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 (SRC):

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

To serve information to the DHCP clients without using SRC:

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 accessibility 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 provided and who has them. These databases are kept in the files /etc/dhcpsd.ar and /etc/dhcpsd.cr. A server on startup reads the configuration file and sets up 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 must use for receiving requests. The default service is dhcps. Because it is the same port that the bootpd daemon uses, you can have only one (either dhcpsd or bootpd) daemon running. If you choose the dhcpsd daemon, you must comment bootp from the /etc/inetd.conf file, then enter refresh -s inetd on the command line.

Note: If the bootpd daemon is running, this program must be stopped before you start 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 that are used for internet services.
/etc/inetd.conf	Defines the services that are controlled by the inetd daemon.