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DHCPServer27InterviewQuestionsandAnswers

DHCP Server Interview Questions and Answers

1.WhatisDHCP?
DHCPstandsfor"DynamicHostConfigurationProtocol".
2.WhatisDHCP'spurpose?
DHCP'spurposeistoenableindividualcomputersonanIPnetworktoextracttheirconfigurationsfromaserver(the
'DHCPserver')orservers,inparticular,serversthathavenoexactinformationabouttheindividualcomputersuntilthey
requesttheinformation.TheoverallpurposeofthisistoreducetheworknecessarytoadministeralargeIPnetwork.The
mostsignificantpieceof
informationdistributedinthismanneristheIPaddress.
3.CanDHCPworkwithAppleTalkorIPX?
No,itistootiedtoIP.Furthermore,theydon'tneeditsincetheyhavealwayshadautomatedmechanismsforassigning
theirownnetworkaddresses.
4.WhoCreatedIt?HowWasItCreated?
DHCPwascreatedbytheDynamicHostConfigurationWorkingGroupoftheInternetEngineeringTaskForce(IETFa
volunteerorganizationwhichdefinesprotocolsforuseontheInternet).Assuch,it'sdefinitionisrecordedinanInternet
RFCandtheInternetActivitiesBoard(IAB)isassertingitsstatusastoInternetStandardization.Asofthiswriting(June
1998),DHCPisanInternet
DraftStandardProtocolandisElective.BOOTPisanInternetDraftStandardProtocolandisrecommended.Formore
informationonInternetstandardization,seeRFC2300(May1998)
5.HowisitdifferentthanBOOTPorRARP?
DHCPisbasedonBOOTPandmaintainssomebackwardcompatibility.ThemaindifferenceisthatBOOTPwasdesigned
formanualpreconfigurationofthehostinformationinaserverdatabase,whileDHCPallowsfordynamicallocationof
networkaddressesandconfigurationstonewlyattachedhosts.Additionally,DHCPallowsforrecoveryandreallocationof
networkaddressesthroughaleasingmechanism.
RARPisaprotocolusedbySunandothervendorsthatallowsacomputertofindoutitsownIPnumber,whichisoneof
theprotocolparameterstypicallypassedtotheclientsystembyDHCPorBOOTP.RARPdoesn'tsupportother
parametersandusingit,aservercanonlyserveasingleLAN.DHCPandBOOTParedesignedsotheycanberouted.
6.HowisitdifferentthanVLANs?
DHCPandVLANs,whichareverydifferentinconcept,aresometimescitedasdifferentsolutionstothesameproblem.
Whiletheyhaveagoalincommon(easingmovesofnetworkedcomputers),VLANsrepresentamorerevolutionary
changetoaLANthanDHCP.ADHCPserverandforwardingagentscanallowyoutosetthingsupsothatyoucan
unplugaclientcomputerfromonenetworkorsubnetandplugitintoanotherandhaveitcomealiveimmediately,it
havingbeenreconfiguredautomatically.InconjunctiontoDynamicDNS,itcouldautomaticallybegivenitssamenamein
itsnewplace.VLANcapableLANequipmentwithdynamicVLANassignmentallowsyoutoconfigurethingssoaclient
computercanbepluggedintoanyportandhavethesameIPnumber(aswellasname)andbeonthesamesubnet.The
VLANcapablenetworkeitherhasitsownconfigurationthatlistswhichMACaddressesaretobelongtoeachVLAN,orit
makesthedeterminationfromthesourceIPaddressoftheIPpacketsthat
theclientcomputersends.Somedifferencesinthetwoapproaches:
DHCPhandleschangesbyreconfiguringtheclientwhileaVLANcapablenetworkhandlesitbyreconfiguring
thenetworkporttheclientismovedto.
DHCPdynamicreconfigurationrequiresaDHCPserver,forwardingagentineachrouter,andDHCP
capabilityineachclient'sTCP/IPsupport.

TheanalogouscapabilityinVLANsrequiresthatallhubsthroughoutthenetworkbeVLANcapable,supportingthe
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sameVLANscheme.TothispointVLANsupportisproprietarywithnovendorinteroperability,butstandardsare
beingdeveloped.
DHCPcanconfigureanewclientcomputerforyouwhileaVLANcapablenetworkcan't.
DHCPisgenerallyaimedatgiving"easymoves"capabilitytonetworksthataredividedintosubnetsona
geographicalbasis,oronseparatenetworks.VLANsaregenerallyaimedatallowingyoutosetupsubnets
onsomebasisotherthangeographical,e.g.insteadofputtingeveryoneinoneofficeonthesamesubnet,puttingeach
persononasubnetthathasaccesstotheserversthatthatpersonrequires.
ThereisanissuewithtryingtouseDHCP(orBOOTP)andVLANsatthesametime,inparticular,withtheschemeby
whichtheVLANcapablenetworkdeterminestheclient'sVLANbasedupontheclientcomputer'ssourceIPaddress.
Doingsoassumestheclientcomputerisalreadyconfigured,whichprecludestheuseofnetworktogettheconfiguration
informationfromaDHCPorBOOTPserver.
7.WhatprotocolandportdoesDHCPuse?
DHCP,likeBOOTPrunsoverUDP,utilizingports67and68.
8.WhatisanIPaddress?
AnIPaddress(alsocalledanIPnumber)isanumber(typicallywrittenasfournumbersseparatedbyperiods,i.e.
107.4.1.3or84.2.1.111)whichuniquelyidentifiesacomputerthatismakinguseoftheInternet.Itisanalogoustoyour
telephonenumberinthatthetelephonenumberisusedbythetelephonenetworktodirectcallstoyou.TheIPaddressis
usedbytheInternettodirect
datatoyourcomputer,e.g.thedatayourwebbrowserretrievesanddisplayswhenyousurfthenet.OnetaskofDHCPis
toassistintheproblemofgettingafunctionalanduniqueIPnumberintothehandsofthecomputersthatmakeuseofthe
Internet.
9.WhatisaMACaddress?
AMACaddress(alsocalledanEthernetaddressoranIEEEMACaddress)isanumber(typicallywrittenastwelve
hexadecimaldigits,0through9andAthroughF,orassixhexadecimalnumbersseparatedbyperiodsorcolons,i.e.
0080002012ef,0:80:0:2:20:ef)whichuniquelyidentifesacomputerthathasanEthernetinterface.UnliketheIPnumber,it
includesnoindicationofwhereyourcomputerislocated.InDHCP'stypicaluse,theserverusesarequestingcomputer's
MACaddresstouniquelyidentifyit.
10.WhatisaDHCPlease?
ADHCPleaseistheamountoftimethattheDHCPservergrantstotheDHCPclientpermissiontouseaparticularIP
address.Atypicalserverallowsitsadministratortosettheleasetime.
11.WhatisaClientID?
WhatistermedtheClientIDforthepurposesoftheDHCPprotocoliswhateverisusedbytheprotocoltoidentifytheclient
computer.Bydefault,DHCPimplementationstypicallyemploytheclient'sMACaddressforthispurpose,buttheDHCP
protocolallowsotheroptions.SomeDHCPimplementationshaveasetupoptiontospecifytheclientIDyouwant.One
alternativetotheMACaddressissimplyacharacterstringofyourchoice.Inanycase,inorderforDHCPtofunction,you
mustbecertainthatnootherclientisusingtheclientIDyouchoose,andyoumustbesuretheDHCPserverwillacceptit.
12.CanDHCPsupportstaticallydefinedaddresses?
Yes.AtleastthereisnothingintheprotocoltoprecludethisandoneexpectsittobeafeatureofanyDHCPserver.Thisis
reallyaservermatterandtheclientshouldworkeitherway.TheRFCreferstothisasmanualallocation.
13.HowdoesDHCPandBOOTPhandlemultiplesubnets?
ForthesituationswherethereismorethanoneLAN,eachwithitsownsubnetnumber,therearetwoways.Firstofall,
youcansetupaseperateserveroneachsubnet.Secondly,afeatureofsomeroutersknownas"BOOTPforwarding"to
forwardDHCPorBOOTPrequeststoaserveronanothersubnetandtoforwardtherepliesbacktotheclient.Thepartof
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sucharouter(orserveractingasarouter)thatdoesthisiscalleda"BOOTPforwardingagent".Typicallyyouhaveto
enableitontheinterfacetothesubnettobeservedandhavetoconfigureitwiththeIPaddressoftheDHCPorBOOTP
server.OnaCiscorouter,theaddressisknownasthe"UDPHelperAddress".
14.CanaBOOTPclientbootfromaDHCPserver?
OnlyiftheDHCPserverisspecificallywrittentoalsohandleBOOTPqueries.
15.CanaDHCPclientbootfromaBOOTPserver?
OnlyiftheDHCPclientwerespecificallywrittentomakeuseoftheanswerfromaBOOTPserver.Itwouldpresumably
treataBOOTPreplyasanunendingleaseontheIPaddress.Inparticular,theTCP/IPstackincludedwithWindows95
doesnothavethis
capability.
16.IsaDHCPserver"supposedto"beabletosupportaBOOTPclient?
TheRFConsuchinteroperability(1534)isclear:"Insummary,aDHCPserver:
...MAYsupportBOOTPclients,"(section2).Theword"MAY"indicatessuchsupport,howeveruseful,isleftasanoption.
Asourceofconfusiononthispointisthefollowingstatementinsection1.5ofRFC1541:"DHCPmustprovideserviceto
existingBOOTPclients."However,thisstatementisoneinalistof"generaldesigngoalsforDHCP",i.e.whatthe
designersoftheDHCPprotocolsetastheirowngoals.ItisnotinalistofrequirementsforDHCPservers.
17.IsaDHCPclient"supposedto"beabletouseaBOOTPserver?
TheRFConsuchinteroperability(1534)isclear:"ADHCPclientMAYuseareplyfromaBOOTPserverifthe
configurationreturnedfromtheBOOTPserverisacceptabletotheDHCPclient."(section3).Theword"MAY"indicates
suchsupport,howeveruseful,isleftasanoption.
18.CanaDHCPclientorservermakeaDNSserverupdatetheclient'sDNSentrytomatchtheclient'sdynamically
assignedaddress?
RFCs2136and2137indicateawayinwhichDNSentriescanbeupdateddynamically.UsingthisrequiresaDNSserver
thatsupportsthisfeatureandaDHCPserverthatmakesuseofit.TheRFCsareveryrecent(asof5/97)and
implementationsarefew.Inthemeantime,thereareDNSandDHCPserversthataccomplishthisthroughproprietary
means.
19.CanaDHCPserverbackupanotherDHCPserver?
Youcanhavetwoormoreservershandingoutleasesfordifferentaddresses.Ifeachhasadynamicpoolaccessibleto
thesameclients,thenevenifoneserverisdown,oneofthoseclientscanleaseanaddressfromtheotherserver.
However,withoutcommunicationbetweenthetwoserverstosharetheirinformationoncurrentleases,whenoneserver
isdown,anyclientwithaleasefromitwillnotbeabletorenewtheirleasewiththeotherserver.Suchcommunicationis
thepurposeofthe"servertoserverprotocol"(seenextquestion).Itispossiblethatsomeservervendorshaveaddressed
thisissuewiththeirownproprietaryservertoservercommunication.
20.Whenwilltheservertoserverprotocolbedefined?
TheDHCWGoftheIETFisactivelyinvestigatingtheissuesininterservercommunication.Theprotocolshouldbe
defined"soon".
21.WhereisDHCPdefined?
InInternetRFCs.
22.CanDHCPsupportremoteaccess?
PPPhasitsownnonDHCPwayinwhichcommunicationsserverscanhandclientsanIPaddresscalledIPCP(IPControl
Protocol)butdoesn'thavethesameflexibilityasDHCPorBOOTPinhandingoutotherparameters.Sucha
communicationsservermaysupporttheuseofDHCPtoacquiretheIPaddressesitgivesout.Thisissometimescalled
doingDHCPbyproxyfortheclient.IknowthatWindowsNT'sremoteaccesssupportdoesthis.
AfeatureofDHCPunderdevelopment(DHCPinform)isamethodbywhichaDHCPservercansupplyparameterstoa
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clientthatalreadyhasanIPnumber.Withthis,aPPPclientcouldgetitsIPnumberusingIPCP,thengettherestofits
parametersusingthisfeatureofDHCP.
SLIPhasnostandardwayinwhichaservercanhandaclientanIPaddress,butmanycommunicationsserverssupport
nonstandardwaysofdoingthisthatcanbeutilizedbyscripts,etc.Thus,likecommunicationsserverssupportingPPP,
suchcommunicationsserverscouldalsosupporttheuseofDHCPtoacquiretheIPaddresseestogiveout.
TheDHCPprotocoliscapableofallocatinganIPaddresstoadevicewithoutanIEEEstyleMACaddress,suchasa
computerattachedthroughSLIPorPPP,buttodoso,itmakesuseofafeaturewhichmayormaynotbesupportedbythe
DHCPserver:theabilityoftheservertousesomethingotherthantheMACaddresstoidentifytheclient.Communications
serversthatacquireIPnumbersfortheirclientsviaDHCPrunintothesameroadblockinthattheyhavejustoneMAC
address,butneedtoacquiremorethanoneIPaddress.Onewaysuchacommunicationsservercangetaroundthis
problemisthroughtheuseofasetofuniquepseudoMACaddressesforthepurposesofitscommunicationswiththe
DHCPserver.Anotherway(usedbyShiva)istouseadifferent"clientIDtype"foryourhardwareaddress.ClientIDtype1
meansyou'reusingMACaddresses.However,clientIDtype0meansanASCIIstring.
23.HowcanIrelayDHCPifmyrouterdoesnotsupportit?
Aserveronanet(subnet)canrelayDHCPorBOOTPforthatnet.MicrosofthassoftwaretomakeWindowsNTdothis.
24.WhatisDHCPSpoofing?
AscendPipelineISDNrouters(whichattachEthernetstoISDNlines)incorporateafeaturethatAscendcalls"DHCP
spoofing"whichisessentiallyatinyserverimplementationthathandsanIPaddresstoaconnectingWindows95
computer,withtheintentionofgivingitanIPnumberduringitsconnectionprocess.
25.Howlongshouldaleasebe?
Averyrelevantfactoristhattheclientstartstryingtorenewtheleasewhenitishalfwaythrough:thus,forexample,witha
4daylease,theclientwhichhaslostaccesstoitsDHCPserverhas2daysfromwhenitfirsttriestorenewtheleaseuntil
theleaseexpiresandtheclientmuststopusingthenetwork.Duringa2dayoutage,newuserscannotgetnewleases,
butnoleasewillexpireforanycomputerturnedonatthetimethattheoutagecommences.
AnotherfactoristhatthelongertheleasethelongertimeittakesforclientconfigurationchangescontrolledbyDHCPto
propogate.
25.HowcanIcontrolwhichclientsgetleasesfrommyserver?
Thereisnoidealanswer:youhavetogivesomethingupordosomeextrawork.
YoucanputallyourclientsonasubnetofyourownalongwithyourownDHCPserver.
Youcanusemanualallocation.
PerhapsyoucanfindDHCPserversoftwarethatallowsyoutolistwhich
MACaddressestheserverwillaccept.DHCPserversthatsupportroamingmachinesmaybeadaptedtosuchuse.
Youcanusetheuserclassoptionassumingyourclientsandserversupportit:itwillrequireyoutoconfigure
eachofyourclientswithauserclassname.Youstilldependupontheotherclientstorespectyourwishes.

26.HowcanIpreventunauthorizedlaptopsfromusinganetworkthatusesDHCPfordynamicaddressing?
ThiswouldhavetobedoneusingamechanismotherthanDHCP.DHCPdoesnotpreventotherclientsfromusingthe
addressesitissettohandoutnorcanitdistinguishbetweenacomputer'spermanentMACaddressandonesetbythe
computer'suser.DHCPcanimposenorestrictionsonwhatIPaddresscanuseaparticularportnorcontroltheIPaddress
usedbyanyclient.
27.WhatfeaturesorrestrictionscanaDHCPserverhave?
WhiletheDHCPserverprotocolisdesignedtosupportdynamicmanagementofIPaddresses,thereisnothingtostop
someonefromimplementingaserverthatusestheDHCPprotocol,butdoesnotprovidethatkindofsupport.Inparticular,
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themaintainerofaBOOTPserverimplementationmightfindithelpfultoenhancetheirBOOTPservertoallowDHCP
clientsthatcannotspeak"BOOTP"toretrievestaticallydefinedaddressesviaDHCP.Thefollowingterminologyhas
becomecommontodescribethreekindsofIPaddressallocation/management.
Theseareindependent"features":aparticularservercanofferornotofferanyofthem:
Manualallocation:theserver'sadministratorcreatesaconfigurationfortheserverthatincludestheMAC
addressandIPaddressofeachDHCPclientthatwillbeabletogetanaddress:functionallyequivalentto
BOOTPthoughtheprotocolisincompatible.
Automaticallocation:theserver'sadministratorcreatesaconfigurationfortheserverthatincludesonlyIP
addresses,whichitgivesouttoclients.AnIPaddress,onceassociatedwithaMACaddress,ispermanently
associatedwithituntiltheserver'sadministratorintervenes.
Dynamicallocation:likeautomaticallocationexceptthattheserverwilltrackleasesandgiveIPaddresses
whoseleasehasexpiredtootherDHCPclients.

OtherfeatureswhichaDHCPservermayormaynothave:
SupportforBOOTPclients.
Supportforthebroadcastbit.
Administratorsettableleasetimes.
Administratorsettableleasetimesonmanuallyallocatedaddresses.
AbilitytolimitwhatMACaddresseswillbeservedwithdynamicaddresses.
AllowsadministratortoconfigureadditionalDHCPoptiontypes.
InteractionwithaDNSserver.Notethatthereareanumberofinteractionsthatonemightsupportandthata
standardset&methodisintheworks.
Interactionwithsomeothertypeofnameserver,e.g.NIS.
AllowsmanualallocationoftwoormorealternativeIPnumberstoasingleMACaddress,whoseusedepends
uponthegatewayaddressthroughwhichtherequestisrelayed.
Abilitytodefinethepool/poolsofaddressesthatcanbeallocateddynamically.Thisisprettyobvious,though
someonemighthaveaserverthatforcesthepooltobeawholesubnetornetwork.Ideally,theserverdoesnot
forcesuchapooltoconsistofcontiguousIPaddresses.
AbilitytoassociatetwoormoredynamicaddresspoolsonseparateIPnetworks(orsubnets)withasingle
gatewayaddress.Thisisthebasicsupportfor"secondarynets",e.g.arouterthatisactingasaBOOTPrelay
foraninterfacewhichhasaddressesformorethanoneIPnetworkorsubnet.
Abilitytoconfiguregroupsofclientsbaseduponclientsupplieduserand/orvendorclass.Note:thisisa
featurethatmightbeusedtoassigndifferentclientgroupsonthesamephysicalLANtodifferentlogical
subnets.
AdministratorsettableT1/T2lengths.
InteractionwithanotherDHCPserver.Notethatthereareanumberofinteractionsthatonemightsupportand
thatastandardset&methodisintheworks.
UseofPING(ICMPEchoRequest)tocheckanaddresspriortodynamicallyallocatingit.
Servergraceperiodonleasetimes.
Abilitytoforceclient(s)togetanewaddressratherthanrenew.
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