Manage DHCP services

DHCP provides a framework to assign configuration information to hosts, including IP addresses, gateway addresses, and DNS server addresses.

You can specify a VLAN as the scope of a DHCP service and configure multiple DHCP services for a virtual switch. Each DHCP service applies to the VMs in the corresponding VLAN. The VLAN settings of VMs are configured by using a port profile on the virtual switch. DHCP provides efficient IP address assignment services for medium networks or large networks that contain more than 100 VMs. Configurations on VMs are simplified as VMs automatically obtain IP addresses and configurations through DHCP.

Restrictions and guidelines

The DHCP server of a DHCP service uses the start IP address in the IP address pool of the DHCP service.

The IP address pools of DHCP services cannot overlap.

After you delete a DHCP service from a virtual switch, VMs that have been assigned IP addresses lose the IP addresses after a period of time, and VMs newly join the virtual switch cannot obtain IP addresses.

Add a DHCP service

On the top navigation bar, click Compute.
From the left navigation pane, select Resource Navigation > All > Resources > Host Pool Name > Host Name or Resource Navigation > All > Resources > Host Pool Name > Cluster Name > Host Name.
Click the vSwitches tab.
Click More in the Actions column for a virtual switch, and then select Advanced Settings.
Click the DHCP Service tab.
Click Add.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Edit a DHCP service

On the top navigation bar, click Compute.
From the left navigation pane, select Resource Navigation > All > Resources > Host Pool Name > Host Name or Resource Navigation > All > Resources > Host Pool Name > Cluster Name > Host Name.
Click the vSwitches tab.
Click More in the Actions column for a virtual switch, and then select Advanced Settings.
Click the DHCP Service tab.
Click Edit in the Actions column for a DHCP service.
Configure the parameters as described in "Parameters."
Click OK.

Delete a DHCP service

On the top navigation bar, click Compute.
From the left navigation pane, select Resource Navigation > All > Resources > Host Pool Name > Host Name or Resource Navigation > All > Resources > Host Pool Name > Cluster Name > Host Name.
Click the vSwitches tab.
Click More in the Actions column for a virtual switch, and then select Advanced Settings.
Click the DHCP Service tab.
Click Delete in the Actions column for a DHCP service.
In the dialog box that opens, click OK.

Parameters

Name: Enter a name for the DHCP service.
Description: Enter a description for the DHCP service.
Name: Name of the vSwitch, which cannot be edited.
VLAN ID: Enter a VLAN ID for the DHCP service. On a virtual switch, the VLAN ID of a DHCP service must unique. A VM configured with a virtual switch and VLAN ID can automatically obtain an IP address.
IP Type: Select the IP protocol version of the IP addresses that the DHCP service assigns. Options include IPv4 and IPv6.
Start Address: Enter the start IP address of the IP address pool. The DHCP server uses this IP address. The IP address pool cannot contain multicast or loopback addresses. The start IP address cannot start with 127.
End Address: Enter the end IP address of the IP address pool. The end address must be higher than the start address. An IP address pool can contain a maximum of 5000 IP addresses. The IP address pool cannot contain multicast or loopback addresses. The end IP address cannot start with 127.
Subnet Mask: Specify an IPv4 subnet mask.
G ateway Address: Specify an IPv4 gateway address.
Prefix: Specify an IPv6 prefix.
DNS Address: Enter the IP address of the DNS server.
Lease Duration: Specify the lease duration of the DHCP service in hours. If you do not specify this parameter, the DHCP service never expires.
Address Pool Usage: Number of assigned IP addresses and number of available IP addresses. Each box represents an IP address. A green box represents an assigned IP address, and a gray box represents an available IP address. You can hover the cursor over a box to view detailed information about the IP address.