Alcatel-Lucent 6850-48 Network Guide

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Configuring DHCP Relay
DHCP Relay Overview
OmniSwitch AOS Release 6 Network Configuration Guide
September 2009
page 31-5
DHCP Relay Overview
The DHCP Relay service, its corresponding port numbers, and configurable options are as follows:
• DHCP Relay Service: BOOTP/DHCP
• UDP Port Numbers 67/68 for Request/Response
• Configurable options: DHCP server IP address, Forward Delay, Maximum Hops, Forwarding Option, 
automatic switch IP configuration
The port numbers indicate the destination port numbers in the UDP header. The DHCP Relay will verify 
that the forward delay time (specified by the user) has elapsed before sending the packet down to UDP 
with the destination IP address replaced by the address (also specified by the user).
If the relay is configured with multiple IP addresses, then the packet will be sent to all IP address destina-
tions. The DHCP Relay also verifies that the maximum hop count has not been exceeded. If the forward 
delay time is not met or the maximum hop count is exceeded, the BOOTP/DHCP packet will be discarded 
by the DHCP Relay. 
The forwarding option allows you to specify if the relay should operate in the standard, per-VLAN only, 
or AVLAN-only mode. The standard mode forwards all DHCP packets on a global relay service. The per-
VLAN only mode forwards DHCP packets that originate from a specific VLAN. The AVLAN-only mode 
only forwards packets received on authenticated ports from non-authenticated clients. See 
 for more information.
An additional function provided by the DHCP Relay service enables automatic IP address configuration 
for default VLAN 1 when an unconfigured switch boots up. If this function is enabled, the switch broad-
casts a BootP or a DHCP request packet at boot time. When the switch receives an IP address from a 
BootP/DHCP server, the address is assigned to default VLAN 1. See 
 for more information.
Alternately the relay function may be provided by an external router connected to the switch; in this case, 
the relay would be configured on the external router.