DHCP relay

Overview

The DHCP relay listens for DHCP queries and responses. When a query is received from a client, it is forwarded to the specified DHCP server(s). When a reply is received from a server, it is forwarded to the client that made the initial request.

The DHCP relay needs at least the IP address of a reachable DHCP server.

You can configure the DHCP relay parameters in the dhcp relay context.

vrouter running config# vrf VRFNAME dhcp relay
VRFNAME

VRF name on which the DHCP relay must run.

See also

The DHCP relay command reference for details.

DHCP relay configuration

  • To relay the DHCP clients’ requests to DHCP servers, the DHCP relay must know the IPv4 address of a DHCP server.

    vrouter running relay# dhcp-server A.B.C.D
    
    A.B.C.D

    IPv4 address of a DHCP server connected to the DHCP relay.

  • By default the DHCP relay will listen on all broadcast interfaces. But it’s also possible to specify one or more interfaces on which listen:

    vrouter running dhcp-server A.B.C.D# interface IFNAME
    
    IFNAME

    Name of an interface to which a DHCP server is connected.

  • The dhcp-server configuration can be disabled:

    vrouter running dhcp-server A.B.C.D# enabled false
    

DHCP configuration options

DHCP relay options can be specified in the root DHCP relay context or overwritten per dhcp-server.

Handle option

  • Specify the handling policy of DHCPv4 packets that already contain relay agent options:

    vrouter running dhcp-server A.B.C.D# handle-option append|replace|forward|discard
    
    append

    Append its own set of relay options to the packet.

    replace

    Replace the existing agent option field.

    forward

    Forward the packet unchanged.

    discard

    Discard the packet.

Drop unmatched packets

  • Packets coming from upstream servers who contains relay agent information options that indicate they were generated in response to a query that came via a different relay agent can be dropped:

    vrouter running dhcp-server A.B.C.D# drop-unmatched true
    

Maximum hop

  • Specify the maximum hop count before discard a packet:

    vrouter running dhcp-server A.B.C.D# hop-count <0-255>
    

Maximum packet size

  • Specify the maximum packet size to send to a DHCPv4 server. If a DHCP packet size surpasses this value it will be forwarded without appending relay agent information:

    vrouter running dhcp-server A.B.C.D# max-size <64-1400>
    

Configuration example

vrouter> edit running
vrouter running config# vrf main
vrouter running vrf main# dhcp
vrouter running dhcp# relay
vrouter running relay# hop-count 5
vrouter running relay# dhcp-server 1.0.0.1
vrouter running dhcp-server 1.0.0.1# interface eth0
vrouter running dhcp-server 1.0.0.1# interface eth1
vrouter running dhcp-server 1.0.0.1# drop-unmatched true
vrouter running dhcp-server 1.0.0.1# ..
vrouter running relay# ..
vrouter running dhcp#

The same configuration can be made using this NETCONF XML configuration:

vrouter> show config xml absolute vrf main dhcp relay
<config xmlns="urn:6wind:vrouter">
  <vrf>
    <name>main</name>
    <dhcp xmlns="urn:6wind:vrouter/dhcp">
      <relay>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
        <handle-option>append</handle-option>
        <drop-unmatched>false</drop-unmatched>
        <hop-count>5</hop-count>
        <max-size>576</max-size>
        <dhcp-server>
          <address>1.0.0.1</address>
          <enabled>true</enabled>
          <interface>eth0</interface>
          <interface>eth1</interface>
          <drop-unmatched>true</drop-unmatched>
        </dhcp-server>
      </relay>
    </dhcp>
  </vrf>
</config>