Workshop

p-nodes), broadcast nodes (b-nodes), or hybrid nodes (h-nodes—or node type 0x8—as shown in Figure
11.1) that first try to talk directly and then broadcast if they have no other alternative. The kicker here is
that you need to invest in Windows NT to get a DHCP server; Microsoft does not supply a DHCP server
for workgroups.
Figure 11.1 The DHCP manager can show you all client leases, thus allowing you to easily figure out
which users have which IP addresses.
DHCP can potentially distribute many configuration items automatically, one of which is the address of
the WINS and/or the DNS server for the network (see the section titled, “TCP/IP Name Resolution,” later
in this hour). This is awesome, because it seriously cuts down on fat-finger syndrome. You can be pretty
sure that if one workstation has the right DNS and WINS information, they all do (rather than wondering
if somebody has fat-fingered a given workstation’s DNS and WINS info). This saves you a lot of time
when troubleshooting.
Well, this all sounds wonderful, but what happens if your DHCP server goes down? On a small network
where the server is the DHCP server, this doesn’t matter for small periods of time. The concept of DHCP
leases means that unless the lease expired right after the server went down, your folks probably still have
IP addresses even without the server. (However, they’re probably annoyed nonetheless, because their
files are on that server.)
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