DHCP Server Configuration Wizard

The DHCP Configuration Wizard helps you configure a Solaris^TM system to be a DHCP server and configures the first network. The wizard performs the steps in the Solaris dhcpconfig and in.dhcpd commands.

After initial configuration, use the Modify option in the Services menu to configure services such as BOOTP compatibility, duplicate address detection, and which interfaces to monitor.

To enter information, double-click in the field, enter the desired value, and then press Enter.

If you choose the DHCP Configuration Wizard, you will be asked to supply the following information.

Data Store
Enter the location the DHCP server will use to store configuration data. You can specify NIS+ or designate a local directory (Files). You should use NIS+ if you have an environment with multiple servers, so that the information can be shared by all DHCP servers in the NIS+ domain.
If you choose to store data locally, enter the path to the data (default=/var/dhcp).
If you use NIS+, enter the domain of the NIS+ server (default=this server's domain).

Note: If the server is not already configured as a NIS+ client, you cannot select the NIS+ option. To use NIS+ as a data store, cancel the wizard, configure the server as a NIS+ client, and run DHCP Manager again.

Lease Policy
Enter the length of time before a lease expires. The lease is the amount of time a DHCP server grants permission to a DHCP client to use a particular address. You can enter from 1 hour to 3550 weeks.
The time should be small enough so that clients and servers stay synchronized, and so that the server can reclaim addresses that are no longer in use. However, the time must be long enough so that if the DHCP server becomes unavailable, the clients will continue to function. In general, one to three days is an optimal lease time.
The default is to allow a client to renegotiate the lease before it expires. A client will try to renew the lease when it is halfway through the lease period.
If not allowed to renegotiate, clients must reboot in order to obtain a new address when the lease expires. You may choose this option in an environment where there are more clients than there are addresses, and you need to enforce a time limit on the use of an IP address.

DNS Domain The domain server resolves host names to host addresses. If the server is configured to use DNS, the domain name and address of the DNS server will be displayed. If the fields are empty, you can enter the domain name and address of a DNS domain server.
You can enter the address of more than one server. The order in the list determines the order in which the servers are queried.

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Network Configuration

This section begins the network configuration. You can configure the first network using the DHCP Configuration Wizard. Once the DHCP server is configured, you can add additional networks using the Network Wizard, which is available from the Edit menu, when the Address view is displayed.

Network Address Enter the IP address of the network you are configuring.

Subnet Mask
Enter the subnet mask for this network. A subnet mask is a way of dividing up the host portion of an Internet address to form local subnetworks.

Network Type
Specify whether the network is a local area network (LAN) or point-to-point (PPP).

Routing A router is a machine with multiple network interfaces that can forward IP packets from one network to another. In most cases, your clients should use router discovery to connect to a router. If you have clients in your network that cannot use router discovery, enter the IP address of a router which they can use to communicate with systems on another network.

NIS Domain Name
NIS Server Address If the server is configured to use NIS naming service, the NIS server information will be filled in. If not, you can enter the domain name and IP address of one or more NIS name servers.
The order in which the address appears in the list determines the order in which the servers are queried.

NIS+ Domain Name
NIS+ Server Address If the server is configured to use NIS+ name service, the NIS+ server information will be filled in. If not, you can enter the domain name and IP address of one or more NIS+ name servers.
The order in which the address appears in the list determines the order in which the servers are queried.

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