DHCP Servers

To run DHCP for both IPv4 and IPv6, you need to initiate the DHCP server twice: once for IPv4 and once for IPv6. The following configuration uses the following topology for the host, DHCP relay and DHCP server:

For the configurations used in this chapter, the DHCP server is a switch running Cumulus Linux; however, the DHCP server can also be located on a dedicated server in your environment.

Configure the DHCP Server on Cumulus Linux Switches

You can use the following sample configurations for dhcp.conf and dhcpd6.conf to start both an IPv4 and an IPv6 DHCP server. The configuration files for the two DHCP server instances need to have two pools:

• Pool 1: Subnet overlaps interfaces
• Pool 2: Subnet that includes the addresses

Configure the IPv4 DHCP Server

In a text editor, edit the dhcpd.conf file with a configuration similar to the following:

cumulus@switch:~$ cat /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf
ddns-update-style none;
 
default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;
 
subnet 10.0.100.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
}
subnet 10.0.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
        range 10.0.1.50 10.0.1.60;
}

Just as you did with the DHCP relay scripts, edit the DHCP server configuration file so it can launch the DHCP server when the system boots. Here is a sample configuration:

cumulus@switch:~$ cat /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server
DHCPD_CONF="-cf /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf"
 
INTERFACES="swp1"

After you finish configuring the DHCP server, enable and start the dhcpd service immediately:

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo systemctl enable dhcpd.service
cumulus@switch:~$ sudo systemctl start dhcpd.service

Configure the IPv6 DHCP Server

In a text editor, edit the dhcpd6.conf file with a configuration similar to the following:

cumulus@switch:~$ cat /etc/dhcp/dhcpd6.conf
ddns-update-style none;
 
default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;
 
subnet6 2001:db8:100::/64 {
}
subnet6 2001:db8:1::/64 {
        range6 2001:db8:1::100 2001:db8:1::200;
}

Just as you did with the DHCP relay scripts, edit the DHCP server configuration file so it can launch the DHCP server when the system boots. Here is a sample configuration:

cumulus@switch:~$ cat /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server6
DHCPD_CONF="-cf /etc/dhcp/dhcpd6.conf"
 
INTERFACES="swp1"

After you finish configuring the DHCP server, enable and start the dhcpd6 service immediately:

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo systemctl enable dhcpd6.service
cumulus@switch:~$ sudo systemctl start dhcpd6.service

Assign Port-Based IP Addresses

You can assign an IP address and other DHCP options based on physical location or port regardless of MAC address to clients that are attached directly to the Cumulus Linux switch through a switch port. This is helpful when swapping out switches and servers; you can avoid the inconvenience of collecting the MAC address and sending it to the network administrator to modify the DHCP server configuration.

Edit the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file and add the interface name ifname to assign an IP address through DHCP. The following provides an example:

host myhost {
     ifname "swp1" ;
     fixed-address 10.10.10.10 ;
}

Troubleshooting

The DHCP server knows whether a DHCP request is a relay or a non-relay DHCP request. On isc-dhcp-server, for example, it is possible to tail the log and look at the behavior firsthand:

cumulus@server02:~$ sudo tail /var/log/syslog | grep dhcpd
2016-12-05T19:03:35.379633+00:00 server02 dhcpd: Relay-forward message from 2001:db8:101::1 port 547, link address 2001:db8:101::1, peer address fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:3
2016-12-05T19:03:35.380081+00:00 server02 dhcpd: Advertise NA: address 2001:db8:1::110 to client with duid 00:01:00:01:1f:d8:75:3a:44:38:39:00:00:03 iaid = 956301315 valid for 600 seconds
2016-12-05T19:03:35.380470+00:00 server02 dhcpd: Sending Relay-reply to 2001:db8:101::1 port 547