This section will describe how to setup a Win2K client with DHCP if this service has been enabled on the FREESCO router or you have another DHCP server available on your LAN.

The first step is to open the network properties. The fastest way to do so, is by clicking with the right mouse button on the 'My Network Places' icon on the desktop (if this icon is not present, then the network software is not installed or no network interface is found). The next menu will appear, choose the 'Properties' command.

A window similar to this should appear:

Locate the 'Local Area Connection' and again open the right mouse menu and select 'Properties'.

A dialog similar to the next image should popup:

Locate the 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)' component and select it, then click on 'Properties' again. If the TCP/IP protocol is missing in this list then refer to this page to install this protocol.

The dialog above shows the TCP/IP settings for Win2K with DHCP. All TCP/IP information will get requested at boot time from the FREESCO router.

Now click on the 'Advanced' button, the next dialog will show:

To confirm the Win2K client did in fact receive the DHCP settings correctly, open a DOS box and type the command

IPCONFIG /ALL

Sample Run

C:\> IPCONFIG /ALL                                                                 

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : dingetje
Primary DNS Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : zwoll1.ov.nl.home.com
intranet.nl

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : intranet.nl
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel 21041 Based PCI Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-C5-0D-7A-8E
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.21
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, December 22, 2001 10:18:50 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, December 29, 2001 10:18:50 AM

C:\>

Example output of the IPCONFIG /ALL command, YMMV. Notice the obtained IP address 192.168.0.21 and netmask 255.255.255.0, the default gateway is set to the IP address of the FREESCO router 192.168.0.1, which also serves at the DHCP and DNS server. According to the 'Lease Obtained' and 'Lease Expires' times, this Win2K client has reserved it's lease on 192.168.0.21 for a full week. This means that this IP address will not be assigned to another machine in this time frame, even when the Win2K is powered down. When this Win2K client remains powered down for more than a week, it is not guaranteed it will obtain the same IP address. If this is not desired, than you can either configure this client with static settings or configure the DHCP server to give out a so called static lease to this client. Testing the DHCP server

To confirm the Win2K client ↔ DHCP server communication, open a DOS box and type the command

IPCONFIG /renew

Sample Run

C:\> IPCONFIG /renew                                
                                                    
Windows 2000 IP Configuration                       
                                                    
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:             
Connection-specific DNS Suffix .  : intranet.nl      
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.21    
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0   
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1     
                                                    
C:\>