Managing a Windows Server 2008 DHCP Server from the Command Line
Installing the DHCP Feature from the Command Line
A Windows Server 2008 system can only act as a DHCP server if the DHCP feature has been installed. This can be achieved from the command prompt using the servermanagercmd utility as follows:
servermanagercmd -install dhcp
Authorizing DHCP Servers in Active Directory
If a DHCP server is to operate within an Active Directory domain (and is not running on a domain controller) it must first be authorized. This can be achieved either as part of the DHCP Server role installation, or subsequently using either DHCP console or at the command prompt using the netsh tool. To achieve this, open a command prompt and enter the following command:
netsh dhcp server serverID initiate auth
In the above command syntax, serverID is replaced by the IP address or full UNC name of system on which the DHCP server is installed.
Configuring Scopes at the Command Prompt
DHCP scopes may also be configured from the command prompt using the netsh tool. netsh may be run as a single command, or interactively. To run interactively. To run in interactive mode follow these steps:
1. At the command prompt enter netsh.
2. At the netsh> prompt enter dhcp.
3. At the netsh dhcp> prompt enter server \\servername where servername is the UNC name or IP address of the server to be managed. For example:
netsh dhcp>server \\winserver-1
4. At the netsh dhcp server prompt, enter the commands to be executed.
Alternatively, run each netsh command separately, using the following syntax:
netsh dhcp server \\servername commands
To create a new DHCP scope the command syntax is as follows:
netsh dhcp server \\servername scope subnetID add iprange startIP endIP
For example, to create a scope on subnet 192.168.2.0 ranging from 192.168.2.1 through 192.168.2.100:
netsh dhcp server \\winserver-1 scope 192.168.2.0 add iprange 192.168.2.1 192.168.2.100 Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope. Command completed successfully.
To list a scope IP address range:
netsh dhcp server \\winserver-1 scope 192.168.2.0 show iprange Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope. ========================================================= Start Address - End Address - Address type ========================================================= 192.168.2.1 - 192.168.2.100 - DHCP ONLY Number of IP Ranges : 1 in the Scope : 192.168.2.0. Command completed successfully.
To delete a scope using netsh:
netsh dhcp server \\winserver-1 scope 192.168.2.0 delete iprange 192.168.2.1 192.168.2.100 Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope. Command completed successfully.
To display the current state of a scope:
netsh dhcp server \\winserver-1 scope 192.168.2.0 show state Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope. Current State of the Scope 192.168.2.0 : Active Command completed successfully.
To add an exclude range to a scope:
netsh dhcp server \\winserver-1 scope 192.168.2.0 add excluderange 192.168.2.10 192.168.2.20 Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope. Command completed successfully.
To display an exclude ranges:
netsh dhcp server \\winserver-1 scope 192.168.2.0 show excluderange
Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope.
=====================================
Start Address - End Address
=====================================
192.168.2.10 - 192.168.2.20
Number of ExcludeRanges : 1 in the Scope : 192.168.2.0.
Command completed successfully.
To list the clients using a DHCP scope:
netsh dhcp server \\winserver-1 scope 192.168.2.0 show clients Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope. Type : N - NONE, D - DHCP B - BOOTP, U - UNSPECIFIED, R - RESERVATION IP ================================================================================== IP Address - Subnet Mask - Unique ID - Lease Expires -Type ================================================================================== No of Clients(version 4): 0 in the Scope : 192.168.2.0. Command completed successfully.
Configuring DHCP Reservations using Netsh
DHCP reservations provide a mechanism by which IP addresses may be permanently assigned to a specific client based on the MAC address of that client.
The MAC address of a Windows client can be found running the ipconfig /all command. For Linux systems the corresponding command is ifconfig -a. Once the MAC address has been identified, the reservation may be configured using either the DHCP console or at the command prompt using the netsh tool.
To add a reservation using netsh the following syntax is used:
netsh dhcp server \\servername scope subnetID add reservedip IPaddress MacAddress ReservationName Comment
For example the following command reserves an IP address for a specific MAC address (note that the MAC address must be entered without any delimiters):
C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server \\winserver-2 scope 192.168.2.0 add reservedip 192.168.2.12 0013720B1457 "CEO Printer" "Printer in Exec Suite" Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope. Command completed successfully.
To list the current reserved IP addresses for a particular scope the following netsh command may be used:
C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server \\winserver-2 scope 192.168.2.0 show
reservedip
Changed the current scope context to 192.168.2.0 scope.
===============================================================
Reservation Address - Unique ID
===============================================================
192.168.2.10 - 00-0b-db-18-a0-db-
192.168.2.11 - 06-ec-e6-11-47-bd-
192.168.2.12 - 00-13-72-0b-14-57-
No of ReservedIPs : 3 in the Scope : 192.168.2.0.
Command completed successfully.
