DHCP server role: Configuring a DHCP

server
DHCP servers centrally manage IP addresses and related information and provide it to
clients automatically. This allows you to configure client network settings at a server,
instead of configuring them on each client computer. If you want this computer to
distribute IP addresses to clients, then configure this computer as a DHCP server.

This topic explains the basic steps that you must follow to configure a DHCP server.
When you have finished setting up a basic DHCP server, you can complete additional
configuration tasks, depending on how you want to use the DHCP server.

This topic covers:

Before you begin

Configuring your DHCP server

Next steps: Completing additional tasks

Before you begin

Before you configure your computer as a DHCP server, verify that:

 You are familiar with DHCP concepts such as scopes, leases, and options. For
more information, see DHCP terminology.
 The operating system is configured correctly. In the Windows Server 2003 family,
DHCP depends on the appropriate configuration of the operating system and its
services. If you have a new installation of a Windows Server 2003 operating
system, then you can use the default service settings. No further action is
necessary. If you upgraded to a Windows Server 2003 operating system, or if you
want to confirm that your services are configured correctly for best performance
and security, then verify your service settings using the table in Default settings
for services.
 This computer has a static IP address. For more information, see To configure
TCP/IP for static addressing.
 All existing disk volumes use the NTFS file system. FAT32 volumes are not
secure, and they do not support file and folder compression, disk quotas, file
encryption, or individual file permissions.

When you add the DHCP server role, you create one scope that defines the range of IP
addresses that the DHCP server allocates to the clients on one subnet. You need to create
one scope for each subnet that has clients that you want to manage using DHCP. The
following table lists the information that you need to know before you add the DHCP
server role, so that you can create the first scope. You need to collect the same
information for each additional scope.

Before adding a DHCP

Comments
server role
Security issues might affect the way you deploy DHCP
Review DHCP security issues. servers. For more information about DHCP security best
practices, see Security information for DHCP.
Use the entire range of consecutive IP addresses that make
up the local IP subnet. In many cases, a private address
range is the best choice. For more information and a list of
Identify the range of IP
all the IP address ranges approved for use on private
addresses that the DHCP server
networks, see RFC 1918, "Address Allocation for Private
should allocate to the clients.
Internets", at the Internet Engineering Task Force Web
site. Web addresses can change, so you might be unable to
connect to the Web site or sites mentioned here.
When the DHCP server leases an IP address to a client,
Determine the correct subnet
the server can specify additional configuration
mask for the clients.
information, including the subnet mask.
Identify any IP addresses that For example, a server or a network-connected printer
the DHCP server should not often has a static IP address, and the DHCP server must
allocate to clients. not offer this IP address to clients.
The default is eight days. In general, the duration of the
lease should be equal to the average time that the clients
on this subnet are active. For example, the ideal duration
Decide the duration of the may be longer than eight days if the clients are desktop
lease of the IP addresses. computers that are rarely turned off, or it may be shorter
than eight days if the clients are mobile devices that
frequently leave the network or are moved between
subnets.
(Optional) Identify the IP
address of the router (default When the DHCP server leases an IP address to a client,
gateway) that the clients the server can specify additional configuration
should use to communicate information, including the IP address of the router.
with clients on other subnets.
When the DHCP server leases an IP address to a client,
(Optional) Identify the name of the server can specify additional configuration
the DNS domain of the clients. information, including the name of the DNS domain to
which the clients belong.
(Optional) Identify the IP When the DHCP server leases an IP address to a client,
address of the DNS server that the server can specify additional configuration
the clients should use. information, including the IP address of the DNS server
that the clients should contact to resolve the name of

(Optional) Identify the IP
address of the WINS server
that the clients should use.
another computer.
When the DHCP server leases an IP address to a client,
the server can specify additional configuration
information, including the IP address of the WINS server
that the clients should contact to resolve the NetBIOS
name of another computer.

Configuring your DHCP server

To configure a DHCP server, start the Configure Your Server Wizard by doing either of
the following:

 From Manage Your Server, click Add or remove a role. By default, Manage Your
Server starts automatically when you log on. To open Manage Your Server, click
Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools,
and then double-click Manage Your Server.
 To open the Configure Your Server Wizard, click Start, point to Settings, click
Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click
Configure Your Server Wizard.

On the Server Role page, click DHCP server, and then click Next.

This section covers:

Summary of Selections

Using the New Scope Wizard

Completing the Configure Your Server Wizard

Removing the DHCP server role

Summary of Selections

On the Summary of Selections page, view and confirm the options that you have
selected. If you selected DHCP Server on the previous page, the following appears:

 Install DHCP Server

 Run the New Scope Wizard to configure a new DHCP scope

To apply the selections shown on the Summary of Selections page, click Next. After you
click Next, the Configuring Components page of the Windows Components Wizard
appears, and then closes automatically. You cannot click Back or Next on this page.
Using the New Scope Wizard

After you click Next, the Configure Your Server Wizard installs the DHCP Server
service, and then starts the New Scope Wizard to collect information and add the DHCP
server role. If you cancel the New Scope Wizard, the DHCP Server service remains
installed, but it cannot distribute IP addresses to clients until you create a scope. If you
choose to create a scope later, you can do so using the DHCP console.

This section describes the following steps in the New Scope Wizard:

Scope Name

IP Address Range

Add Exclusions

Lease Duration

Configure DHCP Options

Router (Default Gateway)

Domain Name and DNS Servers

WINS Servers

Activate Scope

Completing the New Scope Wizard

Scope Name

On the Scope Name page, in Name, type a name for the scope that you are creating. In
Description, type a description (this is optional). Most networks have several subnets,
and each subnet requires its own scope, so a DHCP server usually manages multiple
scopes. Choose a name and description that help you distinguish between the various
scopes.

After you finish, click Next.

IP Address Range

On the IP Address Range page, define the range of IP addresses in this scope by typing
the IP addresses at the start and the end of that range. The wizard uses the IP addresses
that you type to determine the correct subnet mask. The correct subnet mask
automatically appears in Subnet mask.
In the unusual case where the clients on this subnet need to use a subnet mask other than
the one that the wizard provides, you must type it in Subnet mask, or type the number of
bits of the subnet mask in Length.

After you finish, click Next.

Add Exclusions

On the Add Exclusions page, you can define the IP addresses that the DHCP server
should not allocate to clients. For example, the DHCP server itself has a static IP address
that must not be allocated to clients. The same is true of the default gateway and of
various network devices, such as network-connected printers. You must exclude these IP
addresses so that the DHCP server does not allocate them to clients.

It is recommended that you exclude more IP addresses than you currently need because it
is easier to truncate an exclusion range than it is to expand it. Exclude IP addresses from
the beginning or the end of the range of possible IP addresses, not from the middle. For
example, if the range of IP addresses on this subnet is from 10.0.0.1 to 10.0.0.255, and
you want to exclude ten IP addresses, then define the exclusion range as either of the
following:

 10.0.0.1 to 10.0.0.10
 10.0.0.245 to 10.0.0.255

For each range of IP addresses that you want to exclude, type the IP address at the
beginning of the range in Start IP address, type the IP address at the end of the range in
End IP address, and then click Add.

This step eases client administration, but it is optional. If you leave all fields of this page
blank and click Next, clients will still be able to obtain IP addresses from the DHCP
server.

After you finish, click Next.

Lease Duration

On the Lease Duration page, you can define how long a client can use an IP address
from this scope.

The DHCP server leases IP addresses to its clients. Each lease has an expiration date and
time. The client must renew the lease if it is going to continue to use that IP address. The
default duration of the lease is eight days.

This step eases client administration, but it is optional. If you leave all fields of this page
blank and click Next, clients will still be able to obtain IP addresses from the DHCP
server.
After you finish, click Next.

Configure DHCP Options

On the Configure DHCP Options page, you can specify whether to configure DHCP
options.

It is recommended that you accept the default, Yes, I want to configure these options
now, and click Next, even if you do not want to configure the options. If you choose No,
I will configure these options later, then the following occurs:

 The New Scope Wizard creates the scope but does not activate it, and you must
use the DHCP console to activate the scope in order for clients to receive IP
addresses from this scope. For information about how to activate a scope using
the DHCP console, see To activate a scope.
 You will not see the next four wizard pages described below. Continue reading at
Completing the New Scope Wizard.

Router (Default Gateway)

On the Router (Default Gateway) page, you can specify the routers (also known as
default gateways) that clients should use. You can add as many IP addresses as there are
routers on this subnet.

This step eases client administration, but it is optional. If you leave all fields of this page
blank and click Next, clients will still be able to obtain IP addresses from the DHCP
server.

After you finish, click Next.

Domain Name and DNS Servers

On the Domain Name and DNS Servers page, you can specify the name of the domain
that clients on this subnet should use when they resolve DNS names.

You can also specify the DNS server that clients should use to resolve DNS names. You
can type the IP address of that DNS server, or you can type its name and click Resolve,
and the wizard will determine the IP address for you. You can add several DNS servers.

This step eases client administration, but it is optional. If you leave all fields of this page
blank and click Next, clients will still be able to obtain IP addresses from the DHCP
server.

After you finish, click Next.

WINS Servers
On the WINS Servers page, you can specify the WINS server that clients should
communicate with to register and resolve NetBIOS names. You can type the IP address of
that WINS server, or you can type its name and click Resolve, and the wizard will
determine the IP address for you. You can add several WINS servers.

This step eases client administration, but it is optional. If you leave all fields of this page
blank and click Next, clients will still be able to obtain IP addresses from the DHCP
server.

After you finish, click Next.

Activate Scope

On the Activate Scope page, you can activate the scope or choose to activate it later. In
most cases, you should accept the default and activate the scope now. If you choose to
activate the scope later, you can do so using the DHCP console. You must activate the
scope to allow clients on the subnet of this scope to obtain IP addresses from the DHCP
server.

After you finish, click Next.

Completing the New Scope Wizard

On the Completing the New Scope Wizard page, you can click Back to change any of
the settings. To apply your selections, click Finish.

Completing the Configure Your Server Wizard

After you complete the New Scope Wizard, the Configure Your Server Wizard displays
the This Server is Now a DHCP Server page. To review all of the changes made to your
server by the Configure Your Server Wizard or to ensure that a new role was installed
successfully, click Configure Your Server log. The Configure Your Server Wizard log is
located at systemroot\Debug\Configure Your Server.log. To close the Configure Your
Server Wizard, click Finish.

Removing the DHCP server role

If you need to reconfigure your server for a different role, you can remove existing server
roles. If you remove the DHCP server role, you must reconfigure clients to obtain IP
addresses from another DHCP server. Also, if you want clients to continue using the IP
addresses distributed by this server, you must configure another DHCP server to
distribute those addresses.

To remove the DHCP server role, restart the Configure Your Server Wizard by doing
either of the following:
  From Manage Your Server, click Add or remove a role. By default, Manage Your
Server starts automatically when you log on. To open Manage Your Server, click
Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools,
and then double-click Manage Your Server.
 To open the Configure Your Server Wizard, click Start, point to Settings, click
Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click
Configure Your Server Wizard.

On the Server Role page, click DHCP server, and then click Next. On the Role
Removal Confirmation page, review the items listed under Summary, select the
Remove the DHCP server role check box, and then click Next. After you click Next,
the Configuring Components page of the Windows Components Wizard appears, and
then closes automatically. You cannot click Back or Next on this page. On the DHCP
Server Role Removed page, click Finish.

Next steps: Completing additional tasks

After you complete the Configure Your Server Wizard, the computer is ready for use as a
basic DHCP server that can manage IP addresses and related information. Up to this
point, you have installed the DHCP Server service and created one scope that manages IP
addresses and related information for the clients on one subnet. If you want to manage
clients on other subnets, you must create additional scopes. If you have not activated the
scope, then you must activate the scope to allow clients on the subnet of this scope to
obtain IP addresses from the DHCP server.

When you complete the Configure Your Server Wizard, it automatically installs the
DHCP console, which you use to manage your DHCP server. To open DHCP, click Start,
point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then
double-click DHCP.

The following table lists some of the additional tasks that you might want to perform on
your DHCP server.

Task Purpose of task Reference

To activate scopes that you created with the
Activate existing
New Scope Wizard that are not currently To activate a scope
scopes.
active.
Authorize the DHCP To detect unauthorized DHCP servers and
Authorizing DHCP
server in Active prevent them from starting or running on your
servers
Directory. network.
To enable the DHCP server to act as a relay Configure the
Add support for a
agent, which forwards DHCP messages DHCP Relay
routed network.
between subnets. Agent
Assign a server-based To simplify administration by setting default To assign a server-
scope option. values that all new scopes will inherit. based option
Change or view scope To change or view the properties of an existing To change or view
properties. scope. scope properties
To create scopes that support clients on other To create a new
Create new scopes.
subnets. scope
To define an IP address that the DHCP server
Add a client To add a client
should not allocate to a client because another
reservation. reservation
client is permanently using it.