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Changing to DHCP

If you have an existing network of statically assigned IP numbers it is a simple job to change to a full DHCP network. The WinGate DHCP server is installed with default recommended settings.

The WinGate machine itself must have static IP addresses for its LAN cards. All other machines on your network can use DHCP. This is a fundamental requirement for all DHCP servers, not specific to WinGate. The IP addresses you allocate to your WinGate machine LAN cards determine which addresses are allocated to machines on those networks. So, if you allocate 192.168.0.1 to one LAN card. All machines directly connected to that card (i.e on the same subnet) will be allocated addresses between 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.254.

If you have a multiple segment LAN, with routers between segments, these routers must run BOOTP relay agents (or DHCP relay agents - DHCP uses the BOOTP packet format so that DHCP packets can be forwarded by BOOTP relay agents). WinGate uses the IP address of the interface on a BOOTP forwarding agent that a request was made on to allocate addresses.

So, WinGate will always allocate IP addresses on the correct subnet. Network masks are taken from the RFC defining IP address ranges.

Once the client machines are restarted, DHCP will take care of the IPs for you. Machines nearly always obtain the same IP they had previously.

Change over method:

On each client machine:

1. In Control panel – Networks – Protocols - TCP-IP (for the LAN card), on the IP tab, change the selection from ‘Specify…’ to ‘Obtain IP address automatically’. Click OK.

2. Restart the machine. In the event of a conflict, simply restart the machine in question.

If you are currently using another DHCP server on your LAN, and wish to change over to the WinGate DHCP server, simply start the DHCP service in WinGate, and stop your other DHCP server. The client machines will attempt to renew their leases, and when they cannot communicate with their previous DHCP server, they will broadcast a request to all DHCP servers, at which stage WinGate will take over management of the Lease.