dhcpcd

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From: Leon Brocard
Subject: dhcpcd
Date: 12:28 on 12 Aug 2003
First, why is dhcpcd a client and a daemon? What's going on? Why does
it need to be a daemon if it is just a client and finds you an IP
address every so often? I mean, that's worse than the X server/client
terminology.

OK, so we all know about DHCP. dhcpcd talks the magic protocol talk
and finds you a new email address. All well and fine so far. So we're
playing with a new AIX box in our test environment and it all seems
good. The test environment uses DHCP but all is well.

So we move it into the work environment so that we can start using it.
Everything is well and we hack hack hack on it and start trusting it.

Then an hour later after the move, it drops off the Net.
Completely. No pinging. No routing. No ssh. Off. We ping syssies, get
a console up on it (it has a DVD player but no video card, sigh) and
try diagnosing.

Turns out dhcpcd tries to recheck its IP lease every hour. The
work environment didn't have a DHCP server, so what did it do? Instead
of hanging on to the known, working IP address it set its IP address
to 0.0.0.0 and kept on trying to find a DHCP server. Gah! Why is
software so clueless? Keep on going as you were in the face of
adversity, don't panic and drop off the Net!

Static IP set, dhcpcd disabled, which I now hate. DHCP might be nice,
if only it weren't for software...

Leon
-- 
Leon Brocard.............................http://www.astray.com/
scribot.................................http://www.scribot.com/

... Dew knot trussed yore spell chequer two fined awl year miss stakes

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