Posted by arlene

Installing a DHCP server on Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 Servers is just as simple as most application installs. However, you’ll need to have some information ready before you begin the installation. You will need to know the range of addresses that the server will administer and lease to clients. If you have any servers on the network that need static addresses, you’ll need to know those if they fall within the scope of the DHCP managed addresses. For example, DNS and WINS servers must have static IP addresses, and most DHCP servers do also. In a large network, you also should consider using multiple DHCP servers and enabling routers so that they can forward DHCP packets.

Installing the DHCP Server Service on Windows 2000 or Server 2003

In this section you will learn about installing DHCP on both Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 server platforms. To install the server, follow these steps:

1. From the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs (Add or Remove Programs for 2003).
2. Click on Add/Remove Windows Components. For Windows 2000, click the Components button at the top of the Add/Remove Programs dialog box.
3. When the Windows Components Wizard appears, select Networking Services and then click Details.
4. From the Networking Services dialog box, select the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) check box, and then click OK to close this dialog box. Click Next when the Windows Components Wizard reappears. A dialog box displays the progress of the installation.
5. The last dialog box tells you that you have successfully completed the Components Wizard. Click Finish.

Before the server can begin managing IP addresses on the network, you will have to authorize the server in the Active Directory and then configure a scope of addresses that the server can administer.

Authorizing the Server

The DHCP manager snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console utility is used to manage the DHCP service on the Windows server. For Windows 2000 click Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, DHCP. For Windows 2003 click Start, Administrative Tools, DHCP.

On the left side of the management console is a tree structure that can be used to manage one or more DHCP servers from a central location. Click on the server that falls under DHCP and you’ll see the Server Options folder for this particular DHCP server.

After you click on the server, you’ll notice that the icon to the left of the server name will change and a red arrow (pointing downward) will appear on top of the icon. This is a reminder that this server has not yet been authorized in the Active Directory. Windows 2000/2003 DHCP servers perform a process called rogue server detection. When a Windows 2000/2003 server boots and the DHCP service is started, it sends out a DHCPINFORM packet. Other DHCP servers, if any are configured on the network, reply with the DHCPACK message. Next, the service checks to see whether it is registered in the Active Directory. If it is not, it will not begin answering client requests.

The DHCP server undergoes this rogue server detection process once each hour. Thus, each DHCP server can keep track of other authorized DHCP servers on the network.

Authorizing a server is simple:

1. Log on to the server using an administrator-level account.
2. Run the DHCP MMC snap-in by selecting it from the Administrative Tools folder.
3. Click once on the server you want to administer.
4. From the Action menu, select Authorize. It might take up to a minute or two before the process completes.

Use the Refresh option from the Action menu to determine when the process has finished. The red arrow is replaced with a green arrow pointing upward.

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