Vendor Options

Vendor options are DHCP options that are defined by the DHCP client software vendor. When a client broadcasts a request for a configuration, the client includes its vendor client class. If this client class matches any client classes in the dhcptab database, then the options specified for that class are sent to the client, along with other configuration options. The Solaris 2 DHCP server can be configured to support any DHCP client vendor's options.

Adding Vendor and Site Options

To create additional vendor or site options, you must define:

• Vendor class, which is the name used to distinguish clients by vendor. The class name is an ASCII character string. It is not specified when you are defining a site option.

• Value type, which specifies the type of data contained in this option. The supported data types are:

  • ASCII text

  • Octet, an ASCII representation of binary data

  • IP, the dotted decimal form of an Internet address

  • Number, an 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, or 64-bit number

• Option Code, which is the DHCP option number you want to assign to the new options. Vendor codes can be between 1 and 254; site codes can be between 128 and 254.

• Granularity, which specifies how many objects of this value type make up a single instance of this option. For example, the static route symbol is a list of routes. Each route consists of two IP addresses, so the value type is defined as IP and the granularity is defined as 2.

• Length, which specifies the minimal granularity permissible in this option. For example, a subnet mask can be only one IP address, so the length for the subnet mask option is 1. A value of zero means that a variable number of items, up to 16, is permitted.

Because site options are specific to your site, you can create any meaningful option. In the case of vendor options, however, you can add only options that are meaningful to a specific client vendor. Some options are predefined, but others must be created. In that case, you may need to create a list of vendor options on the server that are appropriate to the specific vendor. The list typicall is provided by the client vendor.