Provide IP addresses with DHCP

Use the Server app to add a DHCP network (or subnets). DHCP networks are groups of computers on a network that simplify administration. You can organize DHCP networks any way that’s useful to you. For example, you can create DHCP networks for groups in your organization or for floors of a building.

After you group computers into networks, you can configure options for all computers on a network at one time instead of individually.

Each network typically needs a hardware device, called a router, to connect to other networks.

1. Select DHCP in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.

2. Click Add , then enter a name for the network.

3. Click the Lease Duration pop-up menu, then choose a lease time.

4. Click the Network Interface pop-up menu, then choose an interface to host DHCP service from .

5. Enter a starting and ending IP address for the network range.

6. Enter the IP address of the router for this network.

   If the server you’re configuring is the router for the network, enter this server’s internal LAN IP address as the router’s address.

7. To set DNS and search domain information for this network, see “Set DNS and search domains for a DHCP network.”

8. Click Create.

Use DHCP service to provide DNS servers and search domains for your DHCP clients on a network.

The order in which the search domains appear in the list determines their search order in the automatic search policy of the DHCP client.

1. Select DHCP in the Server app sidebar, then select a DHCP network.

2. Click Edit .

3. In DHCP network sheet, click Edit.

4. Below the name server or search domain list, click Add  to enter the IP address of the DNS server (name server) or search domain you want to provide to your DHCP clients.

   If you have more than one name server or search domain, you can add multiple IP addresses to the list.

   Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation is supported. For more information, see the CIDR Notation article on Wikipedia.

5. Click OK, then click OK.

You can manually add clients to your DHCP server that obtain the same IP address each time they start up.

1. Select DHCP in the Server app sidebar, then click Clients.

2. Click Add , then enter a name for the client.

3. Click the Network pop-up menu, then choose a DHCP network from .

4. Enter an IP address for the client.

5. Enter the MAC address for the client.

   Each network interface has its own MAC address (also known as the Ethernet or hardware address).

   Each time your client computer starts up and requests an IP address with this MAC address, it obtains the IP address you entered in the previous step.

6. Click Create.

Use the Server app to create static addresses for your clients. You can require that a computer obtain the same IP address from your DHCP server each time it starts up. This simplifies DHCP configuration and lets you have servers or services that are always available.

To keep the same IP address for a computer, you must know the computer’s Ethernet address (also known as the MAC or hardware address). Each network interface has its own Ethernet address. For example, if a computer has a wired network and a wireless network connection, each network connection has its own Ethernet address.

1. Select DHCP in the Server app sidebar, then click Clients.

2. Select a client.

3. Click the Action pop-up menu , then choose Create Static Address.

4. Enter a name for the client.

   The default name is the computer name of the client.

5. Click the Network pop-up menu, then choose a DHCP network for the client.

6. Enter an IP address field for the client.

   Each time your client starts up, it obtains this IP address.