Choosing the Data Store (System Administration Guide: IP Services)

System Administration Guide: IP Services

Choosing the Data Store

You can choose to store the DHCP data in text files, binary files, or the NIS+ directory service. The following table summarizes the features of each type of data store, and recommends the environment to which each is best suited.

Table 8–3 Comparison of Data Stores


Data Store Type	Performance	Maintenance	Sharing	Recommended Environment
Binary files	High performance, high capacity.	Low-maintenance, no database servers required. Contents must be viewed with DHCP Manager or `dhtadm` and `pntadm`. Regular file backups suggested.	Containers cannot be shared among DHCP servers.	Midsize to large environments with many networks with thousands of clients per network. Useful for small to medium ISPs.
NIS+	Moderate performance and capacity, dependent upon NIS+ service's performance and capacity	DHCP server system must be configured as a NIS+ client. Requires NIS+ service maintenance. Contents must be viewed with DHCP Manager or `dhtadm` and `pntadm`. Regular backups with `nisbackup` suggested.	DHCP data is distributed in NIS+, multiple servers can access the same containers.	Small to midsize environments with up to 5000 clients per network.
Text files	Moderate performance, low capacity.	Low-maintanence, no database servers required. ASCII format is readable without DHCP Manager, `dhtadm`, or `pntadm`. Regular file backups suggested.	Containers can be shared among DHCP servers if DHCP data is stored on one file system that is exported though an NFS mount point.	Small environments with a few hundred to a thousand clients per network, less than 10,000 total clients.

Traditional NIS (as opposed to NIS+) is not offered as a data store option because it does not support fast incremental updates. If your network uses NIS, you should use text files or binary files for your data store.