Allied Telesis AT-S111 User Manual

Page of 386
Chapter 23: DHCP Snooping
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Overview
The DHCP Snooping feature provides security by inspecting ingress 
packets for the correct IP and MAC address information. The DHCP 
Snooping feature defines the AT-GS950/48PS ports as either trusted or 
untrusted. With DHCP Snooping enabled, two network security issues are 
addressed:
All ingress DHCP packets are examined on the 
untrusted ports and only authorized packets are 
passed through the switch. Unwanted ingress DHCP 
packets are discarded. See "Unauthorized DHCP 
Servers" below.
DHCP ingress packets on an untrusted port are 
inspected to insure that the source IP Address and 
MAC Address combination in each packet is valid 
when compared to the DHCP Snooping Binding Table. 
If match is not found, the packet is discarded.
Trusted Ports
By definition, trusted ports inherently trust all ingress Ethernet traffic. 
There is no checking or testing on ingress packets for this type of port. A 
trusted port connects to a DHCP server in one of the following ways:
Directly to the legitimate trusted DHCP Server
A network device relaying DHCP messages to and 
from a trusted server
Another trusted source such as a switch with DHCP 
Snooping enabled.
Untrusted Ports
The Ethernet traffic on an untrusted port is inherently not trusted. The 
ingress packets are consequently tested against specific criteria to 
determine if they can be forwarded through the switch or should be 
immediately discarded. Untrusted ports are connected to DHCP clients 
and to traffic that originates outside of the LAN.
Unauthorized
DHCP Servers
Normally in a network, a single DHCP server exists in a local area network 
(LAN). The DHCP server supplies network configuration information to 
individual devices on the network including the assigned IP address for 
each host. A trusted DHCP server is connected to a trusted port on the 
switch.
It is possible that another unauthorized and unwanted DHCP server could 
be connected to the network. This situation can occur if a client on the 
network happens to enable a DHCP server application on his workstation 
of if someone outside the network attempts to send DHCP packets to your 
network. These situations pose a security risk.