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DHCP Redundant Configuration Question


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Posted

Hello folks,

 

We've got a domain that has about 120 DHCP clients. We've got two

Win2K DCs. Until recently, all of our DHCP was handled by the second

domain controller. I modified the setup to provide some DHCP

redundancy and have some questions. Here is the current setup:

 

DC1

Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

Exclusions: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

 

DC2

Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

Exclusions: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

 

The overlapping scopes and mutually exclusive exclusion lists were set

up based on a recommendation in TechNet DHCP best practices. This

basically leaves half of range on each DHCP server. With the current

setup, each DHCP server has 97 available addresses to hand out which,

I know, is not enough for the 120 DHCP clients. The hope is that it

would be enough to get us through a crunch if one of the servers went

down. Until I can get additional IP space allocated, I will have to

live with that setup. I do have some questions about this setup that

some of you may be able to answer:

 

- Is there a chance a client will not be able to get an address under

normal operations? For example, if the scope on one server fills up

and the client happens to hit that server, will it get denied and give

up?

 

- Is there any better way of setting this up without changing the IP

range?

 

TIA!

MPG

  • Replies 5
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Guest Meinolf Weber
Posted

Re: DHCP Redundant Configuration Question

 

Hello MPG,

 

If both servers are up and running, you will be fine, the client will search

for a DHCP server until it gets an address, doesn't matter which one. If

no server is available it will use the APIPA address. So in your case one

server must be down AND the client has to be at the half lease time, because

then it starts to renew the address. So if you are aware that one server

will be down, free the excluded range and all clients can get addresses.

 

Best regards

 

Meinolf Weber

Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers

no rights.

** Please do NOT email, only reply to Newsgroups

** HELP us help YOU!!! http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm

> Hello folks,

>

> We've got a domain that has about 120 DHCP clients. We've got two

> Win2K DCs. Until recently, all of our DHCP was handled by the second

> domain controller. I modified the setup to provide some DHCP

> redundancy and have some questions. Here is the current setup:

>

> DC1

> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusions: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

> DC2

> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusions: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

> The overlapping scopes and mutually exclusive exclusion lists were set

> up based on a recommendation in TechNet DHCP best practices. This

> basically leaves half of range on each DHCP server. With the current

> setup, each DHCP server has 97 available addresses to hand out which,

> I know, is not enough for the 120 DHCP clients. The hope is that it

> would be enough to get us through a crunch if one of the servers went

> down. Until I can get additional IP space allocated, I will have to

> live with that setup. I do have some questions about this setup that

> some of you may be able to answer:

>

> - Is there a chance a client will not be able to get an address under

> normal operations? For example, if the scope on one server fills up

> and the client happens to hit that server, will it get denied and give

> up?

>

> - Is there any better way of setting this up without changing the IP

> range?

>

> TIA!

> MPG

Guest Phillip Windell
Posted

Re: DHCP Redundant Configuration Question

 

the way you are doing it is exactly the way I have always done it and I have

never had any trouble with it. The lease peiod is 8 days by default,

meaning it renews every 4 days,...so it would probably take quite a while

(but sooner if clients are rebooted daily) to eat up all the addresses on

one DHCP if the other goes down,..but yes it would eventually happen,...the

idea is to just buy time to get the broken one fix right away. If you get

delayed on repairs just adjust the Exclusion on the remaining one to provide

a few more addresses then put it back to original aferwards.

 

The only difference I do is that I *always* use the entire IP Range in the

Scope based on the subnet mask, then use Exclusions to mark out the lower

Static Addresses.

It still works your way as well, so it is kind of just a preference I

suppose.

 

So I would have:

 

DC1 (with a mask of 255.255.255.0)

Scope: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.254

Exclusion: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.59

Exclusion: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

 

DC2 (with a mask of 255.255.255.0)

Scope: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.254

Exclusion: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.59

Exclusion: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

 

 

--

Phillip Windell

http://www.wandtv.com

 

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,

or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.

-----------------------------------------------------

 

"MPG" <mgaciarz@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:bba87c3c-59f0-4e9b-bcca-83a7bf547c7e@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

> Hello folks,

>

> We've got a domain that has about 120 DHCP clients. We've got two

> Win2K DCs. Until recently, all of our DHCP was handled by the second

> domain controller. I modified the setup to provide some DHCP

> redundancy and have some questions. Here is the current setup:

>

> DC1

> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusions: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

>

> DC2

> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusions: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

>

> The overlapping scopes and mutually exclusive exclusion lists were set

> up based on a recommendation in TechNet DHCP best practices. This

> basically leaves half of range on each DHCP server. With the current

> setup, each DHCP server has 97 available addresses to hand out which,

> I know, is not enough for the 120 DHCP clients. The hope is that it

> would be enough to get us through a crunch if one of the servers went

> down. Until I can get additional IP space allocated, I will have to

> live with that setup. I do have some questions about this setup that

> some of you may be able to answer:

>

> - Is there a chance a client will not be able to get an address under

> normal operations? For example, if the scope on one server fills up

> and the client happens to hit that server, will it get denied and give

> up?

>

> - Is there any better way of setting this up without changing the IP

> range?

>

> TIA!

> MPG

Posted

Re: DHCP Redundant Configuration Question

 

On Apr 17, 2:19 pm, "Phillip Windell" <philwind...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> the way you are doing it is exactly the way I have always done it and I have

> never had any trouble with it.  The lease peiod is 8 days by default,

> meaning it renews every 4 days,...so it would probably take quite a while

> (but sooner if clients are rebooted daily) to eat up all the addresses on

> one DHCP if the other goes down,..but yes it would eventually happen,...the

> idea is to just buy time to get the broken one fix right away.  If you get

> delayed on repairs just adjust the Exclusion on the remaining one to provide

> a few more addresses then put it back to original aferwards.

>

> The only difference I do is that I *always* use the entire IP Range in the

> Scope based on the subnet mask, then use Exclusions to mark out the lower

> Static Addresses.

> It still works your way as well, so it is kind of just a preference I

> suppose.

>

> So I would have:

>

> DC1 (with a mask of 255.255.255.0)

> Scope: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusion: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.59

> Exclusion: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

>

> DC2 (with a mask of 255.255.255.0)

> Scope: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusion: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.59

> Exclusion: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

>

> --

> Phillip Windellwww.wandtv.com

>

> The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,

> or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.

> -----------------------------------------------------

>

> "MPG" <mgaci...@gmail.com> wrote in message

>

> news:bba87c3c-59f0-4e9b-bcca-83a7bf547c7e@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

>

>

>

> > Hello folks,

>

> > We've got a domain that has about 120 DHCP clients.  We've got two

> > Win2K DCs.  Until recently, all of our DHCP was handled by the second

> > domain controller.  I modified the setup to provide some DHCP

> > redundancy and have some questions.  Here is the current setup:

>

> > DC1

> > Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> > Exclusions: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

>

> > DC2

> > Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> > Exclusions: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

>

> > The overlapping scopes and mutually exclusive exclusion lists were set

> > up based on a recommendation in TechNet DHCP best practices.  This

> > basically leaves half of range on each DHCP server.  With the current

> > setup, each DHCP server has 97 available addresses to hand out which,

> > I know, is not enough for the 120 DHCP clients.  The hope is that it

> > would be enough to get us through a crunch if one of the servers went

> > down.  Until I can get additional IP space allocated, I will have to

> > live with that setup.  I do have some questions about this setup that

> > some of you may be able to answer:

>

> > - Is there a chance a client will not be able to get an address under

> > normal operations?  For example, if the scope on one server fills up

> > and the client happens to hit that server, will it get denied and give

> > up?

>

> > - Is there any better way of setting this up without changing the IP

> > range?

>

> > TIA!

> > MPG- Hide quoted text -

>

> - Show quoted text -

 

Thanks to both of you for the help. I just ran into another gotcha

with this setup today: IP reservations have to be set up on both DHCP

servers for them to work. Is there any other way of using

reservations with two active DHCP servers? One suggestion I found was

to have the two scopes overlap and put all of the IP reservations in

the overlapping IP space. At least, that way, a client for which

there is a reservation can hit either server to get its IP. However,

you still have to set up the reservations on both servers. Any

thoughts on this?

 

Thanks!

Guest kj [SBS MVP]
Posted

Re: DHCP Redundant Configuration Question

 

MPG wrote:

> On Apr 17, 2:19 pm, "Phillip Windell" <philwind...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>> the way you are doing it is exactly the way I have always done it

>> and I have never had any trouble with it. The lease peiod is 8 days

>> by default, meaning it renews every 4 days,...so it would probably

>> take quite a while (but sooner if clients are rebooted daily) to eat

>> up all the addresses on one DHCP if the other goes down,..but yes it

>> would eventually happen,...the idea is to just buy time to get the

>> broken one fix right away. If you get delayed on repairs just adjust

>> the Exclusion on the remaining one to provide a few more addresses

>> then put it back to original aferwards.

>>

>> The only difference I do is that I *always* use the entire IP Range

>> in the Scope based on the subnet mask, then use Exclusions to mark

>> out the lower Static Addresses.

>> It still works your way as well, so it is kind of just a preference I

>> suppose.

>>

>> So I would have:

>>

>> DC1 (with a mask of 255.255.255.0)

>> Scope: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.254

>> Exclusion: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.59

>> Exclusion: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

>>

>> DC2 (with a mask of 255.255.255.0)

>> Scope: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.254

>> Exclusion: 10.1.5.1 - 10.1.5.59

>> Exclusion: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

>>

>> --

>> Phillip Windellwww.wandtv.com

>>

>> The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or

>> Microsoft, or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.

>> -----------------------------------------------------

>>

>> "MPG" <mgaci...@gmail.com> wrote in message

>>

>> news:bba87c3c-59f0-4e9b-bcca-83a7bf547c7e@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

>>

>>

>>

>>> Hello folks,

>>

>>> We've got a domain that has about 120 DHCP clients. We've got two

>>> Win2K DCs. Until recently, all of our DHCP was handled by the second

>>> domain controller. I modified the setup to provide some DHCP

>>> redundancy and have some questions. Here is the current setup:

>>

>>> DC1

>>> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

>>> Exclusions: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

>>

>>> DC2

>>> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

>>> Exclusions: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

>>

>>> The overlapping scopes and mutually exclusive exclusion lists were

>>> set up based on a recommendation in TechNet DHCP best practices.

>>> This basically leaves half of range on each DHCP server. With the

>>> current setup, each DHCP server has 97 available addresses to hand

>>> out which, I know, is not enough for the 120 DHCP clients. The hope

>>> is that it would be enough to get us through a crunch if one of the

>>> servers went down. Until I can get additional IP space allocated, I

>>> will have to live with that setup. I do have some questions about

>>> this setup that some of you may be able to answer:

>>

>>> - Is there a chance a client will not be able to get an address

>>> under normal operations? For example, if the scope on one server

>>> fills up and the client happens to hit that server, will it get

>>> denied and give up?

>>

>>> - Is there any better way of setting this up without changing the IP

>>> range?

>>

>>> TIA!

>>> MPG- Hide quoted text -

>>

>> - Show quoted text -

>

> Thanks to both of you for the help. I just ran into another gotcha

> with this setup today: IP reservations have to be set up on both DHCP

> servers for them to work. Is there any other way of using

> reservations with two active DHCP servers? One suggestion I found was

> to have the two scopes overlap and put all of the IP reservations in

> the overlapping IP space. At least, that way, a client for which

> there is a reservation can hit either server to get its IP. However,

> you still have to set up the reservations on both servers. Any

> thoughts on this?

>

> Thanks!

 

You can setup your reservations once on one server then export them and

import them into the second server.

 

Keeping them in sync is still a pain, but better than entering potentially

hundereds and haveing to do it again.

 

--

/kj

Guest Herb Martin
Posted

Re: DHCP Redundant Configuration Question

 

 

"MPG" <mgaciarz@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:bba87c3c-59f0-4e9b-bcca-83a7bf547c7e@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

> Hello folks,

>

> We've got a domain that has about 120 DHCP clients. We've got two

> Win2K DCs. Until recently, all of our DHCP was handled by the second

> domain controller. I modified the setup to provide some DHCP

> redundancy and have some questions. Here is the current setup:

>

> DC1

> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusions: 10.1.5.157 - 10.1.5.254

>

> DC2

> Scope: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.254

> Exclusions: 10.1.5.60 - 10.1.5.156

>

> The overlapping scopes and mutually exclusive exclusion lists were set

> up based on a recommendation in TechNet DHCP best practices. This

> basically leaves half of range on each DHCP server.

 

That is the correct way to do this.

> With the current

> setup, each DHCP server has 97 available addresses to hand out which,

> I know, is not enough for the 120 DHCP clients. The hope is that it

> would be enough to get us through a crunch if one of the servers went

> down. Until I can get additional IP space allocated, I will have to

> live with that setup. I do have some questions about this setup that

> some of you may be able to answer:

 

The strategy should include making the Lease period long enough so

that when one DHCP server goes down, ENOUGH of its clients

will be able to retain an address long enough for you to repair the

problem.

 

> - Is there a chance a client will not be able to get an address under

> normal operations?

 

Yes, but you reduce that chance through setting the lease correctly.

> For example, if the scope on one server fills up

> and the client happens to hit that server, will it get denied and give

> up?

 

If the other is down it will. The trick is to repair the "other" server

rapidly enough.

> - Is there any better way of setting this up without changing the IP

> range?

 

Probably not.


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