Logical Interfaces

In the DHCPv4 client, each logical interface is independent and is an administrative unit. In addition to the zeroth logical interface (which defaults to the interface MAC address as an identifier), the user may configure specific logical interfaces to run DHCP by specifying a CLIENT_ID in the dhcpagent configuration file. For example:

hme0:1.CLIENT_ID=orangutan

DHCPv6 works differently. The zeroth logical interface on an IPv6 interface, unlike IPv4, is always a link-local. A link-local is used to automatically assign an IP address to a device in an IP network when there is no other assignment method available, such as a DHCP server. The zeroth logical interface cannot be under DHCP control, so although DHCPv6 is run on the zeroth logical interface (known, also, as the “physical” interface), it assigns addresses only on non-zero logical interfaces.

In response to a DHCPv6 client request, the DHCPv6 server returns a list of addresses for the client to configure.