Network Configuration Information

The administrator determines what information to provide to DHCP clients. When you configure the DHCP server you provide essential information about the network. Later, you can add more information you want to provide to clients.

The DHCP server stores network configuration information in the dhcptab database, in the form of option/value pairs and macros. Options are keywords for network data you want to supply to clients. Values are assigned to options and passed to clients in DHCP messages. For example, the NIS server address is passed by way of an option called NISservs that has a value (a list of IP addresses) assigned by the DHCP server. Macros provide a convenient way to group together any number of options that you want to supply to clients. You can use the DHCP Manager to create macros to group options and assign values to the options. If you prefer a nongraphical tool, you can use dhtadm, the DHCP configuration table management utility, to work with options and macros.