Re: NT 3.51 dhcp client and server ip address

[Ted Lemon <[e-mail]>]

> Pretty good, but the first sentence sounds like it only applies with the 
> two entities are on the same "wire".

That's correct.

> The firewall scenario you raised suggests that needing to use the IP
> address on the interface it comes in on is true with remote
> forwarded requests as well.

That's what the third sentence is for:

> >	The Server Identifier MUST be an IP
> > 	address to which the client may unicast a TCP packet using
> > 	routing information it has obtained using the DHCP routers
> > 	option.   

> 	The Server Identifer SHOULD be the IP address of the interface
> 	on which the DHCP Server heard the request.

I think this wording is too general.   By having different wording for
locally-connected clients and clients on subnets to which the server
is not directly connected, we avoid implying that the DHCP server
needs to be making general routing decisions.   The DHCP server
already needs to make rudimentary routing decisions for
locally-connected clients, but currently can safely punt routing
decisions for remote clients through the standard kernel IP layer.
For some servers, this is probably a moot point, but for servers
running on unix-like operating systems, we need to be more careful.

			       _MelloN_