641Programming Operations GuideChapter 28Configuring DHCPBusiness Communications Manager provides DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)service to branch office clients. DHCP allows a network administrator to supervise and distributeIP addresses from a central location. This service dynamically assigns IP addresses to branchoffice computers or IP telephones, so you do not need to manually assign an IP address. It alsoautomatically assigns a new IP address if a device connects to a different place in the network.This section includes information about:• “Configuring the DHCP Mode” on page 642• “Configuring a DHCP Server” on page 643• “LAN settings for DHCP Server” on page 646• “Remote Scope” on page 654• “Configuring a DHCP Relay Agent” on page 662• “LAN settings for DHCP Relay Agent” on page 663• “Importing and Exporting DHCP data” on page 664DHCP configuration overviewTo configure Business Communications Manager as your DHCP server, you must create a scopeof IP addresses for each LAN interface and then allocate a block of IP addresses to that scope. Ifyou already have a DHCP server then you need to set up Business Communications Manager as arelay agent to that server.You must define one DHCP scope for each LAN interface. For DHCP service, there are globalattributes that affect all scopes and there are attributes that are specific for each scope.Caution: Check with your network administrator before enabling DHCP. EnablingDHCP on a network that already has a DHCP server can cause problems on the network.TipBecause Business Communications Manager retrieves default DHCP parameters from theLAN interface parameters, you must configure a LAN interface before you configure theDHCP server for that interface. For information on configuring a LAN interface, see“Configuring the LAN resources” on page 667.TipUse the Business Communications Manager DHCP default configuration unless yournetwork does not allow it.
