Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Wed, 25 Feb 1998 09:39:18 -0500 (EST)
From:      Robert Watson <robert@cyrus.watson.org>
To:        sbabkin@dcn.att.com
Cc:        joe@via.net, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   RE: A web-based FreeBSD configuration tool.
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.3.96.980225093322.18366B-100000@trojanhorse.pr.watson.org>
In-Reply-To: <C50B6FBA632FD111AF0F0000C0AD71EE4132B3@dcn71.dcn.att.com>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Wed, 25 Feb 1998 sbabkin@dcn.att.com wrote:

> > ... i.e., DHCP or IPV6 autoconfiguration ...
>
> Another option is to do like some print servers: you put manually
> the ARP record to your browser machine, then do telnet to
> some special port (or not special port, or not telnet but http
> connection) and the new machine reads its IP address from the
> first received non-broadcast packet.
> 
> I guess it's simpler than a small DHCP server.

DHCP has the advantage of allowing arbitrary configuration information to
be passed, and already having a defined format for the delivery of most if
not all standard IP configuration information.  On the other hand, arp is
light-weight. :)  I prefer to not have the machine sniff the network to
find config information -- might get confused if there are multiple
routers on the network already (and hence multiple gateways), or multiple
IP ranges on the network.  This way the configuration server gets to
specify what IP it comes up on, preventing conflicts and allowing you to
find your new machine once it comes up :).  You also know that it has come
up as DHCP involves a 2-phase process with acknowledgement -- if you don't
get DHCPREQUEST then it didn't like your DHCPOFFER, etc.  To prevent the
host from accepting normal DHCPOFFERs from its DHCPDISCOVER, we require
that the DHCP server provide a vendor tag indicating it is the/a
configuration server.  ISC has a formidible-looking DHCP server these
days.

  Robert N Watson 

Carnegie Mellon University http://www.cmu.edu/
SafePort Network Services  http://www.safeport.com/
robert@fledge.watson.org   http://www.watson.org/~robert/


To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?Pine.BSF.3.96.980225093322.18366B-100000>