The Dynamic Host Configuration protocol allows the client to receive
options
from the DHCP server describing the network configuration and various
services that are available on the network. When configuring
dhcpd(8)
or
dhclient(8) ,
options must often be declared. The syntax for declaring options,
and the names and formats of the options that can be declared, are
documented here.
REFERENCE: OPTION STATEMENTS
DHCP option statements always start with the option
keyword, followed by an option name, followed by option data. The
option names and data formats are described below. It is not
necessary to exhaustively specify all DHCP options - only those
options which are needed by clients must be specified.
Option data comes in a variety of formats, as defined below:
The
ip-address
data type can be entered either as an explicit IP
address (e.g., 239.254.197.10) or as a domain name (e.g.,
haagen.isc.org). When entering a domain name, be sure that that
domain name resolves to a single IP address.
The
int32
data type specifies a signed 32-bit integer. The
uint32
data type specifies an unsigned 32-bit integer. The
int16
and
uint16
data types specify signed and unsigned 16-bit integers. The
int8
and
uint8
data types specify signed and unsigned 8-bit integers.
Unsigned 8-bit integers are also sometimes referred to as octets.
The
string
data type specifies an NVT ASCII string, which must be
enclosed in double quotes - for example, to specify a domain-name
option, the syntax would be
option domain-name "isc.org";
The
flag
data type specifies a boolean value. Booleans can be either true or
false (or on or off, if that makes more sense to you).
The
data-string
data type specifies either an NVT ASCII string
enclosed in double quotes, or a series of octets specified in
hexadecimal, seperated by colons. For example:
option dhcp-client-identifier "CLIENT-FOO";
or
option dhcp-client-identifier 43:4c:49:45:54:2d:46:4f:4f;
The documentation for the various options mentioned below is taken
from the latest IETF draft document on DHCP options. Options which
are not listed by name may be defined by the name option-nnn,
where nnn is the decimal number of the option code. These
options may be followed either by a string, enclosed in quotes, or by
a series of octets, expressed as two-digit hexadecimal numbers seperated
by colons. For example:
Because dhcpd does not know the format of these undefined option codes,
no checking is done to ensure the correctness of the entered data.
The standard options are:
option subnet-mask ip-address;
The subnet mask option specifies the client's subnet mask as per RFC
950. If no subnet mask option is provided anywhere in scope, as a
last resort dhcpd will use the subnet mask from the subnet declaration
for the network on which an address is being assigned. However,
any
subnet-mask option declaration that is in scope for the address being
assigned will override the subnet mask specified in the subnet
declaration.
option time-offset int32;
The time-offset option specifies the offset of the client's subnet in
seconds from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
option routers ip-address [,ip-address...
];
The routers option specifies a list of IP addresses for routers on the
client's subnet. Routers should be listed in order of preference.
The domain-name-servers option specifies a list of Domain Name System
(STD 13, RFC 1035) name servers available to the client. Servers
should be listed in order of preference.
option log-serversip-address [,ip-address...
];
The log-server option specifies a list of MIT-LCS UDP log servers
available to the client. Servers should be listed in order of
preference.
This option specifies a list of RFC 887 Resource Location
servers available to the client. Servers should be listed in order
of preference.
option host-namestring;
This option specifies the name of the client. The name may or may
not be qualified with the local domain name (it is preferable to use
the domain-name option to specify the domain name). See RFC 1035 for
character set restrictions.
option boot-sizeuint16;
This option specifies the length in 512-octet blocks of the default
boot image for the client.
option merit-dumpstring;
This option specifies the path-name of a file to which the client's
core image should be dumped in the event the client crashes. The
path is formatted as a character string consisting of characters from
the NVT ASCII character set.
option domain-namestring;
This option specifies the domain name that client should use when
resolving hostnames via the Domain Name System.
option swap-serverip-address;
This specifies the IP address of the client's swap server.
option root-pathstring;
This option specifies the path-name that contains the client's root
disk. The path is formatted as a character string consisting of
characters from the NVT ASCII character set.
option ip-forwardingflag;
This option specifies whether the client should configure its IP
layer for packet forwarding. A value of 0 means disable IP
forwarding, and a value of 1 means enable IP forwarding.
option non-local-source-routingflag;
This option specifies whether the client should configure its IP
layer to allow forwarding of datagrams with non-local source routes
(see Section 3.3.5 of [4] for a discussion of this topic). A value
of 0 means disallow forwarding of such datagrams, and a value of 1
means allow forwarding.
This option specifies policy filters for non-local source routing.
The filters consist of a list of IP addresses and masks which specify
destination/mask pairs with which to filter incoming source routes.
Any source routed datagram whose next-hop address does not match one
of the filters should be discarded by the client.
See STD 3 (RFC1122) for further information.
option max-dgram-reassemblyuint16;
This option specifies the maximum size datagram that the client
should be prepared to reassemble. The minimum value legal value is
576.
option default-ip-ttluint8;
This option specifies the default time-to-live that the client should
use on outgoing datagrams.
option path-mtu-aging-timeoutuint32;
This option specifies the timeout (in seconds) to use when aging Path
MTU values discovered by the mechanism defined in RFC 1191.
This option specifies a table of MTU sizes to use when performing
Path MTU Discovery as defined in RFC 1191. The table is formatted as
a list of 16-bit unsigned integers, ordered from smallest to largest.
The minimum MTU value cannot be smaller than 68.
option interface-mtuuint16;
This option specifies the MTU to use on this interface. The minimum
legal value for the MTU is 68.
option all-subnets-localflag;
This option specifies whether or not the client may assume that all
subnets of the IP network to which the client is connected use the
same MTU as the subnet of that network to which the client is
directly connected. A value of 1 indicates that all subnets share
the same MTU. A value of 0 means that the client should assume that
some subnets of the directly connected network may have smaller MTUs.
option broadcast-addressip-address;
This option specifies the broadcast address in use on the client's
subnet. Legal values for broadcast addresses are specified in
section 3.2.1.3 of STD 3 (RFC1122).
option perform-mask-discoveryflag;
This option specifies whether or not the client should perform subnet
mask discovery using ICMP. A value of 0 indicates that the client
should not perform mask discovery. A value of 1 means that the
client should perform mask discovery.
option mask-supplierflag;
This option specifies whether or not the client should respond to
subnet mask requests using ICMP. A value of 0 indicates that the
client should not respond. A value of 1 means that the client should
respond.
option router-discoveryflag;
This option specifies whether or not the client should solicit
routers using the Router Discovery mechanism defined in RFC 1256.
A value of 0 indicates that the client should not perform
router discovery. A value of 1 means that the client should perform
router discovery.
option router-solicitation-addressip-address;
This option specifies the address to which the client should transmit
router solicitation requests.
This option specifies a list of static routes that the client should
install in its routing cache. If multiple routes to the same
destination are specified, they are listed in descending order of
priority.
The routes consist of a list of IP address pairs. The first address
is the destination address, and the second address is the router for
the destination.
The default route (0.0.0.0) is an illegal destination for a static
route. To specify the default route, use the
routers
option.
option trailer-encapsulationflag;
This option specifies whether or not the client should negotiate the
use of trailers (RFC 893 [14]) when using the ARP protocol. A value
of 0 indicates that the client should not attempt to use trailers. A
value of 1 means that the client should attempt to use trailers.
option arp-cache-timeoutuint32;
This option specifies the timeout in seconds for ARP cache entries.
option ieee802-3-encapsulationflag;
This option specifies whether or not the client should use Ethernet
Version 2 (RFC 894) or IEEE 802.3 (RFC 1042) encapsulation if the
interface is an Ethernet. A value of 0 indicates that the client
should use RFC 894 encapsulation. A value of 1 means that the client
should use RFC 1042 encapsulation.
option default-tcp-ttluint8;
This option specifies the default TTL that the client should use when
sending TCP segments. The minimum value is 1.
option tcp-keepalive-intervaluint32;
This option specifies the interval (in seconds) that the client TCP
should wait before sending a keepalive message on a TCP connection.
The time is specified as a 32-bit unsigned integer. A value of zero
indicates that the client should not generate keepalive messages on
connections unless specifically requested by an application.
option tcp-keepalive-garbageflag;
This option specifies the whether or not the client should send TCP
keepalive messages with a octet of garbage for compatibility with
older implementations. A value of 0 indicates that a garbage octet
should not be sent. A value of 1 indicates that a garbage octet
should be sent.
option nis-domainstring;
This option specifies the name of the client's NIS (Sun Network
Information Services) domain. The domain is formatted as a character
string consisting of characters from the NVT ASCII character set.
option nis-serversip-address [,ip-address...
];
This option specifies a list of IP addresses indicating NIS servers
available to the client. Servers should be listed in order of
preference.
option ntp-serversip-address [,ip-address...
];
This option specifies a list of IP addresses indicating NTP (RFC 1305)
servers available to the client. Servers should be listed in order
of preference.
The NetBIOS name server (NBNS) option specifies a list of RFC
1001/1002 NBNS name servers listed in order of preference. NetBIOS
Name Service is currently more commonly referred to as WINS. WINS
servers can be specified using the netbios-name-servers option.
The NetBIOS datagram distribution server (NBDD) option specifies a
list of RFC 1001/1002 NBDD servers listed in order of preference.
option netbios-node-typeuint8;
The NetBIOS node type option allows NetBIOS over TCP/IP clients which
are configurable to be configured as described in RFC 1001/1002. The
value is specified as a single octet which identifies the client type.
Possible node types are:
1
B-node: Broadcast - no WINS
2
P-node: Peer - WINS only.
4
M-node: Mixed - broadcast, then WINS
8
H-node: Hybrid - WINS, then broadcast
optionnetbios-scopestring;
The NetBIOS scope option specifies the NetBIOS over TCP/IP scope
parameter for the client as specified in RFC 1001/1002. See RFC1001,
RFC1002, and RFC1035 for character-set restrictions.
option font-serversip-address [,ip-address...
];
This option specifies a list of X Window System Font servers available
to the client. Servers should be listed in order of preference.
This option specifies a list of systems that are running the X Window
System Display Manager and are available to the client. Addresses
should be listed in order of preference.
option dhcp-client-identifierdata-string;
This option can be used to specify the a DHCP client identifier in a
host declaration, so that dhcpd can find the host record by matching
against the client identifier.
option nisplus-domainstring;
This option specifies the name of the client's NIS+ domain. The
domain is formatted as a character string consisting of characters
from the NVT ASCII character set.
This option specifies a list of IP addresses indicating NIS+ servers
available to the client. Servers should be listed in order of
preference.
option tftp-server-namestring;
This option is used to identify a TFTP server and, if supported by the
client, should have the same effect as the server-name
declaration. BOOTP clients are unlikely to support this option.
Some DHCP clients will support it, and others actually require it.
option bootfile-namestring;
This option is used to identify a bootstrap file. If supported by the
client, it should have the same effect as the filename
declaration. BOOTP clients are unlikely to support this option. Some
DHCP clients will support it, and others actually require it.
This option specifies a list of IP addresses indicating mobile IP
home agents available to the client. Agents should be listed in
order of preference, although normally there will be only one such
agent.
option smtp-serverip-address [,ip-address... ];
The SMTP server option specifies a list of SMTP servers available to
the client. Servers should be listed in order of preference.
option pop-serverip-address [,ip-address... ];
The POP3 server option specifies a list of POP3 available to the
client. Servers should be listed in order of preference.
option nntp-serverip-address [,ip-address... ];
The NNTP server option specifies a list of NNTP available to the
client. Servers should be listed in order of preference.
option www-serverip-address [,ip-address... ];
The WWW server option specifies a list of WWW available to the
client. Servers should be listed in order of preference.
option finger-serverip-address [,ip-address... ];
The Finger server option specifies a list of Finger available to the
client. Servers should be listed in order of preference.
option irc-serverip-address [,ip-address... ];
The IRC server option specifies a list of IRC available to the
client. Servers should be listed in order of preference.
The StreetTalk Directory Assistance (STDA) server option specifies a
list of STDA servers available to the client. Servers should be
listed in order of preference.
dhcpd(8)
was written by Ted Lemon <mellon@vix.com>
under a contract with Vixie Labs. Funding
for this project was provided by the Internet Software Corporation.
Information about the Internet Software Consortium can be found at
http://www.isc.org/isc.