Beyond Linux From Scratch - Version 6.2.0

Chapter 14. DHCP Clients

Dhcpcd-2.0.8

Introduction to Dhcpcd

dhcpcdis an implementation of the DHCP client specified in RFC2131. This is useful for connecting your computer to a network which uses DHCP to assign network addresses.

Package Information

User Notes: http://wiki.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/wiki/dhcpcd

Installation of Dhcpcd

Install dhcpcd by running the following commands: 

./configure --prefix="" --mandir=/usr/share/man &&
make

This package does not come with a test suite.

Now, as the root user: 

make install &&
chmod -v 754 /etc/dhcpc/dhcpcd.exe

Command Explanations

--prefix="": There may be a good reason for abandoning the normal BLFS convention of using --prefix=/usr here. If you are installing DHCP, it is likely that it is required during the boot process and /usr may be network mounted, in which case dhcpcd wouldn't be available due to being on the network! Therefore, depending on your situation, you may want it to be installed in /sbin or /usr/sbin. This command installs to /sbin.

Configuring Dhcpcd

Config Files

/etc/dhcpc/dhcpcd.exe

Configuration Information

To configure dhcpcd, you need to first install the network service script, /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/services/dhcpcd included in the blfs-bootscripts-20060910 package (as user root): 

make install-service-dhcpcd

Whenever dhcpcd configures or shuts down a network interface, it executes the script /etc/dhcpc/dhcpcd.exe. This script can be customized to perform additional actions for the network interface. See the man page of dhcpcd for more details.

Finally, as the root user create the /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/ifconfig.eth0/dhcpcd configuration file using the following commands. Adjust appropriately for additional interfaces: 

install -v -d /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/ifconfig.eth0 &&
cat > /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/ifconfig.eth0/dhcpcd << "EOF"
ONBOOT="yes"
SERVICE="dhcpcd"
DHCP_START="<insert appropriate start options here>"
DHCP_STOP="-k <insert additional stop options here>"

# Set PRINTIP="yes" to have the script print
# the DHCP assigned IP address
PRINTIP="no"

# Set PRINTALL="yes" to print the DHCP assigned values for
# IP, SM, DG, and 1st NS. This requires PRINTIP="yes".
PRINTALL="no"
EOF

For more information on the appropriate DHCP_START and DHCP_STOP values, examine the man page for dhcpcd.

[Note]

Note

The default behavior of dhcpcd is to overwrite (after making backup copies) /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/yp.conf and /etc/ntp.conf with new files containing information from the DHCP server. If this is undesirable, review the dhcpcd man page for switches to add to the DHCP_START value.

Contents

Installed Program: dhcpcd
Installed Libraries: None
Installed Directory: /etc/dhcpc and /var/lib/dhcpc

Short Descriptions

dhcpcd

is an implementation of the DHCP client specified in RFC2131 (when -r option is not specified) and RFC1541 (when -r option is specified).

Last updated on 2007-02-14 11:57:11 -0600