It maybe famous last words, but DHCP does not give many problems.
However if you are suffering from an APIPA address or a mis-configuration, then
check out these symptoms and their associated cures.
IPCONFIG will be your number one troubleshooting tool. Take the time to
learn all its switches. For example IPCONFIG /all, /release /renew.
When you run IPCONFIG, if you see address beginning 169.254.x.y, this is
known as APIPA. There may be nothing wrong, on a small network this could
be 'By design'. However on a business network, more than likely it means
that the DHCP server is down, or the Relay Agent is not doing its job.
If the DHCP server is newly installed then check that it has been Authorized
in Active Directory by an Enterprise Admin. If it is Authorized (Green
down arrow on server Icon), then check that the scope is activated.
When you suspect that the DHCP database is corrupt, firstly check through the
system and application event logs. If your worst fears are confirmed, then
you have two choices, either just ruthlessly delete the affected scopes and
start again. Alternatively, attempt to restore the database from backup.
See here for more information.
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Are you looking for a property of an individual scope, or a property of the
DHCP server option? For example, the clients have a default gateway
address of 10.10.56.200, but you do not know where this IP address is coming
from. As a rule of thumb if you cannot find what you are
looking for on the server, try the scope, and vica versa!
See more about configuring DHCP
scope
Make sure that you add the interface to the Relay Agent. The Relay
Agent is found under
the Routing and RAS server icon. Whilst you add the interface itself, by
right clicking the Relay Agent object, select New Interface from the short cut
menu. See more on DHCP Relay Agent
Kiwi Syslog Server - Free Utility to
Analyze Your Network Messages
Syslog messages are full of information for troubleshooting network problems.
When something goes wrong then
surely there will be an error message in the syslog datagram - if only we can find
that record and interpret the event. What will help to capture and analyze such
network messages is the Kiwi Syslog Server.
If you suspect that there is more DHCP activity than necessary, then setup a
performance log and monitor the key counters, for example Requests /sec.
See more about Performance Monitor here.
