Checklist: Administering a DHCP server

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Checklist: Administering a DHCP server

The following table lists optional actions you can take to administer your DHCP server, depending on your network configuration.

Step Reference

If clients share a commonly defined vendor type or a common need for a unique DHCP options configuration, configure and assign option classes.

Using option classes; Manage Options and Classes

If predefined options do not meet your needs, define additional option types.

Define a new option; Assigning options

If the default lease time of eight days is too long or too short, adjust the length of lease durations.

For example, you can shorten leases for wireless clients on wireless subnets, or lengthen leases for subnets whose DHCP clients all have reservations.

Change or view scope properties; Managing leases

If you need to implement support for more than one logical network for each physical network, create and use superscopes.

Create a superscope; Using superscopes

If you have a routed network, determine if you need to implement relay agents or update routers, and if so, review relay agent configurations and related design issues.

DHCP/BOOTP Relay Agents; Configure the DHCP Relay Agent

If you want to deploy your DHCP server as a multicast server, create multicast scopes.

Create a multicast scope; Using multicast scopes

If you want to support BOOTP clients on your network, configure the BOOTP table.

Add an entry to the BOOTP table; View the BOOTP table

If DHCP clients have problems accessing network resources, verify DHCP service to clients.

Verify, release, or renew a client address lease; Ipconfig; Command-line utilities

If you want to manually configure IP addresses for clients running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 family, disable automatic address configuration.

Disable automatic address configuration

If you want to track DHCP server performance, use System Monitor.

Monitoring DHCP server performance; System Monitor overview

If you want to allow users to have read-only or administrative access to the DHCP server, add users to DHCP groups.

DHCP groups; Default groups

If you are having DHCP-related problems, troubleshoot and resolve common DHCP-related problems, or review DHCP server audit log files.

DHCP Troubleshooting; Analyzing server log files