DHCP Options

Novell DNS/DHCP Services supports vendor options, DHCP options, and BOOTP parameters as defined in Internet RFC 2132 with a few exceptions. Novell DNS/DHCP Services supports new options defined for NetWare over TCP/IP and existing NetWare/IP options.

NOTE:  The following options are not supported in this release of Novell DNS/DHCP Services: 56, 57, 60, 66, and 67. Although options 66 and 67 are not supported, the equivalent BOOTP parameter function is provided.


Assigning Options

DHCP and BOOTP options can be assigned at three levels:

The DHCP server's options inheritance rules specify that options assigned at the lowest level override options set at a higher level. For example, options have been assigned at all three levels for the client on the subnet, as shown in Table 4, Example of DHCP Options Assignment.


Table 4. Example of DHCP Options Assignment

Level Option Value

Global

1, Subnet Mask

255.255.0.0

 

3, Router

132.57.3.8

 

4, Time Server

129.23.120.5

Subnet

1, Subnet Mask

255.254.0.0

 

5, Name Server

10.73.57.251

 

7, Log Server

10.73.58.2

 

13, Boot File Size

1024

IP Address

7, Log Server

Null

 

13, Boot File Size

256

Table 5 lists the effective options for the client with the IP address referred to in the preceding table.


Table 5. Client's Effective Options

Option

Value

1, Subnet Mask

255.254.0.0

3, Router

132.57.3.8

4, Time Server

129.23.120.5

5, Name Server

10.73.57.251

7, Log Server

Null

13, Boot File Size

256

DHCP Options for NDS

Novell has defined three DHCP options for NDS. Using these options eliminates the need for users to provide this information each time they log in.

Option 85 provides the IP address of one or more NDS servers for the client to contact for access to the NDS database. Option 86 provides the name of the NDS tree the client will be contacting. Option 87 provides the NDS context the client should use.

Refer to Internet RFC 2241, DHCP Options for Novell Directory Services, for more detailed information about using these options in NetWare 5.


NetWare/IP Options

Novell uses option codes 62 and 63 in the DHCP packet for Netware/IP. Option 62 contains the Netware/IP domain name.

Option 63 is the IPX Compatibility option and contains general configuration information such as the primary DSS, preferred DSS, and the nearest servers. Option 63 provides additional information in the form of sub-options, listed in Table 6, IPX Compatibility Sub-Options.


Table 6. IPX Compatibility Sub-Options

Sub-Option Codes Meaning

5

If the value of this field is 1, the client should perform a NetWare Nearest Server Query to find out its nearest NetWare/IP server.

6

Provides a list of up to five addresses of NetWare Domain SAP/RIP servers.

7

Provides a list of up to five addresses of the Nearest NetWare/IP servers.

8

Indicates the number of times a NetWare/IP client should attempt to communicate with a given DSS server at start-up.

9

Indicates the amount of delay in seconds between each NetWare/IP client attempt to communicate with a given DSS server at start-up.

10

If the value is 1, the NetWare/IP client should support NetWare/IP Version 1.1 compatibility.

11

Identifies the Primary Domain SAP/RIP Service server (DSS) for this NetWare/IP domain.

12

Identifies network number of the virtual IPX network created by the IPX Compatibility feature.

13

The IPX Stale Time suboption specifies the minimum interval in minutes that must expire before hosts try to refresh their Migration Agent addressing information.

14

Specifies the addresses of one or more Migration Agent servers for the IP nodes to use for communicating with IPX Nodes.

Refer to Internet RFC 2242, NetWare/IP Domain Name and Information, for more detailed information about using these Netware/IP options.



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