DHCP: All IPv4/IPv6 configured scopes should be active

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

This topic is intended to address a specific issue identified by a Best Practices Analyzer scan. You should apply the information in this topic only to computers that have had the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Best Practices Analyzer run against them and are experiencing the issue addressed by this topic. For more information about best practices and scans, see Best Practices Analyzer (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122786).

Operating System

Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

Product/Feature

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

Severity

Warning

Category

Configuration

Issue

The DHCP server has a deactivated scope.

Impact

If a scope is deactivated, the DHCP server will not lease out IP addresses in this scope

Resolution

Activate the scope using the DHCP MMC.

A Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) scope is the consecutive range of possible IP addresses that the DHCP server can lease to clients on a subnet. Scopes typically define a single physical subnet on your network to which DHCP services are offered. Scopes are the primary way for the DHCP server to manage distribution and assignment of IP addresses and any related configuration parameters to DHCP clients on the network. Before a DHCP server can distribute addresses and options to clients, it must have an active scope.

Membership in the Administrators or DHCP Administrators group is the minimum required to complete this procedure.

To activate a scope

  1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools and then click DHCP.

  2. In the console tree, expand the applicable DHCP server, expand IPv4 or IPv6, right click the applicable scope and then click Activate

Note

The Action menu command changes to Deactivate when the selected scope is currently activated. Do not deactivate a scope unless you are retiring it permanently from use on your network.

Additional references

For updated detailed IT pro information about DHCP and selectively enabling or disabling DHCP server bindings, see the Windows Server 2008 R2 documentation on the Microsoft TechNet Web site.