DHCLIENT-SCRIPT(8) BSD System Manager's Manual DHCLIENT-SCRIPT(8)
dhclient-script - DHCP client network configuration script
The DHCP client network configuration script is invoked from time to time
by dhclient(8). This script is used by the DHCP client to set each
interface's initial configuration prior to requesting an address, to test
the address once it has been offered, and to set the interface's final
configuration once a lease has been acquired. If no lease is acquired,
the script is used to test predefined leases, if any, and also called
once if no valid lease can be identified.
In general, customizations specific to a particular computer should be
done in the /etc/dhclient.conf file.
When dhclient(8) needs to invoke the client configuration script, it sets
up a number of environment variables and runs dhclient-script. In all
cases, $reason is set to the name of the reason why the script has been
invoked. The following reasons are currently defined: MEDIUM, PREINIT,
ARPCHECK, ARPSEND, BOUND, RENEW, REBIND, REBOOT, EXPIRE, FAIL and
TIMEOUT.
MEDIUM The DHCP client is requesting that an interface's media type be
set. The interface name is passed in $interface, and the media
type is passed in $medium.
PREINIT The DHCP client is requesting that an interface be configured
as required in order to send packets prior to receiving an ac-
tual address. This means configuring the interface with an IP
address of 0.0.0.0 and a broadcast address of 255.255.255.255.
The interface name is passed in $interface, and the media type
in $medium.
If an IP alias has been declared in dhclient.conf(5), its ad-
dress will be passed in $alias_ip_address, and that IP alias
should be deleted from the interface, along with any routes to
it.
ARPSEND The DHCP client is requesting that an address that has been of-
fered to it be checked to see if somebody else is using it, by
sending an ARP request for that address. It's not clear how to
implement this, so no examples exist yet. The IP address to
check is passed in $new_ip_address, and the interface name is
passed in $interface.
ARPCHECK The DHCP client wants to know if a response to the ARP request
sent using ARPSEND has been received. If one has, the script
should exit with a nonzero status, indicating that the offered
address has already been requested and should be declined.
$new_ip_address and $interface are set as with ARPSEND.
BOUND The DHCP client has done an initial binding to a new address.
The new IP address is passed in $new_ip_address, and the inter-
face name is passed in $interface. The media type is passed in
$medium. Any options acquired from the server are passed using
the option name described in dhcp-options(5), except that
dashes ('-') are replaced by underscores ('_') in order to make
valid shell variables, and the variable names start with new_.
So for example, the new subnet mask would be passed in
$new_subnet_mask.
When a binding has been completed, a lot of network parameters
are likely to need to be set up. A new /etc/resolv.conf needs
to be created, using the values of $new_domain_name and
$new_domain_name_servers (which may list more than one server,
separated by spaces). The /etc/resolv.conf file is not created
if the /etc/resolv.conf.lock file exists. In that case, the
file which would have been created as /etc/resolv.conf is writ-
ten to /etc/resolv.conf.std instead. A default route should be
set using $new_routers, and static routes may need to be set up
using $new_static_routes.
Note: since dhclient-script effectively overwrites
/etc/resolv.conf, any information contained therein is lost. If
options must be passed to the resolver, they may be contained
in /etc/resolv.conf.tail, which is appended to the generated
/etc/resolv.conf by dhclient-script. See resolv.conf.tail(5)
for further information.
If an IP alias has been declared, it must be set up here. The
alias IP address will be written as $alias_ip_address, and oth-
er DHCP options that are set for the alias (e.g., subnet mask)
will be passed in variables named as described previously ex-
cept starting with $alias_ instead of $new_. Care should be
taken that the alias IP address not be used if it is identical
to the bound IP address ($new_ip_address), since the other
alias parameters may be incorrect in this case.
RENEW When a binding has been renewed, the script is called as in
BOUND, except that in addition to all the variables starting
with $new_, there is another set of variables starting with
$old_. Persistent settings that may have changed need to be
deleted - for example, if a local route to the bound address is
being configured, the old local route should be deleted. If the
default route has changed, the old default route should be
deleted. If the static routes have changed, the old ones should
be deleted. Otherwise, processing can be done as with BOUND.
REBIND The DHCP client has rebound to a new DHCP server. This can be
handled as with RENEW, except that if the IP address has
changed, the ARP table should be cleared.
REBOOT The DHCP client has successfully reacquired its old address
after a reboot. This can be processed as with BOUND.
EXPIRE The DHCP client has failed to renew its lease or acquire a new
one, and the lease has expired. The IP address must be relin-
quished, and all related parameters should be deleted, as in
RENEW and REBIND.
FAIL The DHCP client has been unable to contact any DHCP servers,
and any leases that have been tested have not proved to be
valid. The parameters from the last lease tested should be de-
configured. This can be handled in the same way as EXPIRE.
TIMEOUT The DHCP client has been unable to contact any DHCP servers.
However, an old lease has been identified, and its parameters
have been passed in as with BOUND. The client configuration
script should test these parameters and, if it has reason to
believe they are valid, should exit with a value of zero. If
not, it should exit with a nonzero value.
The usual way to test a lease is to set up the network as with REBIND
(since this may be called to test more than one lease) and then ping the
first router defined in $routers. If a response is received, the lease
must be valid for the network to which the interface is currently con-
nected. It would be more complete to try to ping all of the routers list-
ed in $new_routers, as well as those listed in $new_static_routes, but
current scripts do not do this.
dhclient.conf(5), dhclient.leases(5), resolv.conf.tail(5), dhclient(8),
dhcpd(8), dhcrelay(8)
The original version of dhclient-script was written for the Internet
Software Consortium by Ted Lemon <mellon@fugue.com> in cooperation with
Vixie Enterprises.
The OpenBSD implementation of dhclient-script was written by Kenneth R.
Westerback <krw@openbsd.org>.
The /etc/resolv.conf preservation code has been adapted into MirBSD by
Thorsten Glaser <tg@mirbsd.org>.
If more than one interface is being used, there's no obvious way to avoid
clashes between server-supplied configuration parameters - for example,
the stock dhclient-script rewrites /etc/resolv.conf. If more than one in-
terface is being configured, /etc/resolv.conf will be repeatedly initial-
ized to the values provided by one server, and then the other. Assuming
the information provided by both servers is valid, this shouldn't cause
any real problems, but it could be confusing.
MirBSD #10-current January 1, 1997 2