DHCP in Windows Server 2003

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DHCP in Windows Server 2003
D ynamic - Means that clients IP address may change
H ost - Indicates that this is a system for clients, e.g. XP machine
s
C onfiguration - A clue that you are in charge of the options, e.g. DNS Server
P rotocol - The rules controlling the flow of packets between client and
server
Tutorial for DHCP in Windows 2003
Benefits of DHCP - How to save effort
Strategies - Client and Server
DHCP - Install and Configure Options
Relay Agents
APIPA - When all else fails
DHCP - User Classes
DHCP - Database, Backup, Reconcile and Audit
Troubleshooting
Benefits of DHCP
All clients and servers need an IP address on a TCP/IP network. How will you co
nfigure those dotty dot numbers on your TCP/IP property tabs? Manually, or auto
matically via DHCP? Let us investigate what advantages an automatic DHCP servic
e has over the manual alternative.
DHCP needs much less effort - manual configuration is boring and labour intensiv
e. Above all, DHCP options give a sense of central control.
Easy to update a default gateway or DNS server's IP address. Manual changes wou
ld be a nightmare, you would have to visit every machine.
No IP duplicate addresses. Provided you configure the DHCP scopes intelligently
, there will never be another 'Duplicate IP address' problem to eat into your va
luable time.

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Learn more about DHCP. As an MCT trainer, I can thoroughly recommend TrainSignal
because they provide practical hands on training. In particular, I like the wa
y TrainSignal cover all learning methods, instructor lead, video and of course t
ext material. With TrainSignal you can either take one module, for example DHCP
or go for a combination of modules. See more about DHCP here

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Strategies for the clients and servers
10 years ago, when I first saw DHCP, I thought that you would need one DHCP serv
er on each subnet - wrong. What I now recommend as a default, is two DHCP serve
rs for the whole company. For those subnets without a DHCP you configure a DHCP
Relay Agent.
If you have two DHCP servers, then provide redundancy by splitting each scope so
that each DHCP server gets a non-overlapping range. For example:
Server A: 10.10.56.1 to 10.10.56.120
Server B: 10.10.56.121 to 10.10.56.254.
Each scope has a class C Subnet Mask /24 (255.255.255.0)
Strategies for the servers
What are you going to do about the IP addresses for the servers themselves?
Configure static IP addresses, then EXCLUDE a range from the scope.
Select static IP addresses, but use a different range.
Choose DHCP configuration, even for file and print servers. (Except the DHCP ser
ver itself.)

If you try the strategy of DHCP address for file and print servers, consider a R
ESERVATION for each server. Slowly I am warming to this DHCP idea, the killer a
dvantage is that you can set DNS and Router options even for the servers. Let m
e elaborate, if you set server IP addresses manually, but then you change the de
fault gateway, you may forget to change the servers default gateway. The result
would be a loss of what ever service the servers were providing. However, if t
he servers have a reserved IP address then they come under the umbrella of your
scope options and so there would be no extra work, and no loss of service.
-
Summary
DHCP is now a well established strategy for providing computers with IP addresse
s. However, it is full of surprises and hidden treasures, take the time to deve
lop your DHCP tactics, then explore the properties of both the DHCP server icon
and the scopes. I have a series of tutorials to help you.
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Related DHCP Server topics
Benefits of DHCP - Saves Work
DHCP Strategies - Client and Server
DHCP - Install and Configure Server Options
DHCP - Relay Agents
APIPA - When all else fails
DHCP - User Classes
DHCP - Database, Backup, Reconcile and Audit
DHCP - Troubleshooting
Performance Monitor Tool