DHCPv4 requires explicit client configuration. You must set up the DHCPv4 system for addressing when desired, and this is typically done during initial system installation or dynamically through the use of the ipadm command. See the ipadm (1M) man page.
DHCPv6 does not require explicit client configuration. Instead, using DHCP is a property of the network, and the signal to use it is carried in Router Advertisement messages from local routers. The DHCP client automatically creates and destroys logical interfaces as needed.
The DHCPv6 mechanism is very similar administratively to the existing IPv6 stateless (automatic) address configuration. For stateless address configuration, you would set a flag on the local router to indicate that, for a given set of prefixes, each client should automatically configure an address on its own by using the advertised prefix plus a local interface token or random number. For DHCPv6, the same prefixes are required, but the addresses are acquired and managed through a DHCPv6 server instead of being assigned “randomly.”
DHCPv4 uses the MAC address and an optional Client ID to identify the client for purposes of assigning an address. Each time the same client arrives on the network, it gets the same address, if possible.
DHCPv6 uses basically the same scheme, but makes the Client ID mandatory and imposes structure on it. The Client ID in DHCPv6 consists of two parts: a DHCP Unique Identifier (DUID) and an Identity Association Identifier (IAID). The DUID identifies the client system (rather than just an interface, as in DHCPv4), and the IAID identifies the interface on that system.
As described in RFC 3315, an identity association is the means used for a server and a client to identify, group, and manage a set of related IPv6 addresses. A client must associate at least one distinct IA with each of its network interfaces, and then uses the assigned IAs to obtain configuration information from a server for that interface. For additional information about IAs, see the next section, DHCP Protocol Details.
DUID+IAID can also be used with DHCPv4. These can be concatenated together unambiguously so that they can serve as the Client ID. For compatibility reasons, this is not done for regular IPv4 interfaces. However, for logical interfaces (net0:1), DUID+IAID is used if no Client ID is configured.