dhcp server addresses given to RAS clients

[zooeyhall]

I dont' know if this is the correct newsgroup for this
question, but couldn't find one specifically for DHCP
server issues. I am new to w2k dhcp server, and I am sure
there must be a simple explanation for this problem.

Our company mostly uses static IP addresses. I recently
setup a spare w2k server with dhcp to provide a small
block of available IP addresses for users who move between
our company locations.

Everything has been working fine, until lately when I
noticed that my dhcp server has been using up all of the
addresses in the available adress pool. I checked address
assignments, and found a bunch of clients listed with RAS
assignments under the "Type" column. I don't even have
RAS setup or enabled on this machine!

Really and truly appreciate any advice on this problem!

[James McIllece [MS]]

"zooeyhall" <zooe...@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:42cb01c32532$881bc660$a501...@phx.gbl:

Hi there --

If you have a RAS server that is configured to use addresses from the DHCP
server for remote access clients (as opposed to a static IP address pool
configured on the RAS server), then the RAS server automatically obtains a
group of IP addresses from the DHCP server when the RAS server starts. I am
not 100% sure, but I think in Windows 2000 Server the DHCP server
automatically leases 10 IP addresses from the DHCP server. (Then when
remote access clients connect to the RAS server, it assigns the client an
IP address from this pool of addresses obtained from the DHCP server. When
the RAS server has assigned all of the addresses, it grabs 10 more
addresses from the DHCP server, and so on.)

Needless to say, if you have multiple RAS servers on the network that can
see the DHCP servers (either because they are on the same subnet or you
have DHCP relay agents enabled on routers between subnets), each RAS server
will grab 10 IP addresses and your DHCP scope may become depleted quickly.

A couple of solutions to the problem:

-- Configure static IP address pools on RAS servers instead of using DHCP.
You will want to read the Routing and Remote Access Help on the subject
before doing this.
-- Renumber your network with a larger address range so that more IP
addresses are available, or you can add scopes or superscopes to increase
address availability. See the DHCP Help for info on doing that.
-- Consider whether it will be helpful to shorten lease times so that
addresses become available more quickly.
-- Reduce the number of RAS servers on your network, if possible.

I hope that helps!

--
James McIllece, Microsoft

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