Cisco Systems 3750E manual Dhcp Client Request Process, Dhcp Client and Server Message Exchange

Chapter 3 Assigning the Switch IP Address and Default Gateway

Assigning Switch Information

With DHCP-based autoconfiguration, no DHCP client-side configuration is needed on your switch. However, you need to configure the DHCP server for various lease options associated with IP addresses. If you are using DHCP to relay the configuration file location on the network, you might also need to configure a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server and a Domain Name System (DNS) server.

Note We recommend a redundant connection between a switch stack and the DHCP, DNS, and TFTP servers. This is to help ensure that these servers remain accessible in case one of the connected stack members is removed from the switch stack.

The DHCP server for your switch can be on the same LAN or on a different LAN than the switch. If the DHCP server is running on a different LAN, you should configure a DHCP relay device between your switch and the DHCP server. A relay device forwards broadcast traffic between two directly connected LANs. A router does not forward broadcast packets, but it forwards packets based on the destination IP address in the received packet.

DHCP-based autoconfiguration replaces the BOOTP client functionality on your switch.

DHCP Client Request Process

When you boot up your switch, the DHCP client is invoked and requests configuration information from a DHCP server when the configuration file is not present on the switch. If the configuration file is present and the configuration includes the ip address dhcp interface configuration command on specific routed interfaces, the DHCP client is invoked and requests the IP address information for those interfaces.

Figure 3-1shows the sequence of messages that are exchanged between the DHCP client and the DHCP server.

Figure 3-1 DHCP Client and Server Message Exchange

DHCPDISCOVER (broadcast)

Switch A	DHCPOFFER (unicast)
	DHCPREQUEST (broadcast)
	DHCPACK (unicast)

DHCP server

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The client, Switch A, broadcasts a DHCPDISCOVER message to locate a DHCP server. The DHCP server offers configuration parameters (such as an IP address, subnet mask, gateway IP address, DNS IP address, a lease for the IP address, and so forth) to the client in a DHCPOFFER unicast message.

In a DHCPREQUEST broadcast message, the client returns a formal request for the offered configuration information to the DHCP server. The formal request is broadcast so that all other DHCP servers that received the DHCPDISCOVER broadcast message from the client can reclaim the IP addresses that they offered to the client.

The DHCP server confirms that the IP address has been allocated to the client by returning a DHCPACK unicast message to the client. With this message, the client and server are bound, and the client uses configuration information received from the server. The amount of information the switch receives depends on how you configure the DHCP server. For more information, see the “Configuring the TFTP Server” section on page 3-6.

If the configuration parameters sent to the client in the DHCPOFFER unicast message are invalid (a configuration error exists), the client returns a DHCPDECLINE broadcast message to the DHCP server.

Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Switch Software Configuration Guide

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