The DHCP server role in Windows Server® 2012 introduces DHCP Policies also referred as Policy Based Assignment (PBA), a feature that enables users to create policies at scope or server level for assigning IPv4 addresses and options to DHCP clients based on attributes like Vendor Class, User Class...

DHCP PowerShell in Windows Server 2012, in addition to providing cmdlets for DHCP server management, provides cmdlets for exporting ( Export-DhcpServer ) and importing ( Import-DhcpServer ) DHCP Server configuration and IP address lease data. Unlike NetSH.exe export/import functionality which uses binary...

DHCP Failover is a new feature in Windows Server 2012 which provides for high availability of DHCP service. Two DHCP servers in a failover relationship synchronize the IP address lease information on a continual basis there by keeping their respective databases up-to-date with client information and...

Many organizations deploy DHCP server but choose to have complete control over the IP addresses given out to client computers. This is achieved by reserving an IP address for each client as opposed to letting them acquire a lease dynamically. If you are an admin at one such organization, you could probably...

Security and network administrators are increasingly wary of internal security threats, in addition to threats from the outside, due to the introduction of uncertified hardware and software on the network, such as personal portable computers and mobile devices that can be potentially compromised and...

Introduction DHCP server in Windows Server 2012 provides support for provisioning customized IP address and network configurations to DHCP clients using DHCP policies. Policies can be created based on several criteria one of which is relay agent information option - commonly referred as option 82...

Introduction With the trend towards private cloud and hosted cloud deployments, the use of virtualization is ubiquitous. This has also increased the need for better control of these virtualized environments with respect to IP address and network configuration provisioning. DHCP policies , a new feature...

Introduction An enterprise network has several types of devices – desktops, printers, mobiles, laptops etc. An enterprise administrator would need to ensure that all these different types of device are provisioned appropriately for network connectivity. This requires that they have a valid IP...

Introduction Link-layer filtering was a DHCP feature introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 where one could allow or restrict access to clients based on their MAC address. However the caveat in this feature was that this was possible only at the server level. One of the frequent asks we‘ve had...

Introduction This article provides information on how to migrate an existing DHCP server deployment on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2012 DHCP Failover. DHCP Failover feature requires two Windows Server 2012 on which the DHCP role is installed. To migrate from...

The two modes of configuring DHCP Failover Load Balance and Hot Standby enables a wide range of deployment topologies involving failover deployment between the DHCP servers present in the same site or spread across multiple sites. The most rudimentary one is the single-site deployment, where both...

In the previous blog on DHCP Failover, we discussed the DHCP failover load balance mode where both DHCP servers respond to client requests and load balance the requests between them based on an admin specified load distribution ratio. In the other mode of a failover relationship, known as the Hot...

With the new Server Manager in Windows Server 2012, there have been some changes in the way DHCP role will be installed. The blog post describes, in the sections below, installation and configuration of DHCP Role using Server Manager and PowerShell on Windows Server 2012. Before starting, the user needs...

Introduction In the recent blogs about DHCP server in Windows Server 2012, we discussed DHCP Failover – a new mechanism for achieving high availability of the Windows DHCP server and DHCP PowerShell – the new command line interface for managing Windows DHCP server. This blog discusses...

As described in the blog on DHCP failover , there are two types of DHCP Failover relations – Load Balance which provides Active-Active configuration and Hot Standby which provides Active-Passive configuration. This blog article elaborates on the Load Balance failover relationship. As is evident...

Windows server 2012 comes with PowerShell support for DHCP server role. It provides DHCP administrators a modern, uniform way to manage DHCP servers both locally and remotely, through the command line. These cmdlets get enabled by default when you install DHCP role or DHCP RSAT (Remote Server Administration...

Introduction DHCP and DNS are widely used Windows Server roles providing the foundation for connectivity in enterprise networks. While DHCP enables the assignment of IP addresses and configuration of hosts on demand, DNS allows Internet names like “www.microsoft.com” to be resolved to...

Introduction Ensuring high availability of critical network services like DHCP figures high in the list of priorities for any enterprise. In an environment where clients get their IP addresses and network configuration automatically, uninterrupted network connectivity is dependent on the availability...