After installing the DHCP-server, you will need to configure it before you can use it:
Select “DHCP” , which is part of the Windows menu “Administrative Tools“. In the left plane, you will see the name and IP-address of the DHCP-server.
After installation, a DHCP server is not authorized. Do not forget this later ! (see below )
You need to define the range of IP-addresses to be assigned (=distributed) by the DHCP-server. A definition of a range of IP-addresses (with or without additional options) is called a “Scope“: select your DHCP-server and then either with a right-click or from the menu “Actions” select to define a “New Scope“:
Up comes the Wizard select “Next“
Define a name for your scope continue with “Next“
Define the range of IP-address and the subnet-mask. Select a range, which does not include the IP-address of the server itself or any other device with a manually assigned IP-address (like: network printers). Although you could exclude them in the next step, usually a range is reserved for such manually assigned addresses and then the rest (in this case: 100 – 199 ) is given to the DHCP-server for automatic distribution.
If you could not define separate ranges for manually assigned and DHCP-assigned IP-addresses, then you could here define IP-addresses or ranges of IP-addresses to be excluded: not to be used by the DHCP-server.
Typically, an IP-address is assigned (= “leased” ) for a limited time. This avoid running out of addresses, when visitors to you office connect to the network and get an IP-address assigned. Without a time-limit, such an IP-address could not be reused. usually, 8 days is a good choice and will ensure that people every day in the office will continue to use the same IP-address once assigned to them, since their systems will in time extend the “lease”. And if they come back from a 2 week vacation and the “lease” has expired, then the DHCP-server will assign a new IP-address to them.
In addition to the IP-address and Sub-Netmask, a DHCP-server can also be use to define other TCP/IP configuration items on the Client systems.
Is your office network part of a larger company Wide-Area
network (WAN )? Then you need to configure the client computers with the IP-address of the Gateway (or Router) to be able to communicate with systems on the WAN. Enter the IP-address and then click on “Add” to enter the address to the list of Gateways.
Are you using a WAN and need to help your clients to locate the IP-addresses of servers (like WebServers) on the WAN? Or do you intend to have clients connected to the Windows2000 server via the new: “Active Directory” method? Then you must configure the clients for use of a DNS-server. Enter the name of your server and the IP-address and click on “Add” to enter the value on the list.
You can also configure the WINS server address
You need to activate the scope, (which you can do later with a right-click on the scope and selecting: “Activate”/”Deactivate” 🙂
Finished.
You still have to “Authorize” the DHCP-server: select the server and either right-click or from the menu “Action” select “Authorize” :
Note: on my system, I had to close now the DHCP-windows and open it up again to see, that the DHCP-server is now “Running” :
a quick check on the “Scope Options“, which we have configured already:
If required, you can change or add the options of the scope.
You can configure in the “Properties” of the scope, tab: DNS, that once the DHCP-server has assigned an IP-address the address will be updated in the DNS-server, allowing now other systems on the network to locate your system:
Once the DHCP-server is configured and authorized and the scope is activated, IP-addresses will be distributed . You can then view the list of assigned IP-addresses.
