOOTP server to allow DHCP clients that
cannot speak "BOOTP" to retrieve statically defined addresses via DHCP. The following
terminology has become common to describe three kinds of IP address allocation/management.
These are independent "features": a particular server can offer or not offer any of them:

o Manual allocation: the server's administrator creates a configuration for the server that
includes the MAC address and IP address of each DHCP client that will be able to get an
address: functionally equivalent to BOOTP though the protocol is incompatible.
o Automatic allocation: the server's administrator creates a configuration for the server that
includes only IP addresses, which it gives out to clients. An IP address, once associated with
a MAC address, is permanently associated with it until the server's administrator
intervenes.
o Dynamic allocation: like automatic allocation except that the server will track leases and
give IP addresses whose lease has expired to other DHCP clients.

Other features which a DHCP server may or may not have:

o Support for BOOTP clients.
o Support for the broadcast bit.
o Administrator-settable lease times.
o Administrator-settable lease times on manually allocated addresses.
o Ability to limit what MAC addresses will be served with dynamic addresses.
o Allows administrator to configure additional DHCP option-types.
o Interaction with a DNS server. Note that there are a number of interactions that one might
support and that a standard set & method is in the works.
o Interaction with some other type of name server, e.g. NIS.
o Allows manual allocation of two or more alternative IP numbers to a single MAC address,
whose use depends upon the gateway address through which the request is relayed.
o Ability to define the pool/pools of addresses that can be allocated dynamically. This is
pretty obvious, though someone might have a server that forces the pool to be a whole
subnet or network. Ideally, the server does not force such a pool to consist of contiguous IP
addresses.
o Ability to associate two or more dynamic address pools on separate IP networks (or
subnets) with a single gateway address. This is the basic support for "secondary nets", e.g. a
router that is acting as a BOOTP relay for an interface which has addresses for more than
one IP network or subnet.
o Ability to configure groups of clients based upon client-supplied user and/or vendor class.
Note: this is a feature that might be used to assign different client-groups on the same
physical LAN to different logical subnets.
o Administrator-settable T1/T2 lengths.
o Interaction with another DHCP server. Note that there are a number of interactions that
one might support and that a standard set & method is in the works.
o Use of PING (ICMP Echo Request) to check an address prior to dynamically allocating it.


o Server grace period on lease times.
o Ability to force client(s) to get a new address rather than renew.

Following are some features related not to the functions that the server is capable of carrying out,
but to the way that it is administered.

o Ability to import files listing manually allocated addresses (as opposed to a system which
requires you to type the entire configuration into its own input utility). Even better is the
ability to make the server do this via a command that can be used in a script, rdist, rsh, etc.
o Graphical administration.
o Central administration of multiple servers.
o Ability to import data in the format of legacy configurations, e.g. /etc/bootptab as used by
the CMU BOOTP daemon.
o Ability to make changes while the server is running and leases are being tracked, i.e. add or
take away addressees from a pool, modify parameters.
o Ability to make global modifications to parameters, i.e., that apply to all entries; or ability to
make modifications to groups of ports or pools.
o Maintenance of a lease audit trail, i.e. a log of the leases granted.

2. What freeware DHCP servers are available?

(This is not necessarily a complete list)

950415 Bootp server:
Bootp 2.4.3 (not DHCP, but with the "DHCP patches" mentioned
below, can handle DHCP requests)
ftp://ftp.mc.com/pub/bootp-2.4.3.tar.Z
950425 Bootp server version 2.4.3 with "samba" DHCP patches
(does manual allocation of IP addresses)
http://www.sghms.ac.uk/~mpreston/bootp_dhcp.tar.Z
(within http://www.sghms.ac.uk/~mpreston/tools.htm)
950706 "samba" DHCP patches for bootp server:
(does manual allocation of IP addresses)
ftp://nimbus.anu.edu.au:/pub/tridge/samba/contributed/DHCP.patch
(note: I've heard that the patched server will crash if it receives
one particular optional packet, the DHCP Release packet)
950711 Patched bootp server supporting DHCP-based "automatic" allocation:
(gives addresses dynamically, but never takes them away)
ftp://ftp.ntplx.net/pub/networking/bootp/bootp-DD2.4.3.tar.gz
951219 BOOTP server and patches for DHCP
ftp://africa.geomic.uni-oldenburg.de/pub/people/joey/dhcp/bootpd/
960112 OS/2 port of BOOTP server with patches for manual DHCP support
ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/comp/os/os2/tcpip/systools/bootpd-243-dhcp.zip
960130 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology "Mondo-DB" LAN administration
project: modified DHCP server planned
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~allard/Mondo-DB/index.html
950630 WIDE Project:
mailto:tomy@sfc.wide.ad.jp
WIDE Project


Keio Univ.
Japan
ftp://sh.wide.ad.jp/WIDE/free-ware/dhcp/dhcp-1.2.1.tar.gz
Check Archie for dhcp-1.2.1 because lots of sites distribute it.
Beta version:
ftp://sh.wide.ad.jp/WIDE/free-ware/dhcp/dhcp-1.3beta.tar.gz
960312 Carnegie Mellon University DHCP/BOOTP server (SunOS, dhcp-3.3.7)
ftp://ftp.net.cmu.edu/pub/dhcp/dhcp-3.3.7.tar.gz
961104 Princeton patches to CMU dhcpd 3.7.7.
http://www.princeton.edu/~irwin/dhcpd.html
971204 Internet Software Consortium (ISC) DHCP/BOOTP Server
http://www.isc.org/dhcp.html

3. What commercial DHCP servers are available?


951010 Wollongong: included in next release of PathWay for OpenVMS which is in
beta
951219 Puzzle Systems: WEBserv (NLM(s) that do DHCP, BOOTP, HTTP, and FTP)
mailto:info@puzzle.com
http://www.puzzle.com/
951220 Process Software: server for OpenVMS included in TCPware for OpenVMS
http://www.process.com/
960130 Digital: RoamAbout Mobile IP Client/Server Network Software V2.0
http://www.digital.com/info/Customer-Update/940620001.txt.html
960312 Nevod Inc. Proxy IP/DHCP Server (PIP) Beta-1.0
http://www.nevod.com/pip/index.html
960327 Xedia: IP/Assist 1.0 feature for their switches includes DHCP service.
http://www.xedia.com/
960420 Competitive Automation's JOIN (415-321-4006): SunOS4.x, Solaris2.x,
Digital Unix 3.2, 4.x, HP-UX 9 & 10 DHCP/BOOTP servers.
http://www.join.com/
960514 SunSoft: Solstice SolarNet PC-Admin 1.5 includes a DHCP/BOOTP server.
http://www.sun.com/solstice/Networking-products/PC-Admin.html
960514 Microsoft: DHCP server included in Windows NT Server 3.51
http://www.microsoft.com/NTServer/
http://www.microsoft.com/BackOffice/techbriefs/tech1000.htm
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-docs/papers/tcpipimp.doc
960514 ON Technology: IPTrack 1.0 is a Novell Server-based DHCP/BOOTP server (NLM)
http://www.on.com/on/onprods/iptrack.html/
960514 FTP Software: OnNet Server 2.0 (Services OnNet Product)
http://www.ftp.com/mkt_info/services.html
960531 Cisco: server in development.
http://www.cisco.com/
960620 Farallon: a DHCP server is built into its Netopia Internet Router
http://www.farallon.com/
960716 Weird Solutions: BOOTP Server NT supports both BOOTP and statically
allocated DHCP.
http://www.mhi.se/
960808 Novell: NetWare/IP 2.2 (free upgrade to NetWare servers)
includes a DHCP/BOOTP server; unlike NetWare/IP 2.2 itself, this
server will run on NetWare 3.12.
ftp://ftp.novell.com/updates/unixconn/nwip22/nip22b.exe
http://netware.novell.com/discover/nwip/index.htm


960809 Silicon Graphics: 'proclaim' software for SGI workstations; part
of IRIXpro.
http://www.sgi.com/Products/hardware/challenge/IRIXpro/IRIXpro.html
http://www.sgi.com/Products/hardware/challenge/IRIXpro/IRIXprospecs.html
960829 Isotro: NetID DHCP Server (BOOTP/DHCP server)
(No longer available from Isotro)
960912 Cisco: (announced) DHCP/BOOTP server for Solaris, HP-UX, and
AIX, Windows NT (Alpha & Intel) included in Cisco's DNS/DHCP
Manager V1.0 and Cisco's Server Suite 1000 V1.0
960917 SunSoft: (future) DHCP/BOOTP server to be bundled with Solaris 2.6
or as hte "Internet Server Supplement" to Solaris 2.5.1.
http://www.sun.com/
961118 Network TeleSystems: Shadow (PC-based) also does BOOTP
http://www.nts.com/NTS/shadow.html
961217 Hewlett-Packard: HP-UX 10.10 and subsequent versions include a bootp
server with DHCP extensions.
970325 American Internet Corp: Net Registrar (for Windows NT and Solaris)
http://www.american.com/
970403 Microsoft: BOOTP/DHCP server in NT 4.0 SP2.
http://www.microsoft.com/kb/articles/q161/5/71.htm
970415 VICOM: VICOM DHCP Server (runs on Macintosh/MacOS)
http://www.vicomtech.com/dhcp.main.html
970415 Sonic Systems: Sonic DHCP Internet Server runs on Macintosh/MacOS,
also does BOOTP
http://www.sonicsys.com/dhcp.html
970805 Process Software: MultiNet 3.5 for OpenVMS includes DHCP/BOOTP server.
http://www.process.com/multinet/
971217 Quadritek Systems, Inc.: QDHCP (NT or UNIX), also does BOOTP
http://www.quadritek.com/products/qipdhcpserv.html
980518 Billiter Consultants: ipLease DHCP server (32bit Windows)
http://www.billiter.com/
980331 Deerfield Communications: DHCP server included in Wingate
Pro (2.1b) "proxy server"
http://www.wingate.net/
980603 IBM OS/400 Version 3 Release 7 and subsequent versions includes
a DHCP/BOOTP server.
http://www.as400.ibm.com/
980611 Bay (Xylogics) Remote Annex (RA) and Remote Access Concentrator
(RAC) communication servers have proxy DHCP client since release
13.2, December 1995.
http://www.baynetworks.com/
980612 IBM: DHCP server included in AIX 4.1.4 and beyond. Includes
BOOTP service.
http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/
980612 IBM: TCP/IP Version 4.1 for OS/2 Warp includes DHCP, BOOTP and
DDNS and java-based administration.
http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp-server

4. What freeware DHCP clients are available?


960809 WIDE Project includes a client for BSD and SunOS systems:
mailto:tomy@sfc.wide.ad.jp


WIDE Project
Keio Univ.
Japan
ftp://sh.wide.ad.jp/WIDE/free-ware/dhcp/dhcp-1.2.1.tar.gz
Check Archie for dhcp-1.2.1 because lots of sites distribute it.
Beta version:
ftp://sh.wide.ad.jp/WIDE/free-ware/dhcp/dhcp-1.3beta.tar.gz
960904 Linux bootp client: bootpc; DHCP being added over time.
ftp://ftp.damtp.cam.ac.uk/pub/linux/bootpc/
970415 dhcpcd (for Linux 1.2.xx, 1.3.xx, 2.0.x)
ftp://ftp.kobe-u.ac.jp/pub/PC-UNIX/Linux/network/dhcp/
version 0.4a:
ftp://ftp.kobe-u.ac.jp/pub/PC-UNIX/Linux/network/dhcp/dhcpcd-0.4a.tar.gz
version 0.5:
ftp://ftp.kobe-u.ac.jp/pub/PC-UNIX/Linux/network/dhcp/dhcpcd-0.5.tar.gz
version 0.5-p1:
ftp://ftp.kobe-u.ac.jp/pub/PC-UNIX/Linux/network/dhcp/dhcpcd-0.5-p1.tar.gz
version 0.6:
ftp://ftp.kobe-u.ac.jp/pub/PC-UNIX/Linux/network/dhcp/dhcpcd-0.6.tar.gz
971204 Internet Software Consortium (ISC) DHCP/BOOTP Server
Distribution includes a client. See ISC server in section above
on "Freeware Servers".

5. Which vendors of client software currently support DHCP?


950417 Shiva: proxy client for remote users (in Lanrovers and Netmodems)
950425 Hewlett-Packard
950502 NetManage: Chameleon 4.5
950630 Beame & Whiteside Software: resells Dirk Koeppen EDV-Beratungs-GmbH's
TCP/IP BOOT-PROM
950705 Microsoft: MS-TCP/IP 3.11a & MS-TCP/IP 3.11b
950711 Microsoft: Windows NT 3.5
950711 Microsoft: Windows for Workgroups 3.11a
950711 Frontier Technologies(800-929-3054): in SuperTCP for Windows
http:www.frontiertech.com
info@frontiertech.com
950712 Beame & Whiteside(800-720-7151): BW-Connect NFS for DOS & Windows
950802 Wollongong: PathWay Access ver 3.2 (Windows)
http://www.twg.com/
950802 WRQ: Reflection Network Series products (version 5) for Windows
http://www.wrq.com/
950814 Competitive Automation(415-321-4006): SunOS4.x, Solaris2.x and
DECOSF3.x,4.x clients
950915 Stampede: included in Remote Office Gold
951113 Persoft(800-368-5283): TCP Addition and Portable TCP
http://www.persoft.com/
951207 Dirk Koeppen EDV-Beratungs-GmbH: TCP/IP DHCP Boot ROMs (TCP/IP
BOOT-PROM) www.dunkel.de/dksoft
951220 Attachmate: IRMA TCP Suite Version 3.1
960130 Digital: RoamAbout Mobile IP Client/Server Network Software V2.0
http://www.digital.com/info/Customer-Update/940620001.txt.html


960209 FTP Software: included in OnNet 2.0 (Windows)
http://www.ftp.com/
960209 FTP Software: PC/TCP 4.0 (DOS)
960312 Core Systems: Internet-Connect for Windows 95 Version 2.1 has DHCP
proxy client.
http://ns1.win.net/~core/Coresys/homepage.html
960313 Apple: Open Transport 1.1 included with System 7.5.3 & runs on
68030, 68040, and PowerPC Macintoshes.
960314 Apple: Open Transport 1.1 shrink wrap version will be offered.
960408 IBM: Client DHCP software for Windows 3.x.
960408 IBM: Client DHCP software for MS/PC-DOS.
960501 SunSoft: included in PC-NFS Pro 2.0 for Windows
960501 NetManage: included in ChameleonNFS 4.6
960503 FTP Software: included in OnNet32, Version 1.0 (Windows 95 and NT)
960514 Novell: Client32 for DOS/Windows 3.1 (beta) will use either DHCP
or BOOTP to get IP parameters.
960514 Novell: NetWare/IP for DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and
Windows NT uses DHCP to obtain IP parameters.
960514 Novell: NetWare/IP servers can use DHCP to auto-configure their
IP parameters.
960809 Silicon Graphics: included in IRIX since version 5.3.
http://www.sgi.com/Products/software/IRIX6.2/IRIX62DS.html
http://www.sgi.com/Products/hardware/challenge/IRIXpro/IRIXpro.html
960917 Sun: Solaris 2.6.
http://www.sun.com/
961118 Network TeleSystems TCP Pro 3.0 for Windows
http://www.nts.com/NTS/tcp_pro.html
970805 Cisco: DHCP & BOOTP for Windows 3.1 included in Cisco TCP/IP
Suite 100 for Windows (formerly MultiNet for Windows) V2.0
For Windows 95, uses the native support.
980331 Deerfield Communications: DHCP server included in Wingate
Pro (2.1b) "proxy server"
http://www.wingate.net/
980611 IBM: OS/2 WARP Version 4 (Merlin) has DHCP client capability in the
basic package.
http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp-client
980612 IBM's DOS/Windows LAN Services (for IBM PC-DOS, Microsoft
MS-DOS, and/or Microsoft Windows 3.x)
980612 IBM's line of NetworkStations are all DHCP clients (or BOOTP)
http://www.as400.ibm.com/networkstation/
980612 IBM: AIX 4.1.4 client and server packages include a DHCP client.
http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/

6. What are the DHCP plans of major client-software vendors?

Apple MacOS MacTCP's successor, Open Transport, supports DHCP. Open Transport 1.1 ships with
System 7.5 Update 2.0 (which updates MacOS to version 7.5.3, released March 11, 1996) and
supports any 68030, 68040, or PowerPC Macintosh. A shrink wrap version of Open Transport is
planned.
Microsoft Windows95
supports it and does not support BOOTP. I heard a rumor that BOOTP support will be added.


Novell LAN Workplace for DOS
For supporting DOS/Windows 3.1, Client32 for DOS/Windows, due in June 1996, will provide the
TCP/IP stack functions and will support DHCP and BOOTP. For Windows 95 and Windows NT, the
native stack will be used so that DHCP is supported.
IBM OS/2 Warp
supports it.

7. What Routers forward DHCP requests?

(This is not necessarily a complete list).

Note that in general, these routers probably already had BOOTP forwarding, but lacked the
support for the BOOTP broadcast flag (see "broadcast flag" under What are the Gotcha's? above). It
is likely that many other routers also support BOOTP forwarding.

Cisco (from Cisco FAQ) Routers running GSYS version 9.21(4) and 10.0(3) as well as later releases.
Wellfleet/Bay (from Wellfleet FAQ) DHCP is supported by enabling BOOTP support (with
transmission and/or reception as needed). Starting with version 9.00 of their routing software
BayRs.
3Com Netbuilder Version 7.2 software can support DHCP relaying through the use of its generic
UDP Helper service. Version 8.0 and later officially supports DHCP.
Xyplex Version 5.5 of their routing software supports DHCP.
ALANTEC
The switches' "router" function has have been handling BOOTP forwarding since around 1993.
Support for the broadcast flag introduced in a maintenance release of 2.5 of their software and is
in version 2.6 and later.
IBM 2210
I've confirmed that Version 1 Release 2 has a BOOTP relay agent. I haven't found out anything
about support for the broadcast flag.
ACC
Version 7.2 (about 1994) and later support DHCP relaying.
Proteon/Digital
I'm not sure what is the first version that has this support.
Novell MPR
The same as for their server.
IBM 6611
Supports BOOTP forwarding.

8. What Routers include DHCP servers?

DHCP requires disk storage (or some other form of reliable non-volatile storage), making the task
of DHCP service more compatible with servers than with dedicated routers. The large -scale
routers (i.e., those of Cisco, Bay, Fore) don't an will probably never will have a DHCP server
function.


But there are a number of types of servers that can be configured to route and serve DHCP. This
includes Novell servers and computers running Unix. There are also units designed to handle two
or more aspects of your Internet connection, e.g. routing between a LAN and a leased line as well
as doing other functions to allow computers on the LAN to reach the Internet (or corporate
intranet as the case may be). One example is Farallon's Netopia Internet Router mentioned above
under commercial servers.

9. What Routers use DHCP to configure their IP addresses?

The DHCP RFC specifically says that DHCP is not intended for use in configuring routers. The
reason is that in maintaining and troubleshooting routers, it is important to know its exact
configuration rather than leaving that to be automatically done, and also that you do not want
your router's operation to depend upon the working of yet another server.

It may be possible to configure some types of more general-purpose computers or servers to get
their addresses from DHCP and to act as routers. Also, there are remote access servers, often
which are usually not true routers, which use DHCP to acquire addresses to hand out to their
clients.

10. What Servers forward DHCP requests?
o Windows NT's 3.51 Service Pack 3 (and 4) includes a BOOTP (& DHCP) relay agent as part
of "Multi Protocol Router". 3.51).
o For Novell servers, there are NLMs that forward BOOTP requests, thus DHCP requests. The
"BOOTPFWD NLM" is included in NetWare 4.1. You can get this support in NetWare 3.11
and 3.12 also by applying the TCPN01.EXE patch which is located at
ftp://ftp.novell.com/updates/inet/mpr211/tcpn01.exe and on Netwire. Two other such
NLMs (possibly old versions of the same) that are available online:
 ftp://netlab2.usu.edu/misc/bootpfd.zip(unsupported Novell software, 1993)
 ftp://netlab2.usu.edu/misc/bootp311.zip(unsupported Novell software, 1991)
o Also for Novell servers, the DHCP server that comes with NetWare/IP 2.2 can be configured
to be just a BOOTP/DHCP forwarding agent.
o AIX, through its dhcprd daemon.
o Warp Server Version 4.

11. Which implementations support or require the broadcast flag?

The broadcast flag is an optional element of DHCP, but a client which sets it works only with a
server or relay that supports it.

o Clients

Microsoft Windows NT


DHCP client support added with version 3.5 sets the broadcast flag. Version 3.51 and later no
longer set it. The exception is in the remote access support: it sets the flag when it uses DHCP to
acquire addresses to hand out to its PPP clients.
tcp/ip-32 for Microsoft Windows for Workgroups (WFW)
Version 3.11a sets it, but version 3.11B doesn't.
Microsoft Windows 95
Does not set the broadcast flag.

12. What servers support secondary subnet numbers?

(These are not complete lists) The following servers can handle dynamic allocation on secondary
subnet numbers:

o IPTrack version 2.0
o ISC
o JOIN
o SGI's DHCP Server under IRIX 6.2
o Cisco (previously TGV)
o NetID
o Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 (since service pack 2)
o Sonic
o QDHCP
o ipLease
o IBM Warp Server Version 4
o IBM AIX

The following can serve manually allocated addresses on secondary subnet numbers:

o IPTrack version 2.0
o ISC
o JOIN
o QDHCP

The following cannot support secondary subnet numbers:

o Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0 (through RC1)
o WIDE
o Sonic DHCP Server

13. What servers support RFC-based dynamic DNS update?

The following DHCP servers include the ability to make use of the RFC 2136/2137 DNS feature to
make dynamic updates to the DNS. To make use of this ability, you need a DNS server that
supports this feature. A likely use is to create temporary DNS records that associate a fully


qualified DNS name derived from the client's netbios name with the client's leased IP number.
Another use might be to associate DNS names with MAC addresses. These pr oducts might support
one or both of these uses.

o American Internet Corp Net Registrar
o QDHCP
o IBM's Warp Server (version 4 and after)
o IBM's AIX server (version 4.1 and after)

14. How can I run Windows 95 without a DHCP server?

Not really a DHCP question, but it has been asked a lot, particularly by sites for which changing
from BOOTP represents a lot of work. Some choices:

o Use no server at all for the Windows 95 clients: set the addresses in each client's setup.
o Install a non-Microsoft TCP/IP stack for Windows 95 that supports BOOTP.
o Switch from your current BOOTP server to one that supports both BOOTP and DHCP.
o The 'billgPC' program uses BOOTP (instead of DHCP) to configure Windows 95's native IP
stack: http://www.panix.com/~perin/ (note: it also works with Windows NT).

A Document that addresses this question is the Windows 95tm Networking FAQ, http://www-
leland.stanford.edu/~llurch/win95netbugs/faq.html

15. Do any servers limit the MAC addresses that may roam?
o IBM's AIX and OS/2 WARP DHCP servers.
o ISC.

16. What analyzers decode DHCP?
o Release 5.0 of Network General Corporation's Sniffer software.
o I believe one of the free Unix implementations has included in its distribution a program
that captures and decodes BOOTP and DHCP negotiations.
o Microsoft's SMS includes a protocol analyzer called "Network Monitor" that decodes DHCP.
All NT software includes a remote agent for it.
o NetXRay, software that runs under Windows NT adn 95.
http://ngcwebgate.ngc.com/product_info/netxray/netxray.html
o PacketView (LAN), SerialView (PPP and SLIP), and ISDNView (PPP over ISDN) all are DOS
programs that fully decode DHCP packets. href="http://www.klos.com/
o


17. What administration tools administer DHCP configurations?
o Quadritek's QIP network administration product includes an interface to Competitive
Automation's JOIN DHCP server and IBM's DHCP server and their own server.

18. How do I make a client give up its lease?

This is a general question, but the answer is of necessity specific to the client-implementation.
Naturally, one way to avoid the problem is to keep leases short enough that you are not obliged to
do this.

o One method mentioned is to temporarily change the clock on the client.
o For a Win95 client, the winipcfg.exe program can do it.

19. What are the Gotcha's specific to various implementations?

In many cases, new releases have solved the problems that have been identified with various
DHCP implementations.

o An extra server feature is required to handle the allocation of addresses on the secondary
IP addresses associated with a router port. You may find out after the fact that you have
such secondary addresses
o There have been servers that are inflexible as to the list of configuration parameters they
were able to serve. If your client requires certain parameters, you could find such a server
unusable.
o I hate to cast wide suspicions, but I've heard occasional word on client DHCP
implementations that do not implement the entire protocol. Doing so requires that the
software module be able to wake up again after a specified period of time and "renew the
lease", i.e., ask to continue using the IP number. This is at least one feature of DHCP that is
very hard to implement in some simpler systems.
o A specific complaint about Microsoft's Windows 95 dhcp client: it times out its requests
much more quickly than the times specified by RFC1541 section 4.1. Among the
circumstances that can turn this into a practical problem are the latencies due to relay
agents and a server's use of ICMP echo to doublecheck the address. While it works with
Microsoft's own NT-based server, the problem prevents interoperation with some other
DHCP servers under some conditions. Microsoft is rumored to have developed an updater
named VDHCPUPD.EXE to patch this problem, once available through the following patch:
o File: Vdhcp.386
o File Last Modified Date: 02/12/96
o File Size: 27,985 bytes
o File Version Information: 4.00.951


It consists of 2 files, vdhcpupd.exe and vdhcpupd.txt. I've since been told that a newer
version is 4.00.954. I've also been told that the exe file is on the net at
http://www.halcyon.com/cerelli/software/vdhcpupd.exe

o There are a number of issues regarding the patched bootp servers. These have been
reported to re DD2.4.3:
 'When run from inetd, I had problems with "Could not bind port" and DHCP request
failure. I don't know why, and the problem went away when bootpd is run as a
daemon.'
 'Unless you set "dl" to some value in the bootptab file, the DHCP lease time, renewal
time and prebinding time will be rubbish, which will cause occasional renewal
problems.' One symptom you might see is Microsoft DHCP implementations using 5-
minute leases, which is their default. Other implementations may not run at all.
o Early Microsoft DHCP client implementations required the broadcast bit. Current ones do
not.
o I have heard a vague complaint about the Microsoft implementations of DHCP: that it does
not follow the standards. I could use details.
o Early Apple Open Transport implementations did not always fill out packets to BOOTP's
300-byte minimum, thus BOOTP forwarding agents that follow the BOOTP RFC and discard
such packets end up discarding such DHCP packets, causing some of the functions to fail.
Open Transport 1.1 fixes this.
o Pre 1.1 versions of Open Transport experienced interoperability problems with the
Microsoft NT DHCP server.
o The very first announced release of Carnegie Mellon's server, dhcp-3.3.6, circa March 1996
has shown signs of needing to be shaken out to be more easily compiled outside of its
development environment.
o Windows NT server v3.51 allows the administrator to specify addresses within its
assignment range to be excluded, but does not always exclude them.
o Report: Novell's Netware IP 2.2 server refuses to hand out dynamic bootp assignments to
hosts mentioned in the local /etc/hosts file, even if configured to do so.
o I've heard a report that some combinations of versions of Unix & the ISC server will
transmit packets to the subnet broadcast address rather than the default broadcast address
(255.255.255.255), which impedes interoperability with some clients.
o Windows 95 DHCP client answers pings from an IP address even after the client's lease has
expired. Thus a server that uses ping to check to see that an IP number is unused before
reassigning it may find that it is still in use.
o Windows 95 DHCP client cannot handle a lease renewal offered by a different server.
o Some clients have no way to configure a class option, which can be a showstopper if you
need to use the class option to help decide what pool of addresses the client uses.
o I've heard reports that Windows 95, or at least some versions will use an address after the
lease has expired under some circumstances, even when renewal requests have been
turned down. With properly behaving clients, an IP administrator can safely make the
following statement: "As long as all the clients are set to get their addresses through DHCP,
I can tell which addresses are not being used by the clients simply by checking the server to
see which IP addresses have no outstanding leases." The reports suggest that Windows 95
implementations won't allow this statement to be assumed.


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