Last updated on Mar 21, 2024
- All
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Powered by AI and the LinkedIn community
1
Backup your configuration
2
Remove the failover relationship
Be the first to add your personal experience
3
Update or migrate your settings and partners
Be the first to add your personal experience
4
Reconfigure the failover relationship
Be the first to add your personal experience
5
Test and verify your configuration
Be the first to add your personal experience
6
Troubleshoot any errors or conflicts
Be the first to add your personal experience
7
Here’s what else to consider
DHCP failover is a feature that allows two DHCP servers to share the same scope and provide redundancy and load balancing for DHCP clients. However, sometimes you may need to update or migrate your DHCP failover settings and partners, for example, to change the mode, modify the IP addresses, or move to a different server. How do you do this without disrupting service and causing errors or conflicts? In this article, we will show you how to use PowerShell commands and Windows Server tools to update or migrate DHCP failover safely and smoothly.
Top experts in this article
Selected by the community from 3 contributions. Learn more
Earn a Community Top Voice badge
Add to collaborative articles to get recognized for your expertise on your profile. Learn more
- Craig M. Senior Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft 4
- ✅ Dr. Marc Arnaert IEC/CIS/NIST/SANS GRC - IEC 27001 - Compliance, Architecture, Vulnerability Auditor 1
1 Backup your configuration
Before you make any changes to your DHCP failover settings and partners, you should always backup your configuration and database. This way, you can restore them in case something goes wrong or you need to revert to the previous state. You can use the Export-DhcpServer and Import-DhcpServer cmdlets in PowerShell to backup and restore your DHCP configuration and scopes. You can also use the Backup-DhcpServer and Restore-DhcpServer cmdlets to backup and restore your DHCP database.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- ✅ Dr. Marc Arnaert IEC/CIS/NIST/SANS GRC - IEC 27001 - Compliance, Architecture, Vulnerability Auditor
(edited)
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
Powershell commande pour le Backup :Export-DhcpServer -File c:\temp\dhcp-backup\dc01.xml -Leases -Force -ComputerName dc01.localPowershell commande pour la restauration :Import-DhcpServer -File c:\temp\dhcp-backup\dc01.xml -BackupPath c:\temp\dhcp-backup\ -Leases -ScopeOverwrite -Force -ComputerName dc01.local -Verbose
Like Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 1 - Craig M. Senior Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
I agree but it should be noted that this is for Microsoft/Windows DHCP servers. These steps won’t apply to Unix based DHCP solutions.
Like Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 2
2 Remove the failover relationship
The next step is to remove the existing failover relationship between the two DHCP servers. This will stop the synchronization and replication of leases and settings between them. You can use the Remove-DhcpServerv4Failover cmdlet in PowerShell to remove the failover relationship. You need to specify the name of the primary server and the name or IP address of the secondary server. You can also use the DHCP console in Windows Server to delete the failover relationship from the scope properties.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
3 Update or migrate your settings and partners
Now that you have removed the failover relationship, you can update or migrate your DHCP failover settings and partners as needed. For example, you can change the failover mode from load balance to hot standby, or vice versa, by using the Set-DhcpServerv4Failover cmdlet in PowerShell. You can also modify the IP addresses of the primary and secondary servers, or change the partner server to a different one, by using the same cmdlet. You can also use the DHCP console in Windows Server to edit the failover properties from the scope properties.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
4 Reconfigure the failover relationship
The final step is to reconfigure the failover relationship between the two DHCP servers. This will resume the synchronization and replication of leases and settings between them. You can use the Add-DhcpServerv4Failover cmdlet in PowerShell to create a new failover relationship. You need to specify the name of the primary server, the name or IP address of the secondary server, the failover mode, and other optional parameters. You can also use the DHCP console in Windows Server to configure the failover from the scope properties.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
5 Test and verify your configuration
After you have reconfigured the failover relationship, you should test and verify that your DHCP failover is working as expected. You can use the Get-DhcpServerv4Failover cmdlet in PowerShell to check the status and details of the failover relationship. You can also use the DHCP console in Windows Server to view the failover statistics and events from the scope properties. You should also check that your DHCP clients are able to obtain and renew leases from either server without issues or delays.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
6 Troubleshoot any errors or conflicts
If you encounter any errors or conflicts during or after updating or migrating your DHCP failover settings and partners, you should troubleshoot them as soon as possible. Some common errors or conflicts include mismatched scope options, duplicate IP addresses, communication failures, or state transitions. You can use the Resolve-DhcpServerv4IPConflict cmdlet in PowerShell to resolve any IP conflicts between the two DHCP servers. You can also use the Force-DhcpServerv4FailoverReplication cmdlet in PowerShell to force a replication of leases and settings between them. You can also use the DHCP console in Windows Server to resolve any errors or conflicts from the scope properties.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
7 Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- Craig M. Senior Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
Make sure to coordinate with your networking teams to verify if there are switches or routers with DHCP helper addresses defined that may need to be updated.
Like Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 4
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
+ Follow
Rate this article
We created this article with the help of AI. What do you think of it?
It’s great It’s not so great
Thanks for your feedback
Your feedback is private. Like or react to bring the conversation to your network.
Tell us more
Tell us why you didn’t like this article.
If you think something in this article goes against our Professional Community Policies, please let us know.
We appreciate you letting us know. Though we’re unable to respond directly, your feedback helps us improve this experience for everyone.
If you think this goes against our Professional Community Policies, please let us know.
More articles on Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
No more previous content
- What are some best practices for designing and maintaining a DHCP infrastructure for IPv6? 3 contributions
- How do you monitor and audit DHCP activity and performance in Active Directory domains? 6 contributions
- How do you use DHCP fingerprinting to identify and classify devices on your network? 3 contributions
- What are some of the challenges and risks of using DHCP and VPN in a cloud or hybrid network? 6 contributions
- How do you disable DHCP on a network interface card (NIC)?
- What are the benefits of using a DHCP test tool to troubleshoot DHCP issues?
- How do you handle vendor-specific DHCP options when migrating or integrating network devices or services?
- How does DHCP affect network security on Windows? 6 contributions
- When should you avoid using DHCP forcerenew and what are the alternatives?
- How do you choose between DHCP failover modes: hot standby or load balance? 5 contributions
- How do you automate and manage DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 configurations using Ansible or PowerShell? 1 contribution
- How do you update and maintain DHCP and Active Directory security patches and backups? 2 contributions
- How do you update and restart the DHCP service and the network adapter drivers on the DHCP server? 2 contributions
No more next content
More relevant reading
- Network Administration What are the best practices for testing DHCP failover on Windows Server 2012?
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) What are the pros and cons of different DHCP failover modes and policies?
- Network Administration How can you choose the right DHCP failover configuration for your network?
- System Administration How can you ensure DHCP server configurations are consistent across multiple servers?
