Re: Why DHCP not for routers?

lowell@epilogue.com Thu, 28 March 1996 16:13 UTC

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To: mamros@ftp.com, Rajesh Saluja <rsaluja@wipinfo.soft.net>
Cc: dhcp-v4@bucknell.edu
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From: lowell@epilogue.com
In-Reply-To: <9603281348.AA17559@mailserv-C.ftp.com> (message from Shawn Mamros on Thu, 28 Mar 96 08:48:11 EST)
Subject: Re: Why DHCP not for routers?
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 96 10:34:26 -0500
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[Rajesh Saluja's question:]
>In the RFC1541 and the latest DHCP draft, it is mentioned that
>" DHCP is not intended for configuring routers".
>                      Can someone listout the problems if DHCP is used for 
>configuring a router?  Your help will be highly appreciated.

[Shawn Mamros's answer:]
> For starters, imagine the consequences if a router's lease on one (or more)
> of its interfaces expires...  even better, if the DHCP server runs out
> of addresses and can't give one to the router...  and what if the router
> itself is acting as a DHCP relay agent?

As Shawn said, that's just for starters.  Even more fundamentally, the
problem is that using DHCP on a router requires that for each
interface on the router using DHCP, that interface be connected to a
subnet that includes either (1) a DHCP server, or (2) both a relay
agent and another router.  The former defeats the whole purpose in
terms of scalability, while the latter is both unlikely and
unreliable.  

Be well.
        Lowell Gilbert