1.3 DHCP

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) uses a client/server structure to provide configuration parameters to hosts. DHCP consists of a protocol for providing host-specific configuration parameters from a DHCP server (or collection of DHCP servers) to a host and a mechanism to allocate network addresses to a host.

NOTE:In this document, the term host represents a client in the network with statically assigned IP address. It is identified by a host name.

When the DHCP server is loaded, it reads its configuration information from eDirectory and stores the information in its cache. When the DHCP server assigns IP addresses to clients, it updates the dhcpd.leases file with the addresses allocated.The network administrator can view the entries in the dhcpd.leases file to see how the IP addresses have been allocated.

For more information, see:

DHCP provides for both static and dynamic configuration of IP clients. Static configuration enables you to assign a specific IP address and configuration to a client with a specific machine or MAC address. When DHCP assigns IP addresses dynamically, IP clients are assigned an IP address that is chosen from a range of available addresses. You can use dynamic address assignments when you are not concerned about which IP address a particular client uses. Each IP client that requests an address assignment can also use the other DHCP configuration parameters.

DHCP can limit the amount of time a DHCP client can use an IP address. This is known as the lease time. You can use the lease time to allow a large number of clients to use a limited number of IP addresses.

DHCP is based on BOOTP and maintains some backward compatibility. Novell DHCP servers can be configured to respond to requests from BOOTP clients.

For more information, see:

1.3.1 DHCP and BOOTP

Similarities and Differences

DHCP is based on the Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) and maintains some backward compatibility. BOOTP was designed for manual configuration of the host information in a server database. Novell has extended support for BOOTP to provide Dynamic BOOTP support. A pool of addresses can be set up for BOOTP address assignment so that each BOOTP address does not need to be configured separately.

From the clients’ point of view, DHCP is an extension of BOOTP, enabling existing BOOTP clients to interoperate with DHCP servers without requiring any change to the client initialization software. Some new, additional options optimize DHCP client-server interaction.

There are two primary differences between BOOTP and DHCP. DHCP defines methods through which clients receive IP addresses for a specified period of time, enabling serial reassignment of addresses to different clients. There is no concept of a lease time in BOOTP; address assignments (even in Dynamic BOOTP) are permanent. In addition, DHCP provides a method for a client to acquire all of the IP configuration parameters it requires to operate.

If multiple servers service a single subnet, only the principal server can be designated as an automatic BOOTP server.

Another difference between the two protocols is a change in terminology to clarify the meaning of the Vendor Extension field in BOOTP messages. With DHCP, this field is called the Option field.

Using a BOOTP Relay Agent

A BOOTP relay agent (also known as a forwarder) is an Internet host that passes DHCP messages between DHCP clients and DHCP servers in a subnet environment. The forwarder usually resides on an IP router; however, any Novell server on a subnet can run the bootpfwd. The DHCP service in Novell DNS/DHCP Services provides relay agent functions as specified in the BOOTP protocol specification (Internet RFC 951).

When a client starts, it sends a UDP broadcast message, called a Discover packet, to address 0xFFFFFFFF over port 67 requesting an address.

The forwarder has an IP address on the network and acts like a DHCP server, listening for Discover packets from clients on its LAN that are meant for a DHCP server. The forwarder must be configured with the destination address of the actual DHCP server on a different LAN segment that will provide DHCP service.

The DHCP server must be configured to serve the subnet on which the forwarder is located. The DHCP server must have a subnet address range to provide service.

After receiving a Discover packet from a client, the forwarder reformats the packet and sends it to the DHCP server. The DHCP server responds to the forwarder with an Offer packet containing an address for the client.

When the forwarder receives the Offer packet from the DHCP server, the forwarder contacts the client and provides the IP address and lease information.

1.3.2 IP Address Allocation

Allocation of IP addresses, either temporary or permanent, is one of the two primary services provided by DHCP. The client requests an IP address, and the DHCP server (or collection of DHCP servers) provides an address and guarantees not to give that address to another client within a specified time. Additionally, the server tries to return the same address to the client each time the client requests an address. The period of time over which an IP address is allocated to a client is called a lease.

DHCP supports three methods of IP address allocation:

A network can use one or more of these methods. The network administrator decides which methods to use.

Dynamic BOOTP Allocation

Dynamic BOOTP enables a DHCP server to assign permanent addresses to BOOTP clients from a pool of addresses. No manual configuration of the client is required prior to address allocation.

Dynamic DHCP Allocation

Dynamic DHCP allocation is the only method enabling automatic reuse of addresses no longer required by a client. Dynamic DHCP allocation is useful for assigning an address to a client that is connected temporarily to the network or for sharing a limited number of IP addresses among a group of clients that do not require permanently assigned IP addresses.

Dynamic DHCP allocation is also useful for assigning an IP address to a new client installed on a network on which IP addresses are scarce and must be reclaimed when older hosts are removed. An additional benefit of dynamic DHCP allocation is that when a client’s lease is renewed, the DHCP server refreshes the client’s configuration.

Manual Allocation

Manual or static allocation is used to assign addresses to DHCP or BOOTP clients. A specific IP address is assigned to the client based on an identifier such as the client’s identifier or MAC address.

Manual allocation of DHCP eliminates the error-prone method of manually configuring hosts with IP addresses in networks for which IP address management without DHCP is desired. Manual allocation can be permanent or set to expire at a future time. When you manually allocate addresses, you can also create corresponding DNS Resource Records, thereby eliminating another error-prone activity.

Lease Options

A client acquires a lease for a fixed period of time. The length of the lease can be a number of hours or days, or it can be for an indefinite period.

After a lease for an IP address has been granted, a client can issue a request to extend its lease. The client can also issue a message to the server to release the address back to the server when the address is no longer required.

If a network has a limited number of IP addresses and must reassign them, the DHCP server reassigns an address when the lease has expired. The server uses configuration information to choose addresses to reuse. For example, the server might choose the least recently assigned address for reassignment. After receiving an address assignment, the host determines whether the address is in use by another host before accepting the address.

To minimize the chance of address duplication, the DHCP server can be configured to ping an address to test its validity before assigning it to a host. If the server receives a response from another device (indicating ownership of the address), the current address assignment is withdrawn so that another address can be assigned to the host.

1.3.3 Virtual LAN Environments

In environments using a virtual LAN (VLAN), multiple subnets might be defined on one physical subnet. For example, one physical subnet might contain several Class C addresses to form a larger address range than allowed for a Class C address. To accommodate a VLAN environment, a shared network object must be configured on the DHCP server to bind the multiple subnets together.

If a forwarder forwards client requests from a physical subnet with multiple subnet bindings and these subnets are bound to a single shared network, the collection of addresses available in configured subnet address ranges is available to all clients (DHCP or BOOTP) on that physical subnet. This is the primary use of the shared network object.

Clients that are on the same subnet as the DHCP server do not need to be configured for the shared network if the server is bound to all local subnet addresses, or if the server has an address on each local subnet.