A
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server leases IP address
to clients connected to the network and has DHCP client enabled on
their network interface.
Before
we can setup a start the DHCP server we need to install DHCP
configuration packages. Detail information about installing packages
in provided in recipe of chapter 1. But to save the time we can use
the following command to install the packages.
#
pkg install SUNWdhcs
After
installing these packages we can continue with the next step.
How
to do it…
First
thing to setup the DHCP server is creating the storage and initial
settings for the DHCP server. Following command does the trick for
us.
#
dhcpconfig -D -r SUNWfiles -p /fpool/dhcp_fs -a 192.168.2.254 -d
domain.nme -h files -l 86400
In
the above command we used several parameters and options, each one of
these options are explained below.
The
-D specifies that we are setting up a new instance of the DHCP
service.
The
-r SUNWfiles specifies the storage type. Here we are using
plain-text storage while SUNWbinfiles and SUNWnisplus are available
as well.
The
-p /fpool/dhcp_fs specifies the absolute path to where the
configuration files should be stored.
The
-a 192.168.2.15 specifies the DNS server to use on the LAN. We can
multiple comma separated addresses for DNS servers.
The
-d domain.nme specifies the network domain name.
The
-h files specifies where the host information should be stored.
Other values are nisplus and dns.
The
-l 86400 specifies the lease time in seconds.
Now
that the initial configuration is created we should proceed to the
next step and create a network.
#
dhcpconfig -N 192.168.2.0 -m 255.255.255.0 -t 192.168.2.1
Parameters
we used in the above command are explained below.
The
-N 192.168.2.0 specifies the network address.
The
-m 255.255.255.0 specifies the network mask to use for the network
The
-t 192.168.2.1 specifies the default gateway
All
configurations that we created are stored in DHCP server
configuration files. We can manage the configurations using the
dhtadm command. For example to view all of the current DHCP server
configuration assemblies we can use the following command.
#
dhtadm -P
This
command’s output is similar to the following figure.
Each
command we invoked previously is stored as a macro with a unique name
in the DHCP configuration storage. Later on we will use these macros
in subsequent commands.
Now
we need to create a network of addresses to lease. Following command
adds the addresses we want to lease.
#
pntadm -C 192.168.2.0
If
we need to reserve an address for a specific host or a specific
interface in a host we should add the required configuration to the
system to ensure that our host or interface receives the designated
IP address. For example:
#
pntadm -A 192.168.2.22 -f MANUAL -i 01001BFC92BC10 -m 192.168.2.0 -y
192.168.2.0
In
the above command we have:
The
-A 192.168.2.22 adds the IP address 192.168.2.22.
The
-f MANUAL sets the flag MANUAL in order to only assign this IP
address to the MAC address specified.
The
-i 01001BFC92BC10 sets the MAC address for the host this entry
assigned to it.
The
-m 192.168.2.0 specifies that this host is going to use the 192.168.2.0
macro.
The
–y asks the command to verify that the macro entered actually
exists.
The
192.168.2.0 Specifies the network the address is assigned to.
Finally
we should restart the DHCP server in order for all the changes to
take effect. Following command restarts the corresponding service.
# svcadm restart dhcp-server
When
we setup the DHCP service, we store the related configuration in the
storage of our choice. When we start the service, it reads the
configuration from the storage and wait dormant until it receives a
request for leasing an IP address. The service checks the
configuration and if an IP was available for lease, it leases the IP
to the client.
Prior
to leasing the IP, DHCP service checks all leasing conditions like
leasing a specific IP address to a client to ensure that it leases
the right address to a client, etc.
We
can use the DHCP Manager GUI application to configure a DHCP server.
The DHCP manager can migrate the DHCP storage from one format to
another. To install the DHCP manager package we can use the following
command.
#
pkg install SUNWdhcm
Now
we can invoke the DHCP manager using the following command which
opens the DHCP Manager welcome page shown in the following figure.
#
dhcpmgr