5/20/2011

How DHCP works - Very detailed guide

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DHCP ADDRESS ASSIGNMENT

Keywords: - : How does DHCP work, DHCP IP address assignment process Web This Site Search Reference: - nokia.com Author: - Surender Singh DHCP is a very c ommon protocol and we often here about it. DHCP is muc h more complex than it looks. DHCP IP address assignment process goes through a few steps explained in this artic le. DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protoc ol and is used to automatically assign IP configuration to hosts connecting to a network. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) provides a framework for passing configuration information to hosts on a TCPIP network. DHCP is based on the Bootstrap Protoc ol (BOOTP)A DHCP client makes a request to a DHCP server that may or may not reside on the same subnet. The automatic distribution of IP configuration information to hosts eases the administrative burden of maintaining IP networks. In its simplest form, DHCP distributes the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway to a host, but can include other c onfiguration parameters suc h as name servers and netbios configuration. A DHCP client goes through six stages during the DHCP process. These stages are: Initializing MAIN MENU
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Selecting Requesting Binding Renewing Rebinding The DHCP client starts the DHCP process by issuing a DHCPDISCOVER message to its local subnet on UDP port 67. Since the client does not know what subnet it belongs to, a general broadc ast is used (destination address 255.255.255.255). If the DHCP server is loc ated on a different subnet, a DHCP-relay agent must be used. The DHCP-relay agent can take several forms. The ip-helper IOS command is used to set up a DHCP-relay agent on a Cisc o router.

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The DHCP-relay agent forwards the DHCPDISCOVER message to a subnet that contains a DHCP server. Once the DHCP server receives the DHCPDISCOVER message, it replies with a

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5/20/2011

How DHCP works - Very detailed guide

DHCPOFFER message. The DHCPOFFER message contains the IP configuration information for the client. THE DHCPOFFER message is sent as a broadcast on UDP port 68. The client will know that the DHCPOFFER message is intended for it because the client's MAC address is included in the message. If the c lient is on a different subnet than the server, the message is sent unic ast to the DHCPrelay agent on UDP port 67. The DHCP-relay agent broadcasts the DHCPOFFER on the client's subnet on UDP port 68.

After the client rec eives the DHCPOFFER, it sends a DHCPREQUEST message to the server. The DHCPREQUEST message informs the server that it acc epts the parameters offered in the DHCPOFFER message. The DHCPREQUEST is a broadcast message, but it includes the MAC address of the server, so that other DHCP servers on the network will know which server is serving the c lient.

The

DHCP server will send

a DHCPACK message

to the client

to ac knowledge

the

DHCPREQUEST. The DHCPACK message contains all the configuration information that was requested by the client. After the client receives the DHCPACK, it binds the IP address and is ready to communicate on the network. If the server is unable to provide the requested configuration, it sends a DHCPNACK message to the client. The client will resend the DHCPREQUEST message. If the DHCPREQUEST message does not return a DHCPACK after four attempts, the client will start the DHCP process from the beginning and send a new DHCPDISCOVER message. There is a great diagram of the DHCP proc ess at the "Understanding DHCP" link at the end of this article.

After the client receives the DHCPACK, it will send out an ARP request for the IP address assigned. If it gets a reply to the ARP request, the IP address is already in use on the network. The client then sends a DHCPDECLINE to the server and sends a new DHCPREQUEST. This step is optional, and is often not performed. Since the DHCP works on broadcast, two pc which are on different networks (or VLANs) cannot work on the DHCP protocol. Does that mean we should have one dedic ated server of DHCP in eac h vlan? No in Cisco devices IP helper-address command helps to broadcast DHCP messages from one vlan to other vlan. For more detailed discussion on the DHCP protocol go through the below link from cisco.c om

http://www.c isco.com/warp/public /473/100.html If you have any suggestions or want to add more to this article do write us an email artic les@knowurtech.com

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Comments (16)
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5/20/2011

How DHCP works - Very detailed guide

Madhu Sudan 105 weeks ago excellent & simple content...............
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Santosh Gaikwad 93 weeks ago Good One....

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duc hebag 75 weeks ago rfc 2131 please.

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Jack 70 weeks ago sweet thanks

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Ravikiran 64 weeks ago Thanks alot for the gist.

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Jayendra 61 weeks ago Realy Greate one

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1 reply active 61 weeks ago

Shailesh Shinde 61 weeks ago Simply Best.......... If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.
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Muhammad Rayees 43 weeks ago Nice Answer...Simple to Understand......

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+2

Napenthe 39 weeks ago Great article. Simple and to the point!

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srini 37 weeks ago

thanks mate.very useful to get the basics. and even the cisc o link was very informative. thanks again.
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arun 23 weeks ago super great!!!! Thanks

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ChetanSM 14 weeks ago Thanks, nice.....I think it was sufficient to introduce DHCP & details
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5/20/2011

How DHCP works - Very detailed guide

hardip 11 weeks ago Thanks a lot its good.
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1 reply active less than 1 minute ago

mohin 5 hours ago mind blowing

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derekchia89 1p 11 weeks ago

+1

"The DHCPREQUEST is a broadc ast message, but it includes the MAC address of the server, so that other DHCP servers on the network will know whic h server is serving the client." I dont think DHCPREQUEST includes MAC address of server to announce to other DHCP servers on the network which server is serving the c lient. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc7499... "Destination Hardware Address of FFFFFFFFFFFF. A broadc ast is used, even though the client does know the address of the server, to let other DHCP servers know the client has accepted an offer from a specific server. " http://support.microsoft.com/kb/169289 refer to this as well. Correct me if im wrong. thx!
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surindra 5 weeks ago perfec t for a starter to understand basic concept, thanks a lot bloke.........
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Co nta ct o r se nd us sugge stio ns a t : Adm in@k no wurte ch.co m Co pyright 2007-2008 kno wurte ch.co m . All R ights Re se rve d.

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