Administering the DHCP Service

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

The following are the two main ways of administering the DHCP service:

  • Managing DHCP from the command line: As an alternative to console-based management, the Netsh commands for DHCP offer a command-line tool that helps with the administration of DHCP servers. The Netsh commands are useful when managing DHCP servers in WANs; typed command-line instructions give much better response times across slow-speed network links.

    When managing a large number of DHCP servers, commands can be used in batch mode to help script and automate recurring administrative tasks that need to be performed on all DHCP servers. For example, when the DHCP service is installed, no DHCP option definitions are created. Option definitions are created only when the DHCP console is opened for the first time. If you want to configure the value of an option on a DHCP server on which the console has never been opened, you must first use the Netsh DHCP context command server add optiondef to create the option definition. To assign a value to the option definition you have created, use the Netsh DHCP context command server set optionvalue.

  • Managing DHCP from the console: The DHCP console is added to the Administrative Tools folder in Control Panel when you install a DHCP server running Windows Server 2008. The DHCP console in Windows Server 2008 includes enhanced server performance monitoring, additional predefined DHCP option types, dynamic update support for clients running earlier versions of the Windows operating system, and detection of unauthorized DHCP servers on your network.