Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is an IP standard designed to reduce thecomplexity of administering IP address configurations." - Microsoft's definition. A DHCPserver would be set up with the appropriate settings for a given network. Such settingswould include a set of fundamental parameters such as the gateway, DNS, subnet masks,and a range of IP addresses. Using DHCP on a network means administrators don't needto configure these settings individually for each client on the network. The DHCP wouldautomatically distribute them to the clients itself.The DHCP server assigns a client an IP address taken from a predefined scope for a givenamount of time. If an IP address is required for longer than the lease has been set for, theclient must request an extension before the lease expires. If the client has not requested anextension on the lease time, the IP address will be considered free and can be assigned toanother client. If the user wishes to change IP address then they can do so by typing"ipconfig /release", followed by "ipconfig /renew" in the command prompt. This willremove the current IP address and request a new one. Reservations can be defined on theDHCP server to allow certain clients to have their own IP address (this will be discusseda little later on). Addresses can be reserved for a MAC address or a host name so theseclients will have a fixed IP address that is configured automatically. Most Internet ServiceProviders use DHCP to assign new IP addresses to client computers when a customer connects to the internet - this simplifies things at user level.The above diagram displays a simple structure consisting of a DHCP server and a number of client computers on a network.The DHCP Server itself contains an IP Address Database which holds all the IP addressesavailable for distribution. If the client (a member of the network with a Windows 2000Professional/XP operating system, for example) has "obtain an IP address automatically"enabled in TCP/IP settings, then it is able to receive an IP address from the DHCP server.
Setting up a DHCP Server
This will serve as a step-by-step guide on how to setup a DHCP server.Installing the DHCP server is made quite easy in Windows 2003. By using the "Manageyour server" wizard, you are able to enter the details you require and have the wizard setthe basics for you. Open to "Manage your server" wizard, select the DHCP server optionfor the list of server roles and press Next.
You will be asked to enter the name and description of your scope.Scope: A scope is a collection of IP addresses for computers on a subnet that use DHCP.The next window will ask you to define the range of addresses that the scope willdistribute across the network and the subnet mask for the IP address. Enter theappropriate details and click next.
You are shown a window in which you must add any exclusions to the range of IPaddresses you specified in the previous window. If for example, the IP address 10.0.0.150is that of the company router then you won't want the DHCP server to be able todistribute that address as well. In this example I have excluded a range of IP addresses,10.0.0.100 to 10.0.0.110, and a single address, 10.0.0.150. In this case, eleven IP's will bereserved and not distributed amongst the network clients.
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Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
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| Upload Date: | 01/28/2009 |
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