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Table Of Contents
Configuring the Cisco IOS DHCP Client
Restrictions for Configuring the DHCP Client
Information About the DHCP Client
How to Configure the DHCP Client
Forcing a Release or Renewal of a DHCP Lease for a DHCP Client
DHCP Release and Renew CLI Operation
Configuration Examples for the DHCP Client
Configuring the DHCP Client: Example
Customizing the DHCP Client Configuration: Example
Configuring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15snap Encapsulation: Example
Configuring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15nlpid Encapsulation: Example
Configuring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15mux PPP Encapsulation: Example
Releasing a DHCP Lease: Example
Renewing a DHCP Lease: Example
Feature Information for the DHCP Client
Configuring the Cisco IOS DHCP Client
First Published: May 2, 2005Last Updated January 20, 2009Cisco IOS Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) client software provides the flexibility to include various configuration options for the DHCP client. A DHCP client is defined as an Internet host using DHCP to obtain configuration parameters such as an IP address. This module describes the concepts and tasks needed to configure the Cisco IOS DHCP client. It includes information on the Cisco DHCP FORCERENEW feature, which provides entity authentication and message authentication.
Finding Feature Information
Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the "Feature Information for the DHCP Client" section.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco IOS, Catalyst OS, and Cisco IOS XE software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Contents
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Restrictions for Configuring the DHCP Client
•
Information About the DHCP Client
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How to Configure the DHCP Client
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Configuration Examples for the DHCP Client
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Feature Information for the DHCP Client
Restrictions for Configuring the DHCP Client
The DHCP client can be configured on Ethernet interfaces and on PPP over ATM (PPPoA) and certain ATM interfaces. The DHCP client works with ATM point-to-point interfaces and will accept any encapsulation type. For ATM multipoint interfaces, the DHCP client is only supported using the aal5snap encapsulation type combined with Inverse Address Resolution Protocol (ARP). Inverse ARP, which builds an ATM map entry, is necessary to send unicast packets to the server (or relay agent) on the other end of the connection. Inverse ARP is only supported for the aal5snap encapsulation type.
For multipoint interfaces, an IP address can be acquired using other encapsulation types because broadcast packets are used. However, unicast packets to the other end will fail because there is no ATM map entry and thus DHCP renewals and releases also fail.
Information About the DHCP Client
To configure the DHCP client, you must understand the following concepts:
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DHCP Client on WAN Interfaces
DHCP Client Operation
DHCP provides a framework for passing configuration information to hosts on a TCP/IP network. A DHCP client is an Internet host using DHCP to obtain configuration parameters such as an IP address. Figure 1 shows the basic steps that occur when a DHCP client requests an IP address from a DHCP server. The client, Host A, sends a DHCPDISCOVER broadcast message to locate a DHCP server. A DHCP server offers configuration parameters (such as an IP address, a MAC address, a domain name, and a lease for the IP address) to the client in a DHCPOFFER unicast message.
Figure 1 DHCP Request for an IP Address from a DHCP Server
A DHCP client may receive offers from multiple DHCP servers and can accept any one of the offers; however, the client usually accepts the first offer it receives. Additionally, the offer from the DHCP server is not a guarantee that the IP address will be allocated to the client; however, the server usually reserves the address until the client has had a chance to formally request the address.
The client returns a formal request for the offered IP address to the DHCP server in a DHCPREQUEST broadcast message. The DHCP server confirms that the IP address has been allocated to the client by returning a DHCPACK unicast message to the client.
DHCP Client Overview
The configurable DHCP client functionality allows a DHCP client to use a user-specified client identifier, class identifier, or suggested lease time when requesting an address from a DHCP server.
Configuration parameters and other control information are carried in tagged data items that are stored in the options field of the DHCP message. The DHCP client provides flexibility by allowing the following options to be configured for a DHCP client:
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Option 12—This option specifies the name of the client. The name may or may not be qualified with the local domain.
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Option 33—This option is used to configure a list of static routes in the client.
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Option 51—This option is used in a client request (DHCPDISCOVER or DHCPREQUEST) to allow the client to request a lease time for the IP address.
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Option 55—This option allows the DHCP client to request certain options from the DHCP server. The ip dhcp client request command allows the system administrator to turn off some of the requested options, thus removing them from the request list.
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Option 60—This option allows the user to configure the vendor class identifier string to use in the DHCP interaction.
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Option 61—This option is used by DHCP clients to specify their unique identifier. DHCP servers use this value to index their database of address bindings. This value is expected to be unique for all clients in an administrative domain.
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Option 120—This option is used to specify a 32-bit (binary) IPv4 address to be used by the SIP client to locate a SIP server.
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Option 121—This option is used to configure classless static routes by specifying classless network destinations in these routes: that is, each routing table entry includes a subnet mask.
Note
If a request includes both static routes and classless static routes, the client uses only the classless static routes.
If the DHCP server returns both a classless static route option and a router option, the DHCP client ignores the router option.•
Option 125—This option is used by DHCP clients and servers to exchange vendor-specific information.
DHCP Client on WAN Interfaces
The DHCP client on WAN interfaces allows a DHCP client to acquire an IP address over PPP over ATM (PPPoA) and certain ATM interfaces. By using DHCP rather than the IP Control Protocol (IPCP), a DHCP client can acquire other useful information such as DNS addresses, the DNS default domain name, and the default route.
The configuration of PPPoA and Classical IP and ARP over ATM already allows for a broadcast capability over the interface (using the broadcast keyword on the ATM interface). Most changes in this feature are directed at removing already existing restrictions on what types of interfaces are allowed to send out DHCP packets (previously, dialer interfaces have not been allowed). This feature also ensures that DHCP RELEASE messages are sent out the interface before a connection is allowed to be broken.
DHCP FORCERENEW
The Cisco DHCP FORCERENEW feature provides entity authentication and message authentication, in accordance with RFC 3118, by which DHCP clients and servers authenticate the identity of other DHCP entities and verify that the content of a DHCP message has not been changed during delivery through the network.
The message authentication mechanism allows servers to determine whether a request for DHCP information comes from a client that is authorized to use the network. It also allows clients to verify that a DHCP server can be trusted to provide valid configuration.
When the client gets a FORCERENEW message, it does the following:
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Authenticates the message according to the authentication mode specified in the ip dhcp client authentication mode command. The Cisco DHCP FORCERENEW feature supports both token-based and MD5-based authentication.
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Token-based authentication is useful only for basic protection against inadvertently instantiated DHCP servers. Tokens are transmitted in plain text; they provide weak authentication and do not provide message authentication.
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MD5-based authentication provides better message and entity authentication because it contains a single-use value generated by the source as a message authentication code.
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Changes its state to RENEW.
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Tries to renew its lease according to normal DHCP procedures.
The client discards any multicast FORCERENEW message or message that fails authentication.
How to Configure the DHCP Client
This section contains the following tasks:
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Forcing a Release or Renewal of a DHCP Lease for a DHCP Client
Configuring the DHCP Client
Perform this task to configure the DHCP client.
DHCP Client Default Behavior
Cisco routers running Cisco IOS software include DHCP server and relay agent software, which are enabled by default. Your router can act as both the DHCP client and DHCP server. Use the ip address dhcp interface command to obtain IP address information for the configured interface.
Prerequisites
You must configure the ip dhcp client commands before entering the ip address dhcp command on an interface to ensure that the DHCPDISCOVER messages that are generated contain the correct option values. The ip dhcp client commands are checked only when an IP address is acquired from DHCP. If any of the ip dhcp client commands are entered after an IP address has been acquired from DHCP, it will not take effect until the next time the router acquires an IP address from DHCP. This means that the new configuration will only take effect after either the ip address dhcp command or the release dhcp and renew dhcp EXEC commands have been configured.
SUMMARY STEPS
1.
enable
2.
configure terminal
3.
interface type number
4.
ip dhcp client client-id {interface-name | ascii string | hex string}
5.
ip dhcp client class-id {string | hex string}
6.
ip dhcp client lease days [hours] [minutes]
7.
ip dhcp client hostname host-name
8.
[no] ip dhcp client request option-name
9.
ip address dhcp
DETAILED STEPS
Troubleshooting Tips
To verify the configuration, you can use the debug dhcp detail EXEC command to display the DHCP packets that were sent and received. To display the server side of the DHCP interaction, use the debug ip dhcp server packets command.
The following are troubleshooting tips for DHCP clients on WAN interfaces:
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An ATM primary interface is always multipoint.
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An ATM subinterface can be multipoint or point-to-point.
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If you are using a point-to-point interface, the routing table determines when to send a packet to the interface and ATM map entries are not needed. Consequently, Inverse ARP, which builds ATM map entries, is not needed.
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If you are using a multipoint interface you must use Inverse ARP to discover the IP address of the other side of the connection.
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You can specify Inverse ARP through the protocol ip inarp interface configuration command. You must use the aal5snap encapsulation type when using Inverse ARP because it is the only encapsulation type that supports Inverse ARP.
Forcing a Release or Renewal of a DHCP Lease for a DHCP Client
Perform this task to force a release or renewal of a DHCP lease for a DHCP client.
Forcing a release or renewal of a DHCP lease for a DHCP client provides the ability to perform two independent operations from the command-line interface (CLI) in EXEC mode:
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Immediately release a DHCP lease for a DHCP client.
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Force a DHCP renewal of a lease for a DHCP client.
This functionality provides the following benefits:
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Eliminates the need to go into the configuration mode to reconfigure the router to release or renew a DHCP lease.
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Simplifies the release and renewal of a DHCP lease.
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Reduces the amount of time spent performing DHCP IP release and renewal configuration tasks.
DHCP Release and Renew CLI Operation
Release a DHCP Lease
The release dhcp command starts the process to immediately release a DHCP lease for the specified interface. After the lease is released, the interface address is deconfigured. The release dhcp command does not deconfigure the ip address dhcp command specified in the configuration file for the interface. During a write memory or show running configuration file action, or if the router is rebooted, the ip address dhcp command executes to acquire a DHCP address for the interface.
The original IP address for the interface must be assigned by the DHCP server. If the interface is not assigned an IP address by the DHCP server, the release dhcp command fails and displays the following error message:
Interface does not have a DHCP originated address
Renew a DHCP Lease
The renew dhcp command advances the DHCP lease timer to the next stage, at which point one of the following occurs:
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If the lease is currently in a BOUND state, the lease is advanced to the RENEW state and a DHCP RENEW request is sent.
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If the lease is currently in a RENEW state, the timer is advanced to the REBIND state and a DHCP REBIND request is sent.
If there is no response to the RENEW request, the interface remains in the RENEW state. In this case, the lease timer will advance to the REBIND state and subsequently send a REBIND request.
If a NAK response is sent in response to the RENEW request, the interface is deconfigured.
The original IP address for the interface must be assigned by the DHCP server. If the interface is not assigned an IP address by the DHCP server, the renew dhcp command fails and displays the following error message:
Interface does not have a DHCP originated address
Prerequisites
The DHCP client must be assigned an IP address by the DHCP server.
Restrictions
If the DHCP client is not assigned an IP address by the DHCP server, the DHCP release and renew CLI commands will fail.
SUMMARY STEPS
1.
enable
2.
release dhcp type number
3.
renew dhcp type number
DETAILED STEPS
Configuration Examples for the DHCP Client
This section provides the following configuration examples:
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Configuring the DHCP Client: Example
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Customizing the DHCP Client Configuration: Example
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Configuring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15snap Encapsulation: Example
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Configuring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15nlpid Encapsulation: Example
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Configuring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15mux PPP Encapsulation: Example
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Releasing a DHCP Lease: Example
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Renewing a DHCP Lease: Example
Configuring the DHCP Client: Example
Figure 2 shows a simple network diagram of a DHCP client on an Ethernet LAN.
Figure 2 Topology Showing DHCP Client with Ethernet Interface
On the DHCP server, the configuration is as follows:
ip dhcp pool 1network 10.1.1.0 255.255.255.0lease 1 6On the DHCP client, the configuration is as follows on interface E2:
interface Ethernet2ip address dhcpThis configuration allows the DHCP client to acquire an IP address from the DHCP server through an Ethernet interface.
Customizing the DHCP Client Configuration: Example
The following example shows how to customize the DHCP client configuration with various options on Ethernet interface 1:
interface Ethernet 1ip dhcp client client-id ascii my-test1ip dhcp client class-id my-class-idip dhcp client lease 0 1 0ip dhcp client hostname sanfranno ip dhcp client request tftp-server-addressip address dhcpConfiguring an ATM Primary Interface (Multipoint) Using aal5snap Encapsulation and Inverse ARP: Example
In the following example, the protocol ip 255.255.255.255 broadcast configuration is needed because there must be an ATM map entry to recognize the broadcast flag on the permanent virtual circuit (PVC). You can use any ATM map entry. The protocol ip inarp configuration is needed so the ATM Inverse ARP can operate on the interface such that the system on the other side can be pinged once an address is assigned by DHCP.
interface atm0ip address dhcppvc 1/100encapsulation aal5snapbroadcastprotocol ip 255.255.255.255 broadcastprotocol ip inarp
Configuring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15snap Encapsulation: Example
The following example shows an ATM point-to-point subinterface configuration using aa15snap encapsulation:
interface atm0.1 point-to-pointip address dhcppvc 1/100encapsulation aal5snapbroadcastConfiguring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15nlpid Encapsulation: Example
The following example shows an ATM point-to-point subinterface configuration using aa15nlpid encapsulation:
interface atm0.1 point-to-pointip address dhcppvc 1/100encapsulation aal5nlpidbroadcastConfiguring an ATM Point-to-Point Subinterface Using aa15mux PPP Encapsulation: Example
The following example shows an ATM point-to-point subinterface configuration using aa15mux PPP encapsulation:
interface atm0.1 point-to-pointpvc 1/100encapsulation aal5mux ppp virtual-template1broadcast!interface virtual-template1ip address dhcpReleasing a DHCP Lease: Example
In the following example, a DHCP release is performed on an interface that was originally assigned an IP address by the DHCP server.
Router# release dhcp ethernet 3/1In the following example, an attempt is made to release the DHCP lease on an interface that was not originally assigned an IP address by the DHCP server.
Router# release dhcp ethernet 3/1Interface does not have a DHCP originated address
In the following example, the release dhcp command is executed without specifying the type and number arguments.
Router# release dhcpIncomplete command.
Renewing a DHCP Lease: Example
In the following example, the DHCP lease is renewed on an interface that was originally assigned an IP address by the DHCP server.
Router# renew dhcp ethernet 3/1In the following example, an attempt is made to renew the DHCP lease on an interface that was not originally assigned an IP address by the DHCP server.
Router# renew dhcp ethernet 3/1Interface does not have a DHCP originated address
In the following example, the renew dhcp command is executed without specifying the type and number arguments.
Router# renew dhcpIncomplete command.
Additional References
The following sections provide references related to the DHCP client.
Related Documents
Related Topic Document TitleDHCP commands: complete command syntax, command modes, command history, defaults, usage guidelines, and examples.
DHCP conceptual information
"DHCP Overview" module
DHCP server configuration
DHCP server on-demand address pools
"Configuring the DHCP Server On-Demand Address Pool Manager" module
DHCP relay agent configuration
DHCP advanced features
"Configuring DHCP Services for Accounting and Security" module
DHCP enhancements for edge-session management
"Configuring DHCP Enhancements for Edge-Session Management" module
Standards
Standards TitleNo new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature.
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MIBs
RFCs
Technical Assistance
Feature Information for the DHCP Client
Table 1 lists the release history for this feature.
Not all commands may be available in your Cisco IOS software release. For release information about a specific command, see the command reference documentation.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and software image support. Cisco Feature Navigator enables you to determine which Cisco IOS, Catalyst OS, and Cisco IOS XE software images support a specific software release, feature set, or platform. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Note
Table 1 lists only the Cisco IOS software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given Cisco IOS software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that Cisco IOS software release train also support that feature.
Table 1 Feature Information for the Cisco IOS DHCP Client
Feature Name Releases Feature Configuration InformationConfigurable DHCP Client
12.3(8)T
12.2(28)SBThe Configurable DHCP Client feature provides the flexibility to include various configuration options for the DHCP client. A DHCP client is defined as an Internet host using DHCP to obtain configuration parameters such as an IP address.
The following sections provide information about this feature:
The following commands were introduced: ip dhcp client class-id, ip dhcp client client-id, ip dhcp client hostname, ip dhcp client lease, ip dhcp client request.
DHCP Release and Renew CLI in EXEC Mode
12.3(4)T
12.2(28)SB
12.2(33)SRCThis feature provides the ability to perform two independent operations from the CLI: (1) immediately release a DHCP lease for a DHCP client, and (2) force a DHCP renewal of a lease for a DHCP client.
The following section provides information about this feature:
•
Forcing a Release or Renewal of a DHCP Lease for a DHCP Client
The following commands were introduced: release dhcp and renew dhcp.
DHCP Client on WAN Interfaces
12.2(8)T
12.2(28)SBThe DHCP Client on WAN Interfaces feature extends the DHCP to allow a DHCP client to acquire an IP address over PPP over ATM (PPPoA) and certain ATM interfaces.
The following section provides information about this feature:
•
DHCP Client on WAN Interfaces
No commands were introduced or modified by this feature.
Cisco DHCP FORCERENEW
12.2(22)YB
Enhances security by providing entity authentication and message authentication.
The following commands were introduced or modified: ip dhcp client authentication key-chain, ip dhcp client authentication mode, ip dhcp-client forcerenew, ip dhcp client request.
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