dhcp(5)                                                 Standards, Environments, and Macros                                                dhcp(5)

NAME

       dhcp - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DESCRIPTION

       Dynamic  Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enables host systems in a TCP/IP network to be configured automatically for the network as they
       boot. DHCP uses a client/server mechanism: servers store configuration information  for  clients,  and  provide  that  information  upon  a
       client's request. The information can include the client's IP address and information about network services available to the client.

       This manual page provides a brief summary of the Solaris DHCP implementation.

   Solaris DHCP Client
       The  Solaris  DHCP  client  is implemented as background daemon, dhcpagent(1M). This daemon is started automatically during bootup if there
       exists at least one dhcp.interface file in /etc. Only interfaces with a corresponding /etc/dhcp.interface file are automatically configured
       during  boot.  Network  parameters  needed for system configuration during bootup are extracted from the information recieved by the daemon
       through the use of the dhcpinfo(1) command. The daemon's default behavior can be altered by changing the tunables in the  /etc/default/dhc-
       pagent  file.  The  daemon is controlled by the ifconfig(1M) utility. Check the status of the daemon using the netstat(1M) and ifconfig(1M)
       commands.

   Solaris DHCP Server
       The Solaris DHCP server is implemented as a background daemon, in.dhcpd(1M). This daemon can deliver network configuration  information  to
       either  BOOTP  or  DHCP  clients.  The Solaris DHCP service can be managed using the dhcpmgr(1M) GUI or the command line utilities dhcpcon-
       fig(1M), dhtadm(1M), and pntadm(1M).

   DHCP Configuration Tables
       The Solaris DHCP server stores client configuration information in the following two types of tables:

       dhcptab tables          Contain macros and options (also known as symbols), used to construct a package  of  configuration  information  to
                               send to each DHCP client. There exists only one dhcptab for the DHCP service. The dhcptab(4) can be viewed and mod-
                               ified using the dhtadm(1M) command or dhcpmgr(1M) graphical utility. See dhcptab(4) for more information about  the
                               syntax of dhcptab records. See dhcp_inittab(4) for more information about the DHCP options and symbols.

       DHCP network tables     DHCP  network  tables,  which  contain  mappings of client IDs to IP addresses and parameters associated with those
                               addresses. Network tables are named with the IP address of the network, and can be created,  viewed,  and  modified
                               using  the  pntadm  command  or  dhcpmgr  graphical utility. See dhcp_network(4) for more information about network
                               tables.

SEE ALSO

       dhcpinfo(1), dhcpagent(1M), dhcpconfig(1M), dhcpmgr(1M),  dhtadm(1M),  ifconfig(1M),  in.dhcpd(1M),  netstat(1M),  pntadm(1M),  syslog(3C),
       dhcp_network(4), dhcptab(4), dhcpsvc.conf(4), dhcp_inittab(4), dhcp_modules(5)

       Solaris DHCP Service Developer's Guide

       Alexander, S., and R. Droms. RFC 2132, DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor Extensions.  Silicon Graphics, Inc. Bucknell University. March 1997.

       Droms, R. RFC 1534, Interoperation Between DHCP and BOOTP. Bucknell University. October 1993.

       Droms, R. RFC 2131, Dynamic Host Configuration  Protocol. Bucknell University. March 1997.

       Wimer, W. RFC 1542, Clarifications and Extensions for the Bootstrap Protocol. Carnegie Mellon University. October 1993.

SunOS 5.10                                                          13 Mar 2001                                                            dhcp(5)