can dhcp clients contact a specific dhcp server perhaps by IP?

[pll at lanminds.com]

In a message dated: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 19:07:52 EDT
Walter Tautz said:

>I am trying to setup a server to configure a bunch of machine on a subnet
>which is attached to a switch that forwards dhcp requests out of the subnet.
>I don't have control over this behaviour so is there `non-broadcasat' mode
>that would enable clients to contact a specific server, one that may not be
>on the same subnet? I'm not too familiar with the setup of dhcp servers...

Let me see if I understand you.  Your systems are on some subnet, for 
which the switch is configured to forward all DHCP requests elsewhere.
You don't have control over the switch configuration, and you need 
your systems to DHCP boot off of *your* DHCP server, not the one one 
some other subnet.  Did I get that right?

If so, one thing you could do is place all your systems on a hub 
which is then connected to that switch.  The hub will repeat the DHCP 
broadcast out all of it's ports, and back to the switch.  If your 
DHCP server is located on that hub as well, it should answer sooner 
than the DHCP server on the other side of the switch, since it is 
closer.  The other thing you could do is temporarily disconnect your 
hub from the switch until your systems have received an answer from 
your DHCP server, then reconnect it once they've all started they're 
installs.

Hope that helps some.
-- 

Seeya,
Paul
--
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