small clarification!!

["Pratap Reddy P." <[e-mail]>]

Hi,

I want to clarify myself about offering LEASE TIME while forming DHCPOFFER.
It is given in the recent spec. that:

---
The server must also choose an expiration time for the lease, as
   follows:

   o IF the client has not requested a specific lease in the
     DHCPDISCOVER message and the client already has an assigned network
     address, the server returns the lease expiration time previously
     assigned to that address (note that the client must explicitly
     request a specific lease to extend the expiration time on a
     previously assigned address), ELSE
.
.
.----

Is there any reason or logic on server offering the lease time assigned
previously??
What if server chooses to assign different lease time??

With the present algorithm, if administrator wants to assign IP (given
previously and is free) for some lease time of his own choice, he can't do
it from server's configuration. He has to make client to request for that
lease time. Sometimes this might not feasible (coz of client's
implementation or administrative limitations)....

I am sorry, if this wrong time to point out this. I missed the discussion
on this, if it has already happened. Just like to know the reason for
choosing this...

Thanx

- pratap
  [e-mail]