How to Install and Configure a DHCP Server

Complete the following steps on the server that will be your DHCP server.

1. Turn on the server and log in as superuser.
2. Determine whether the DHCP server package is already installed on the server.

   # rpm -qa | grep dhcp-

3. If the DHCP server package is not listed, install the DHCP server.
   1. Mount the CD/DVD drive. Type the command:

      # mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

   2. Install the DHCP server.
      • For RHEL 4.8, insert the DVD or CD5 and type:

        # rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS/dhcp-*.rpm

      • For RHEL 5.3, insert the DVD or CD4 and type:

        # rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/Server/dchp*

      • For SLES10 SP2, insert DVD1 or CD2 and type:

        # rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/suse/x86_64/dhcp*

      • For SLES11, insert DVD1 and type:

        # rpm -Uvh /mnt/cdrom/suse/x86_64/dhcp*

   3. Unmount the CD/DVD drive. Type:

      # umount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

   4. Remove the CD or DVD from the CD/DVD drive.
4. Set up your DHCP configuration file (for example, /etc/dhcpd.conf) so that only PXEClient requests receive PXEClient responses.

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   Note - If the server does not already have a dhcpd.conf file in its /etc directory, you can copy the dhcpd.conf file from the sample DHCP configuration file in the /tmp/rhel4u3-pxefiles directory.

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   Add the following entry to the DHCP configuration file (refer to the dhcpd.conf man page for more information):

   class "PXE" {match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) ="PXEClient"; 
   option vendor-class-identifier "PXEClient"; vendor-option-space PXE; next-server 
   n.n.n.n}

   where n.n.n.n is the PXE server’s IP address.

5. In the DHCP configuration file, edit the server-identifier entry:

   server-identifier n.n.n.n

   where n.n.n.n is the PXE/DHCP server’s IP address.

6. Also in the DHCP configuration file, find the following subnet entry fields:

   subnet 1.2.3.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
   range dynamic-bootp 1.2.3.100 1.2.3.200;
   option routers 1.2.3.1;
   option broadcast-address 1.2.3.225;
   }

   Edit the subnet, range, router and broadcast-address entries to match the PXE/DHCP server’s network configuration.

7. Start the DHCP service.

   • For Red Hat, type the service dhcp start command.

     # service dhcpd start

   • For SUSE, use YaST to start the services.

8. Configure the server to always start DHCP.

   • For Red Hat, type:

     # chkconfig dhcpd on

   • For SUSE, use YaST to configure the services to start at bootup. For example:

     # yast > system > Runlevel Editor

Next Steps

How to Install Portmap on Your DHCP Server