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Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network service that enables host computers to be automatically assigned settings from a server as opposed to manually configuring each network host. Computers configured to be DHCP clients have no control over the settings they receive from the DHCP server, and the configuration is transparent to the computer's user.

The most common settings provided by a DHCP server to DHCP clients include:

  • IP address and netmask

  • IP address of the default-gateway to use

  • IP adresses of the DNS servers to use

However, a DHCP server can also supply configuration properties such as:

  • Host Name

  • Domain Name

  • Time Server

  • Print Server

The advantage of using DHCP is that changes to the network, for example a change in the address of the DNS server, need only be changed at the DHCP server, and all network hosts will be reconfigured the next time their DHCP clients poll the DHCP server. As an added advantage, it is also easier to integrate new computers into the network, as there is no need to check for the availability of an IP address. Conflicts in IP address allocation are also reduced.

A DHCP server can provide configuration settings using two methods:

MAC Address

This method entails using DHCP to identify the unique hardware address of each network card connected to the network and then continually supplying a constant configuration each time the DHCP client makes a request to the DHCP server using that network device.

Address Pool

This method entails defining a pool (sometimes also called a range or scope) of IP addresses from which DHCP clients are supplied their configuration properties dynamically and on a "first come, first served" basis. When a DHCP client is no longer on the network for a specified period, the configuration is expired and released back to the address pool for use by other DHCP Clients.

Ubuntu is shipped with both DHCP server and client. The server is dhcpd (dynamic host configuration protocol daemon). The client provided with Ubuntu is dhclient and should be installed on all computers required to be automatically configured. Both programs are easy to install and configure and will be automatically started at system boot.

Installation

At a terminal prompt, enter the following command to install dhcpd: 

sudo apt-get install isc-dhcp-server

You will probably need to change the default configuration by editing /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf to suit your needs and particular configuration.

You also may need to edit /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server to specify the interfaces dhcpd should listen to.

NOTE: dhcpd's messages are being sent to syslog. Look there for diagnostics messages.

Configuration

The error message the installation ends with might be a little confusing, but the following steps will help you configure the service:

Most commonly, what you want to do is assign an IP address randomly. This can be done with settings as follows: 

# minimal sample /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf
default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
 range 192.168.1.150 192.168.1.200;
 option routers 192.168.1.254;
 option domain-name-servers 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.2;
 option domain-name "mydomain.example";
}

This will result in the DHCP server giving clients an IP address from the range 192.168.1.150-192.168.1.200. It will lease an IP address for 600 seconds if the client doesn't ask for a specific time frame. Otherwise the maximum (allowed) lease will be 7200 seconds. The server will also "advise" the client to use 192.168.1.254 as the default-gateway and 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2 as its DNS servers.

After changing the config file you have to restart the dhcpd: 

sudo /etc/init.d/isc-dhcp-server restart

References

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