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Date:	Wed, 6 Feb 2002 04:40:35 PST7
From:	Peter Skye <pskye@peterskye.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: DHCP

Content Type: text/plain

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Steve Carter wrote:
>
> The first (and almost only) thing I did was
> to enable DHCP for the PCI 10/100 NIC connected
> to the network (in the TCP/IP notebook).

If you mean you checked the "Automatically, using DHCP" box, that's what
you were supposed to do.

This will, among other things, modify your CONFIG.SYS file so that your
computer will obtain a DHCP "lease" during bootup.

(Your CONFIG.SYS will be modified to "CALL" MPTSTART.CMD which will
"CALL" SETUP.CMD which will run DHCPSTRT.EXE, all of which are in
\MPTN\BIN\. The DHCPSTRT.EXE program will run during bootup *and*
display an on-screen message during bootup.)

During testing, you can run DHCPSTRT.EXE from the command line and "see
what happens". You don't have to reboot to test it, but you *should*
use the same command line parameters that TCP/IP Configuration puts on
the "dhcpstrt ..." line in SETUP.CMD. (The "-i" parameter means that
the interface i.d. follows, typically "-i lan0".)

For more info on DHCPSTRT, run DHCPSTRT /?

> I did not delete the contents of the route, DNS and
> other TCP/IP notebook settings since I expected them
> to be supplied by the DHCP server in my SMC7004BR.

These other settings shouldn't affect your getting a DHCP lease from the
SMC7004BR.

> I made NO MODIFICATION to setup.cmd.

SETUP.CMD runs DHCPSTRT.EXE which zaps any existing IFCONFIG settings.
That's why you have to manually move the "ifconfig ..." line so it's
after the "dhcpstrt ..." line. It's a pain because you have to do it
every time you run TCP/IP Configuration and modify the settings which
cause SETUP.CMD to be rewritten. If you ever lose your loopback, this
is a likely cause.

> Regrettably, I know nothing about DHCPMON, iptrace,
> inetver and almost nothing about syslevel.

They're all pretty simple. Run INETVER right now to see what your
TCP/IP stack level is. For example, mine (UN0980 + MTPS0825) says:

[G:\]inetver
Inet Version: 4.02y

And you can run SYSLEVEL at any time. It takes a while to run, though
-- it searches your drive for any SYSLEVEL.* files and reports on the
*contents* of those files.

DHCPMON is in \MPTN\BIN\ and tells you the status of your DHCP
connection. If you don't get a "lease", DHCPMON may be able to tell you
why. For more info on DHCPMON, go to \MPTN\ and run VIEW DHCPMON.HLP
(or NEWVIEW DHCPMON.HLP).

IPTRACE and IPFORMAT are for watching the bytes on the network
connection. First you run IPTRACE for a while, then you run IPFORMAT
which creates a human-readable output file.

> >Although it doesn't affect acquiring the DHCP lease,
> >you have to fix your \MPTN\BIN\SETUP.CMD file if you're
> >using 127.0.0.1. Move the "ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1" line
> >so it is *after* the "dhcpstrt ..." line.
>
> Can I leave it modified permanently even when/if I go
> back to fixed IP (I'm back there now 'cause I need
> the connectivity)? Will it stay put or will I have
> to remember to hack setup.cmd each time I switch
> back and forth?

It's a bug in the TCP/IP Configuration program. Every time you modify
your DHCP setup with TCP/IP Configuration it will write the SETUP.CMD
file "ifconfig" and "dhcpstrt" lines out of sequence. You have to fix
this manually. Note that the problem doesn't show up until you reboot,
because it occurs only when SETUP.CMD is run -- and that happens at boot
time. (Some Day Real Soon Now I'm going to write a little program that
CONFIG.SYS will run and tell me if my SETUP.CMD is scrambled.)

> >If it still doesn't work, where does the error occur? Is
> >there a "dhcpstrt ..." line in your \MPTN\BIN\SETUP.CMD file?
>
> Didn't check. I'll check when I get close to the machine again.

1) There should be a "dhcpstrt ..." line in your \MPTN\BIN\SETUP.CMD
file *after* you've configured your TCP/IP for DHCP.

2) When you reboot you *should* see a bootup message saying that
DHCPSTRT has started.

3) If DHCPSTRT does *not* give you an error message and then pause
during bootup, you *should* have a valid DHCP "lease". You can check
this by running DHCPMON.EXE (also in \MPTN\BIN\) and looking at the
display screen -- the third line says "Lease remaining:" and should have
a time value. (The lease is automatically renewed, so don't worry if
it's going to expire soon.)

> >Do you get a DHCPSTRT error message during bootup?
> >Does DHCPMON show an error?
>
> There is no indication of an error.
> No error message appears.

Then either you got a "lease" or DHCPSTRT did not run.

> I'm not intentionally starting DHCPMON.

Run it. It's just a reporting program; it doesn't change anything.

> If there are DHCP fixes for TCP/IP
> required, how do I find out about them?

Apply the latest fixes for the TCP/IP stack which you're using. Run
INETVER to see what stack level you have.

For more info on DHCP, go to \OS2\BOOK\ and run VIEW DHCPCLNT.INF (or
NEWVIEW DHCPCLNT.INF).

- Peter

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