High Availabilty DHCP

My current environment has a single windows dhcp server with approx.
30 scopes. I was recently asked to come up a high availability DHCP
solution. I've been given a total of two servers, one for each data
center. This design should support my environment in the event my main
site goes down. All network routing is in place to support this.

Does anyone have any good solutions or recommendations I can go with?
I was thinking split scopes or a stand by DHCP server is all I could
really do with the amount of hardware given.


My network team wants to move this service to Linux but I want to keep
it on windows so my team doesn't loose visibility.


Your thoughts and opinions are appreciated,


Thanks in advance




Luco

Your DHCP updates WINS and DNS for the sake of Active Directory,...so that
can't move it to Linux. Tell the Linux-Lovers to forget that.

You can't use a "spare" DHCP because if you bring it up in place of the
other the database won't match and you have a potential of Address
Conflicts.

The best way is to split the scopes across two DHCP Servers. The old school
was a 80/20 split. Never figured out why,...I mean if you lose the one with
the 80% you a really screwed. Most now use a 50/50 split.
Do not split the Range. Use the full Range on scopes on both servers,...make
the scopes identical. You use the Exclusions to create the "split"
If one goes down you can adjust the Exclusions on the remaining one so it
can handle all the addresses. When the dead one is repaired return the
Exclusions back the way they were. There may be some chance of an address
conflict but it is more minimal.

Also it is important to have fairly long lease period. The default is 8
days, that renews every 4 days. The longer lease buys you time to fix the
box without having to mess with the second one at all, so you don't have to
mess with the Exclusions back-and-forth and things are much simpler.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
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"Luco" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:EA862900-C03D-496E-A250-(E-Mail Removed)...
> My current environment has a single windows dhcp server with approx.
> 30 scopes. I was recently asked to come up a high availability DHCP
> solution. I've been given a total of two servers, one for each data
> center. This design should support my environment in the event my main
> site goes down. All network routing is in place to support this.
>
> Does anyone have any good solutions or recommendations I can go with?
> I was thinking split scopes or a stand by DHCP server is all I could
> really do with the amount of hardware given.
>
>
> My network team wants to move this service to Linux but I want to keep
> it on windows so my team doesn't loose visibility.
>
>
> Your thoughts and opinions are appreciated,
>
>
> Thanks in advance
>
>