dhcpsd Daemon

Purpose

Implements a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. Serves addresses and configuration information to DHCP clients.

Syntax

To Serve Information to the DHCP Clients by Using the System Resource Controller:

startsrc -s dhcpsd [ -a Argument ] [ -a Argument ] ...

To Serve Information to the DHCP Clients without Using the System Resource Controller:

dhcpsd [ -f ConfigurationFile]

Description

The DHCP Server handles the assignment and maintenance of dynamic address assignment. It also handles the distribution of additional configuration information. The dhcpsd daemon runs in the background and maintains a database of server information that contains logging parameters, IP(Internet Protocol) address ranges, other network configuration information, and accessability information. The initial database is specified by the configuration file. The configuration file contains all the data to start configuring DHCP clients.

The DHCP Server maintains a database of addresses it has given out as well as who has them. These databases are kept in the files /etc/dhcpsd.ar and /etc/dhcpsd.cr. A server on startup will read the configuration file and setup its initial database of available addresses. The server accepts the refresh command or a SIGHUP signal to reread the configuration file.

The DHCP Server reads /etc/services file to determine which port it should use for receiving requests. The default service is dhcps. Because this is the same port that the bootpd daemon uses, you can only have one (either dhcpsd or bootpd) daemon running. If you choose the dhcpsd daemon, you will need to comment bootp from the /etc/inetd.conf file, then enter refresh -s inetd on the command line.

Note: If bootpd is running, this program needs to be stopped before starting the daemons.

Flags

Item	Description
-f ConfigurationFile	Specifies the configuration file to be used.

Exit Status

This command returns the following exit values:

Item	Description
0	Successful completion.
>0	An error occurred.

Security

Access Control: You must have root authority to run this command.

Files

Item	Description
/usr/sbin/dhcpsd	Contains the dhcpsd daemon.
/etc/services	Defines sockets and protocols used for internet services.
/etc/inetd.conf	Defines the services controlled by the inetd daemon.