how can i setup w2kserver DHCP redundancy??

[jjyiz28]

my real question is, if i have 2 server both DHCP, can i set both of them to give out the same scope of IP addresses?? can they "talk" to each other to see which addresses are given out, to make sure not to give out duplicates?? or will they both work independantly of each other and therefore will give out dupe addresses?? i know i could setup 1 server with 1 scope, and another server with another, but i want it so that each server could look out for each other, so if it fails,all the scope of addresses will still be given out is the only way to do this is w/clusters?

 

[ToxicWaste]

Windows DHCP servers aren't capabable of communicating with each other, so there is no way to share a scope.

The common method to provide redundancy is to split the IP block between multiple DHCP servers. For this to work reliably with both servers on the same segment, there must a lot of play in the block (e.g. it encompasses more than twice the needed number of IPs). Otherwise, when on server fails, the other might not be able to take cover for it, because it has no leases available.

A variation to this is to split the IP block unevenly (e.g. 80/20) and place the server with the smaller scope on a separate segment, using a local DHCP Relay to allow clients to reach it. The delay tied to the DHCP Relay mechanism will ensure that almost all leases are issued by the local DHCP server, as long as it's online. When it goes down, the remote DHCP server should still have leases available.

 

[jjyiz28]

thank bro that makes alot of sense. i had to re read it a couple of times, but i get it now, sweet. i like the frist method best.