The simple answer to the question of whether DHCP can pull IPs from a table is no, it can't. Network engineer Joseph Moore wrote, "You can't write up a text file, import it into DHCP Administration, and have the server use that. But you can set up the DHCP scope on your server, with the Reservations and the exclusions to the scope, and then you can check the logs." Gary McPartland, a network consultant with Argyle Computing Services Ltd., also said that to assign static IPs, you have to use the Reservations function of DHCP. By using the Reservations system, he said, "You link the MAC address of a PC to an IP address, so that each time the machine requests an address it gets the same one." McPartland said frankl_27 could use Reservations to assign the IP addresses without having to make a long road trip to all of the sites on the network. He pointed out that accomplishing the task in this manner would initially take a lot of work. Moore added that using this method, machines would request IPs when the leases had expired. In requesting an address, they would be assigned the same address from the Reservations list. "This is just a dynamic way of assigning static IPs." As for logging the requests as frankl_27 wanted to do, Moore said that the DHCP logs would contain information about which machine was assigned which IP address, including the MAC addresses, the names of the machines and IPs, and the lease expiration date and time. "And remember, each DHCP server has its own DHCP server log in the Event Viewer [for Windows DHCP]. That is where you can check for reporting on who got what IP at what time." Moore noted that for logging purposes, frankl_27 could use a tool such as IPMonitor to check server Event Viewer logs. IPMonitor can be configured to send alerts to the admin when certain events occur. Of course, although the Reservations system appears to be a viable solution for frankl_27's needs, it doesn't totally address the security issue. Apparently, there's no easy way to limit how DHCP hands out addresses except by setting up a scope and then making Reservations (tied to MAC addresses) for every address possible in that scope. Solution
So it turns out that frankl_27's proposed tactic is not possible with DHCP -- it can't import from a table to assign specific addresses to specific machines. However, the Reservations system offers an alternative method of achieving the same goal. Although frankl_27 said that it's not exactly how he wanted to handle the task, it is, nonetheless, a viable solution.
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