linux DHCP vs Windows DHCP

CCIE_2011

Hi guys .... I hope i'm my question is in the right section


We here at work are using windows for most applications and users. All such users PC are configure as DHCP to obtain an IP.

we here at work have a windows DHCP server. we are in the process of upgrading but we are also thinking of replacing it to linux DHCP server.
which is better ? having windows DHCP server or Linux DHCP server ?

I'm just seeking for some hints/comments for you "Profissionals "

Daniel333

If you are using Active Directory I would stick with Windows.

astorrs

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

Slowhand

Generally, I stick with the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) rule. If you have no reason to change something, don't. If you have no reason to mix your environment, don't. If you don't know a different system from what you're using (in this case, Windows,) but "someone" told you that another system (in this case, Linux,) is "more secure", stick with your current system and make sure you've locked down your server(s) and are keeping them patched. The real question you should be asking yourself is "is there a business or technological requirement for a Linux DHCP server?". If there isn't, then stick with what you've got since Windows DHCP is designed to play nice with Active Directory.

Experimenting with different platforms, such as comparing Windows DHCP to something like BIND is fun and you can learn a lot, but making changes to a production environment should only be done if those changes are necessary. In the case of DHCP servers, there are very few differences in how a Linux server would serve up DHCP and how a Windows server would. (Aside from the built-in functionality of Active Directory to authorize a Windows-based DHCP server without a lot of unecessary workarounds and potential security problems if done incorrectly.)

sprkymrk

Do you like hand-editing text files to set up your DHCP? Or would you rather a nice clean and pretty GUI?

You can get an idea on setting up linux DHCP here so you know what you're getting into before you decide to switch:

Linux DHCP Tech Notes

As far as capability they both provide more or less the same thing.

dynamik

Windows DHCP can also do things like dynamically register DNS records for clients that can't do it themselves.

undomiel

astorrs wrote:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

I'll second that one. Also you can't mix Linux & Windows DHCP servers for load balancing unfortunately. Windows will detect the Linux DHCP server as a rouge server.

Mishra

Either pick Linux DNS and DHCP or Windows DNS and DHCP.

Normally is a heavy windows environment you just stick with windows. But even with Windows you can still setup dynamic registration and other stuff with Linux DHCP/DNS servers. You just can't do it when you have mixed OSs (linux DHCP, windows DNS).

Sprky, you can setup many front ends to dhcpd on Linux which allows you to use a GUI. Webmin is usually a quick and nice choice. http://doxfer.com/Webmin/DHCPServer

Either companies will do Windows DNS/DHCP on their inside network and Linux DNS on the outside. Or Linux everywhere.

There IS a place for a Linux environment. However, I would determine your needs. If you have 2 or less people on your staff that doesn't have experience with DHCP and DNS on Linux let alone any Linux at all then I would stay away from it. If it is only you then I would stick with what you have the most experience with. If it is 50/50 then I would go for Linux as it does prove to be a very stable application as long as you know what you are doing! And if you aren't growing at all and don't expect to grow in the future then I would follow the KISS plan.

Another thing Linux provides is fail-over DHCP server options. Windows never caught on with 2003 but I think they finally solved it in 2008.

astorrs

Mishra wrote:

Another thing Linux provides is fail-over DHCP server options. Windows never caught on with 2003 but I think they finally solved it in 2008.

DHCP has been supported by MSCS since 2000 (wasn't available with Wolfpack).

Mishra

astorrs wrote:

Mishra wrote:

Another thing Linux provides is fail-over DHCP server options. Windows never caught on with 2003 but I think they finally solved it in 2008.

DHCP has been supported by MSCS since 2000 (wasn't available with Wolfpack).

You can't use MS clustering on seperate subnets so I've never really considered this an option. Plus clustering is a pretty big change/configuration when all you really need is application failover.

astorrs

Mishra wrote:

astorrs wrote:

Mishra wrote:

Another thing Linux provides is fail-over DHCP server options. Windows never caught on with 2003 but I think they finally solved it in 2008.

DHCP has been supported by MSCS since 2000 (wasn't available with Wolfpack).

You can't use MS clustering on seperate subnets so I've never really considered this an option. Plus clustering is a pretty big change/configuration when all you really need is application failover.

Why would you need to split it across multiple subnets? (and what would you use for your DHCP relay destination in that scenario?)

Assuming you have an existing cluster, adding DHCP to that cluster is usually what I do, takes about 2 minutes and doesn't have any change to the way its managed (you just point the DHCP mmc to the virtual address of the DHCP resource group).

How would you do it on Linux? (which I assume is what you are proposing)

Mishra

It's really as simple as adding a few lines to the dhcpd.conf file, making a couple of backups, and running it. You point all your clients to the dhcp server and in event of a failure the backup takes over and starts serving addresses. That is native failover so it works perfectly all the time.


One failover method is put different IP scopes on the same subnet off of both servers. Works great. Just make sure to double the IP addresses/computers you have.

A lot of companies don't have products that make you just put in one dhcp relay so most of the time you are able to put both dhcp relays in and it works great. However, in the need that you can only put 1 address in then you can deploy your favorite NLB solution on Linux which isn't complex.