DHCP client v.96 for PowerPC
BlueDot software
bluedot@68k.org

This is an almost RFC2131 compliant DHCP client.  It is not fully compliant in that it does not support the client identifier option, but will in future releases.

This release contains the fix which allows the DHCP client to successfully obtain an address from servers on different subnets.  To enable the fix, invoke dhcp_client with the '-single' option.  As the name implies, the ethernet card which DHCP will manage must be the only installed network interface (in thet net_server - feel free to install as much hardware as you see fit).

This is only an interim release.  The next full release (v1.0) should be available very soon.  It should include a better fix for the subnet problem, fewer net_server restarts, the ability to specify a hostname in address requests (required by some ISPs), and scripting capabilities.


This client consists of 3 parts:
dhcp_client - interacts with the server
DHCP - a preferences panel
dhcp - a net_server add-on


To Install:
1. Using the network preference applet, install and configure the appropriate driver for your network card.
2. Move dhcp (the net_server add-on) to the folder /boot/beos/system/add-ons/net_server
3. Edit the network config file (/boot/home/config/settings/network).  In the GLOBAL section, there should be a PROTOCOLS line (if there is not, create one).  Add dhcp to this line.
	before:	PROTOCOLS = appletalk
	after:		PROTOCOLS = appletalk dhcp
Note:  the appletalk protocol is not required by DHCP.
4. Restart networking (this can be done from the Network preferences panel).

To Use:
1. Run dhcp_client.  (Run 'dhcp_client -single' to obtain addresses from different subnets - see above)
2. Run DHCP (the preferences applet).  You will be presented with a list of the ethernet interfaces the net_server is running.  Select those which should use dhcp to obtain their addresses, then press the Apply button.  The client remembers which interfaces rely upon it, and will attempt to obtain addresses for these interfaces whenever it is restarted.
3. (optional)  If you would like DHCP to obtain addresses when the BeOS is restarted, you must edit
~/config/boot/UserBootscript.  If you keep dhcp_client in ~/config/bin, you would add the following line to UserBootscript:
	/boot/home/config/bin/dhcp_client &
It is a good idea to make this the first line in UserBootscript, so your network interfaces will (probably) have valid addresses before other applications are started.

Notes:
In order to set the addresses for the network adapters, the client edits the network config file and then restarts the net_server.  It may therefore be a good idea to save a copy of your original network config file, so you can restore your net settings if you stop using DHCP.  Also, restarting of the net_server causes all open sockets to be destroyed, so releasing addresses or adding interfaces while downloading is not recommended.

Finally:
You can distribute this software should you desire to do so.  BlueDot software is not liable for any damages the software may cause.  You can contact us at bluedot@68k.org.  Please send us all bugs, comments or feature requests you might have.
