The Kea release tarballs may be downloaded from: http://ftp.isc.org/isc/kea/ (using FTP or HTTP).

Downloading this "bleeding edge" code is recommended only for developers or advanced users. Using development code in a production environment is not recommended.

The latest development code is available on Gitlab (see https://gitlab.isc.org/isc-projects/kea). The Kea source is public and development is done in the “master” branch.

The code can be checked out from https://gitlab.isc.org/isc-projects/kea.git:

$ git clone https://gitlab.isc.org/isc-projects/kea.git

The code checked out from the git repository does not include the generated configure script, Makefile.in files, nor their related build files. They can be created by running autoreconf with the --install switch. This will run autoconf, aclocal, libtoolize, autoheader, automake, and related commands.

Write access to the Kea repository is only granted to ISC staff. If you are a developer planning to contribute to Kea, please check our Contributor's Guide. The Kea Developer's Guide contains more information about the process, as well as describes the requirements for contributed code to be accepted by ISC.

Kea uses the GNU Build System to discover build environment details. To generate the makefiles using the defaults, simply run:

$ ./configure

Run ./configure with the --help switch to view the different options. Some commonly-used options are:

There are also many additional options that are typically not used by regular users. However, they may be useful for package maintainers, developers or people who want to extend Kea code or send patches:

For example, the following command configures Kea to find the Boost headers in /usr/pkg/include, specifies that PostgreSQL support should be enabled, and sets the installation location to /opt/kea:

$ ./configure \
      --with-boost-include=/usr/pkg/include \
      --with-pgsql=/usr/local/bin/pg_config \
      --prefix=/opt/kea

If you have any problems with building Kea using the header-only Boost code, or you'd like to use the Boost system library (assumed for the sake of this example to be located in /usr/pkg/lib):

$ ./configure \
      --with-boost-libs=-lboost_system \
      --with-boost-lib-dir=/usr/pkg/lib

If configure fails, it may be due to missing or old dependencies.

If configure succeeds, it displays a report with the parameters used to build the code. This report is saved into the file config.report and is also embedded into the executable binaries, e.g., kea-dhcp4.

After the configure step is complete, build the executables from the C++ code and prepare the Python scripts by running the command:

$ make

To install the Kea executables, support files, and documentation, issue the command:

$ make install

Do not use any form of parallel or job server options (such as GNU make's -j option) when performing this step; doing so may cause errors.

If required, run ldconfig as root with /usr/local/lib (or with prefix/lib if configured with --prefix) in /etc/ld.so.conf (or the relevant linker cache configuration file for your OS):

$ ldconfig

              program: error while loading shared libraries: libkea-something.so.1:
              cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
            

Install MySQL according to the instructions for your system. The client development libraries must be installed.

Build and install Kea as described in Chapter 3, Installation, with the following modification. To enable the MySQL database code, at the "configure" step (see Section 3.4.3, “Configure Before the Build”), the --with-mysql switch should be specified:

./configure [other-options] --with-mysql

If MySQL was not installed in the default location, the location of the MySQL configuration program "mysql_config" should be included with the switch, i.e.

./configure [other-options] --with-mysql=path-to-mysql_config

See Section 4.3.2.1, “First-Time Creation of the MySQL Database” for details regarding MySQL database configuration.

Install PostgreSQL according to the instructions for your system. The client development libraries must be installed. Client development libraries are often packaged as "libpq".

Build and install Kea as described in Chapter 3, Installation, with the following modification. To enable the PostgreSQL database code, at the "configure" step (see Section 3.4.3, “Configure Before the Build”), the --with-pgsql switch should be specified:

./configure [other-options] --with-pgsql

If PostgreSQL was not installed in the default location, the location of the PostgreSQL configuration program "pg_config" should be included with the switch, i.e.

./configure [other-options] --with-pgsql=path-to-pg_config

See Section 4.3.3.1, “First-Time Creation of the PostgreSQL Database” for details regarding PostgreSQL database configuration.

Install Cassandra according to the instructions for your system. The Cassandra project website contains useful pointers: http://cassandra.apache.org.

If you have a cpp-driver package available as binary or as source, simply install or build and install the package. Then build and install Kea as described in Chapter 3, Installation. To enable the Cassandra (CQL) database code, at the "configure" step (see Section 3.4.3, “Configure Before the Build”), do:

./configure [other-options] --with-cql=path-to-pkg-config

Note if pkg-config is at its standard location (and thus in the shell path) you do not need to supply its path. If it does not work (e.g. no pkg-config, package not available in pkg-config with the cassandra name), you can still use the cql_config script in tools/ as described below.

Download and compile cpp-driver from DataStax. For details regarding dependencies for building cpp-driver, see the project homepage https://github.com/datastax/cpp-driver. In June 2016, the following commands were used:

$ git clone https://github.com/datastax/cpp-driver
$ cd cpp-driver
$ mkdir build
$ cd build
$ cmake ..
$ make

As of January 2019, cpp-driver does not include cql_config script. Work is in progress to contribute such a script to the cpp-driver project but, until that is complete, intermediate steps need to be conducted. A cql_config script is present in the tools/ directory of the Kea sources. Before using it, please create a cql_config_defines.sh in the same directory (there is an example in cql_config_define.sh.sample available; you may copy it over to cql_config_defines.sh and edit the path specified in it) and change the environment variable CPP_DRIVER_PATH to point to the directory where the cpp-driver sources are located. Make sure that appropriate access rights are set on this file. It should be executable by the system user building Kea.

Build and install Kea as described in Chapter 3, Installation, with the following modification. To enable the Cassandra (CQL) database code, at the "configure" step (see Section 3.4.3, “Configure Before the Build”), do:

./configure [other-options] --with-cql=path-to-cql_config

The memfile backend is able to store lease information, but is not able to store host reservation details; these must be stored in the configuration file. (There are no plans to add a host reservations storage capability to this backend.)

No special initialization steps are necessary for the memfile backend. During the first run, both kea-dhcp4 and kea-dhcp6 will create an empty lease file if one is not present. Necessary disk-write permission is required.

MySQL is able to store leases, host reservations, options defined on a per-host basis and a subset of the server configuration parameters (serving as a configuration backend). This section can be safely ignored if you choose to store the data in other backends.

$ kea-admin lease-init mysql -u database-user -p database-password -n database-name

$ kea-admin lease-version mysql -u database-user -p database-password -n database-name

$ kea-admin lease-upgrade mysql -u database-user -p database-password -n database-name

PostgreSQL is able to store leases, host reservations, and options defined on a per-host basis. This step can be safely ignored if you are using other database backends.

$ kea-admin lease-init pgsql -u database-user -p database-password -n database-name

$ kea-admin lease-version pgsql -u database-user -p database-password -n database-name

$ kea-admin lease-upgrade pgsql -u database-user -p database-password -n database-name

Cassandra (sometimes for historical reasons referred to in documentation and commands as CQL) is the newest backend added to Kea; initial development was contributed by Deutsche Telekom. The Cassandra backend is able to store leases, host reservations, and options defined on a per-host basis.

Cassandra must be properly set up if you want Kea to store information in it. This section can be safely ignored if you choose to store the data in other backends.

$ kea-admin lease-init cql -n database-name

$ kea-admin lease-version cql -n database-name

$ kea-admin lease-upgrade cql -n database-name

If a read-only database is used for storing host reservations, Kea must be explicitly configured to operate on the database in read-only mode. Sections Section 8.2.3.2, “Using Read-Only Databases for Host Reservations” and Section 9.2.3.2, “Using Read-Only Databases for Host Reservations” describe when such configuration may be required and how to configure Kea to operate in this way.

Configuration files for the DHCPv4, DHCPv6, DDNS, Control Agent, and Netconf modules are defined in an extended JSON format. Basic JSON is defined in RFC 7159 and ECMA 404. In particular, the only boolean values allowed are true or false (all lowercase). The capitalized versions (True or False) are not accepted.

Kea components use an extended JSON with additional features allowed:

The configuration file consists of a single object (often colloquially called a map) started with a curly bracket. It comprises one or more of the "Dhcp4", "Dhcp6", "DhcpDdns", "Control-agent" and "Netconf" objects. It is possible to define additional elements but they will be ignored.

A very simple configuration for DHCPv4 could look like this:

# The whole configuration starts here.
{
    # DHCPv4 specific configuration starts here.
    "Dhcp4": {
        "interfaces-config": {
            "interfaces": [ "eth0" ],
            "dhcp-socket-type": "raw"
        },
        "valid-lifetime": 4000,
        "renew-timer": 1000,
        "rebind-timer": 2000,
        "subnet4": [{
           "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.1-192.0.2.200" } ],
           "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24"
        }],

       # Now loggers are inside the DHCPv4 object.
       "loggers": [{
            "name": "*",
            "severity": "DEBUG"
        }]
    }

# The whole configuration structure ends here.
}

More examples are available in the installed share/doc/kea/examples directory.

To avoid repetition of mostly similar structures, examples in the rest of this guide will showcase only the subset of parameters appropriate for a given context. For example, when discussing the IPv6 subnets configuration in DHCPv6, only subnet6 parameters will be mentioned. It is implied that the remaining elements (the global map that holds Dhcp6 and Logging) are present, but they are omitted for clarity. Usually, locations where extra parameters may appear are denoted by an ellipsis (...).

It is sometimes convenient to refer to a specific element in the configuration hierarchy. Each hierarchy level is separated by a slash. If there is an array, a specific instance within that array is referenced by a number in square brackets (with numbering starting at zero). For example, in the above configuration the valid-lifetime in the Dhcp4 component can be referred to as Dhcp4/valid-lifetime and the pool in the first subnet defined in the DHCPv4 configuration as Dhcp4/subnet4[0]/pool.

Kea Configuration Backend (abbreviated as CB) is a feature first introduced in 1.6.0 release, which provides Kea servers with the ability to manage and fetch their configuration from one or more databases. In the documentation, the term "Configuration Backend" may also refer to the particular Kea module providing support to manage and fetch the configuration information from the particular database type. For example: MySQL Configuration Backend is the logic implemented within the "mysql_cb" hooks library which provides a complete set of functions to manage and fetch the configuration information from the MySQL database.

In small deployments, e.g. those comprising a single DHCP server instance with limited and infrequently changing number of subnets, it may be impractical to use the CB as a configuration repository because it requires additional third party software to be installed and configured - in particular the MySQL server and MySQL client. Once the number of DHCP servers and/or the number of managed subnets in the network grows, the usefulness of the CB becomes obvious.

A good example is a pair of the Kea DHCP servers which can be configured to support High Availability as described in Section 15.4.9, “ha: High Availability”. The configurations of both servers are almost exactly the same. They may differ by the server identifier and designation of the server as a primary or standby (or secondary). They may also differ by the interfaces configuration. Typically, the subnets, shared networks, option definitions, global parameters are the same for both servers and can be sourced from a single database instance to both Kea servers.

Using the database as a single source of configuration for subnets and/or other configuration information supported by the CB has the advantage that any modifications to the configuration in the database is automatically applied to both servers.

Another case when the centralized configuration repository is desired is in deployments including large number of the DHCP servers, possibly using a common lease database to provide redundancy. The new servers can be added to the pool frequently to fulfil growing scalability requirements. Adding the new server does not require replicating the entire configuration to the new server when common database is used.

Using the database as a configuration repository for Kea servers also brings other benefits, such as:

Kea CB has been introduced in the 1.6.0 release, but this implementation comes with a number of limitations being the result of the overall complexity of this feature and the development time constraints. This feature will evolve over time and the new capabilities will be added in subsequent releases. In this section we present the limitations of the CB, present in the current Kea 1.6.0 release:

In order to use the Kea CB feature, the Kea 1.6.0 version or later is required. The mysql_cb open source hooks library implementing the Configuration Backend for MySQL must be compiled and loaded by the DHCP servers. This hooks library is compiled when the --with-mysql configuration switch is used during Kea build. The MySQL C client libraries must be installed as explained in the Section 3.5, “DHCP Database Installation and Configuration”.

The cb_cmds premium hooks library is available to ISC paid supported customers, which provides a complete set of commands to manage the servers' configuration information within the database. This library can be attached to both DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 server instance. It is still possible to manage the configuration information without the cb_cmds hooks library with commonly available tools such as MySQL Workbench or command line MySQL client, by directly working with the database.

Refer to the Section 15.4.8, “cb_cmds: Configuration Backend Commands” for the details regarding the cb_cmds hooks library.

The DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 server specific configuration of the CB as well as the list of supported configuration parameters can be found in the Section 8.14, “Configuration Backend in DHCPv4” and Section 9.19, “Configuration Backend in DHCPv6” respectively.

This section explains how to configure the DHCPv4 server using a configuration file. Before DHCPv4 is started, its configuration file has to be created. The basic configuration is as follows:

{
# DHCPv4 configuration starts in this line
"Dhcp4": {

# First we set up global values
    "valid-lifetime": 4000,
    "renew-timer": 1000,
    "rebind-timer": 2000,

# Next we setup the interfaces to be used by the server.
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth0" ]
    },

# And we specify the type of lease database
    "lease-database": {
        "type": "memfile",
        "persist": true,
        "name": "/var/kea/dhcp4.leases"
    },

# Finally, we list the subnets from which we will be leasing addresses.
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [
                {
                     "pool": "192.0.2.1 - 192.0.2.200"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
# DHCPv4 configuration ends with the next line
}

} 

The following paragraphs provide a brief overview of the parameters in the above example, along with their format. Subsequent sections of this chapter go into much greater detail for these and other parameters.

The lines starting with a hash (#) are comments and are ignored by the server; they do not impact its operation in any way.

The configuration starts in the first line with the initial opening curly bracket (or brace). Each configuration must contain an object specifying the configuration of the Kea module using it. In the example above this object is called Dhcp4.

The Dhcp4 configuration starts with the "Dhcp4": { line and ends with the corresponding closing brace (in the above example, the brace after the last comment). Everything defined between those lines is considered to be the Dhcp4 configuration.

In the general case, the order in which those parameters appear does not matter, but there are two caveats. The first one is to remember that the configuration file must be well-formed JSON. That means that the parameters for any given scope must be separated by a comma and there must not be a comma after the last parameter. When reordering a configuration file, keep in mind that moving a parameter to or from the last position in a given scope may also require moving the comma. The second caveat is that it is uncommon — although legal JSON — to repeat the same parameter multiple times. If that happens, the last occurrence of a given parameter in a given scope is used, while all previous instances are ignored. This is unlikely to cause any confusion as there are no real-life reasons to keep multiple copies of the same parameter in your configuration file.

Moving onto the DHCPv4 configuration elements, the first few elements define some global parameters. valid-lifetime defines how long the addresses (leases) given out by the server are valid. If nothing changes, a client that got an address is allowed to use it for 4000 seconds. (Note that integer numbers are specified as is, without any quotes around them.) renew-timer and rebind-timer are values (also in seconds) that define T1 and T2 timers that govern when the client will begin the renewal and rebind procedures.

The interfaces-config map specifies the server configuration concerning the network interfaces, on which the server should listen to the DHCP messages. The interfaces parameter specifies a list of network interfaces on which the server should listen. Lists are opened and closed with square brackets, with elements separated by commas. To listen on two interfaces, the interfaces-config command should look like this:

"interfaces-config": {
    "interfaces": [ "eth0", "eth1" ]
},

The next couple of lines define the lease database, the place where the server stores its lease information. This particular example tells the server to use memfile, which is the simplest (and fastest) database backend. It uses an in-memory database and stores leases on disk in a CSV file. This is a very simple configuration; usually the lease database configuration is more extensive and contains additional parameters. Note that lease-database is an object and opens up a new scope, using an opening brace. Its parameters (just one in this example - type) follow. If there were more than one, they would be separated by commas. This scope is closed with a closing brace. As more parameters for the Dhcp4 definition follow, a trailing comma is present.

Finally, we need to define a list of IPv4 subnets. This is the most important DHCPv4 configuration structure, as the server uses that information to process clients' requests. It defines all subnets from which the server is expected to receive DHCP requests. The subnets are specified with the subnet4 parameter. It is a list, so it starts and ends with square brackets. Each subnet definition in the list has several attributes associated with it, so it is a structure and is opened and closed with braces. At a minimum, a subnet definition has to have at least two parameters: subnet (which defines the whole subnet) and pools (which is a list of dynamically allocated pools that are governed by the DHCP server).

The example contains a single subnet. If more than one were defined, additional elements in the subnet4 parameter would be specified and separated by commas. For example, to define three subnets, the following syntax would be used:

"subnet4": [
    {
        "pools": [ { "pool":  "192.0.2.1 - 192.0.2.200" } ],
        "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24"
    },
    {
        "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.3.100 - 192.0.3.200" } ],
        "subnet": "192.0.3.0/24"
    },
    {
        "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.4.1 - 192.0.4.254" } ],
        "subnet": "192.0.4.0/24"
    }
]

Note that indentation is optional and is used for aesthetic purposes only. In some cases it may be preferable to use more compact notation.

After all the parameters have been specified, we have two contexts open: global and Dhcp4, hence we need two closing curly brackets to close them.

All leases issued by the server are stored in the lease database. Currently there are four database backends available: memfile (which is the default backend), MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Cassandra.

"Dhcp4": {
    "lease-database": {
        "type": "memfile",
        "persist": true,
        "name": "/tmp/kea-leases4.csv",
        "lfc-interval": 1800
    }
}

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "name": "database-name" , ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "keyspace": "database-name" , ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "host": "remote-host-name", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "host" : "", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "port" : 12345, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "connect-timeout" : timeout-in-seconds, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "max-reconnect-tries" : number-of-tries, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "reconnect-wait-time" : number-of-milliseconds, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "contact-points" : "192.0.2.1,192.0.2.2", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "lease-database": { "user": "user-name",
                               "password": "password",
                              ... },
           ... }

"Dhcp4": {
    "lease-database": {
        "type": "cql",
        "contact-points": "ip-address1, ip-address2 [,...]",
        ...
    },
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
  "lease-database": {
      "type": "cql",
      "keyspace": "keatest",
      "contact-points": "192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2, 192.0.2.3",
      "port": 9042,
      "reconnect-wait-time": 2000,
      "connect-timeout": 5000,
      "request-timeout": 12000,
      "tcp-keepalive": 1,
      "tcp-nodelay": true
    },
    ...
}

Kea is also able to store information about host reservations in the database. The hosts database configuration uses the same syntax as the lease database. In fact, a Kea server opens independent connections for each purpose, be it lease or hosts information. This arrangement gives the most flexibility. Kea can keep leases and host reservations separately, but can also point to the same database. Currently the supported hosts database types are MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Cassandra.

Please note that usage of hosts storage is optional. A user can define all host reservations in the configuration file, and that is the recommended way if the number of reservations is small. However, when the number of reservations grows, it is more convenient to use host storage. Please note that both storage methods (configuration file and one of the supported databases) can be used together. If hosts are defined in both places, the definitions from the configuration file are checked first and external storage is checked later, if necessary.

In fact, host information can be placed in multiple stores. Operations are performed on the stores in the order they are defined in the configuration file, although this leads to is a restriction in ordering in the case of a host reservation addition; read-only stores must be configured after a (required) read-write store, or the addition will fail.

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "name": "database-name" , ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "host": remote-host-name, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "host" : "", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "port" : 12345, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "max-reconnect-tries" : number-of-tries, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "reconnect-wait-time" : number-of-milliseconds, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "user": "user-name",
                               "password": "password",
                              ... },
           ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-databases": [ { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... ], ... }

"Dhcp4": { "hosts-database": { "readonly": true, ... }, ... }

The DHCPv4 server must be configured to listen on specific network interfaces. The simplest network interface configuration tells the server to listen on all available interfaces:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "*" ]
    }
    ...
},
  

The asterisk plays the role of a wildcard and means "listen on all interfaces." However, it is usually a good idea to explicitly specify interface names:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ]
    },
    ...
}
  

It is possible to use a wildcard interface name (asterisk) concurrently with explicit interface names:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3", "*" ]
    },
    ...
}
  

It is anticipated that this form of usage will only be used when it is desired to temporarily override a list of interface names and listen on all interfaces.

Some deployments of DHCP servers require that the servers listen on interfaces with multiple IPv4 addresses configured. In these situations, the address to use can be selected by appending an IPv4 address to the interface name in the following manner:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1/10.0.0.1", "eth3/192.0.2.3" ]
    },
    ...
}
  

Should the server be required to listen on multiple IPv4 addresses assigned to the same interface, multiple addresses can be specified for an interface as in the example below:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1/10.0.0.1", "eth1/10.0.0.2" ]
    },
    ...
}
  

Alternatively, if the server should listen on all addresses for the particular interface, an interface name without any address should be specified.

Kea supports responding to directly connected clients which don't have an address configured. This requires the server to inject the hardware address of the destination into the data link layer of the packet being sent to the client. The DHCPv4 server uses raw sockets to achieve this, and builds the entire IP/UDP stack for the outgoing packets. The downside of raw socket use, however, is that incoming and outgoing packets bypass the firewalls (e.g. iptables). It is also troublesome to handle traffic on multiple IPv4 addresses assigned to the same interface, as raw sockets are bound to the interface; plus, advanced packet filtering techniques (e.g. using the BPF) have to be used to receive unicast traffic on the desired addresses assigned to the interface, rather than capturing whole traffic reaching the interface to which the raw socket is bound. Therefore, in deployments where the server doesn't have to provision the directly connected clients and only receives the unicast packets from the relay agents, the DHCP server should be configured to use IP/UDP datagram sockets instead of raw sockets. The following configuration demonstrates how this can be achieved:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ],
        "dhcp-socket-type": "udp"
    },
    ...
}
  

The dhcp-socket-type specifies that the IP/UDP sockets will be opened on all interfaces on which the server listens, i.e. "eth1" and "eth3" in our case. If dhcp-socket-type is set to raw, it configures the server to use raw sockets instead. If the dhcp-socket-type value is not specified, the default value raw is used.

Using UDP sockets automatically disables the reception of broadcast packets from directly connected clients. This effectively means that UDP sockets can be used for relayed traffic only. When using raw sockets, both the traffic from the directly connected clients and the relayed traffic are handled. Caution should be taken when configuring the server to open multiple raw sockets on the interface with several IPv4 addresses assigned. If the directly connected client sends the message to the broadcast address, all sockets on this link will receive this message and multiple responses will be sent to the client. Therefore, the configuration with multiple IPv4 addresses assigned to the interface should not be used when the directly connected clients are operating on that link. To use a single address on such interface, the "interface-name/address" notation should be used.

In a typical environment, the DHCP server is expected to send back a response on the same network interface on which the query was received. This is the default behavior. However, in some deployments it is desired that the outbound (response) packets will be sent as regular traffic and the outbound interface will be determined by the routing tables. This kind of asymmetric traffic is uncommon, but valid. Kea now supports a parameter called outbound-interface that controls this behavior. It supports two values. The first one, same-as-inbound, tells Kea to send back the response on the same interface where the query packet was received. This is the default behavior. The second one, use-routing, tells Kea to send regular UDP packets and let the kernel's routing table determine the most appropriate interface. This only works when dhcp-socket-type is set to udp. An example configuration looks as follows:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ],
        "dhcp-socket-type": "udp",
        "outbound-interface": "use-routing"
    },
    ...
}

Interfaces are re-detected at each reconfiguration. This behavior can be disabled by setting the re-detect value to false, for instance:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ],
        "re-detect": false
    },
    ...
}
  

Note that interfaces are not re-detected during config-test.

Usually loopback interfaces (e.g. the "lo" or "lo0" interface) may not be configured, but if a loopback interface is explicitely configured and IP/UDP sockets are specified, the loopback interface is accepted.

For example, it can be used to run Kea in a FreeBSD jail having only a loopback interface, to service a relayed DHCP request:

"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "lo0" ],
        "dhcp-socket-type": "udp"
    },
    ...
}

The use of UDP sockets has certain benefits in deployments where the server receives only relayed traffic; these benefits are mentioned in Section 8.2.4, “Interface Configuration”. From the administrator's perspective it is often desirable to configure the system's firewall to filter out the unwanted traffic, and the use of UDP sockets facilitates this. However, the administrator must also be aware of the implications related to filtering certain types of traffic, as it may impair the DHCP server's operation.

In this section we are focusing on the case when the server receives the DHCPINFORM message from the client via a relay. According to RFC 2131, the server should unicast the DHCPACK response to the address carried in the "ciaddr" field. When the UDP socket is in use, the DHCP server relies on the low-level functions of an operating system to build the data link, IP, and UDP layers of the outgoing message. Typically, the OS will first use ARP to obtain the client's link-layer address to be inserted into the frame's header, if the address is not cached from a previous transaction that the client had with the server. When the ARP exchange is successful, the DHCP message can be unicast to the client, using the obtained address.

Some system administrators block ARP messages in their network, which causes issues for the server when it responds to the DHCPINFORM messages, because the server is unable to send the DHCPACK if the preceding ARP communication fails. Since the OS is entirely responsible for the ARP communication and then sending the DHCP packet over the wire, the DHCP server has no means to determine that the ARP exchange failed and the DHCP response message was dropped. Thus, the server does not log any error messages when the outgoing DHCP response is dropped. At the same time, all hooks pertaining to the packet-sending operation will be called, even though the message never reaches its destination.

Note that the issue described in this section is not observed when the raw sockets are in use, because, in this case, the DHCP server builds all the layers of the outgoing message on its own and does not use ARP. Instead, it inserts the value carried in the 'chaddr' field of the DHCPINFORM message into the link layer.

Server administrators willing to support DHCPINFORM messages via relays should not block ARP traffic in their networks or should use raw sockets instead of UDP sockets.

The subnet identifier is a unique number associated with a particular subnet. In principle, it is used to associate clients' leases with their respective subnets. When a subnet identifier is not specified for a subnet being configured, it will be automatically assigned by the configuration mechanism. The identifiers are assigned from 1 and are monotonically increased for each subsequent subnet: 1, 2, 3 ....

If there are multiple subnets configured with auto-generated identifiers and one of them is removed, the subnet identifiers may be renumbered. For example: if there are four subnets and the third is removed, the last subnet will be assigned the identifier that the third subnet had before removal. As a result, the leases stored in the lease database for subnet 3 are now associated with subnet 4, something that may have unexpected consequences. The only remedy for this issue at present is to manually specify a unique identifier for each subnet.

The following configuration will assign the specified subnet identifier to the newly configured subnet:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "id": 1024,
            ...
        }
    ]
}

This identifier will not change for this subnet unless the "id" parameter is removed or set to 0. The value of 0 forces auto-generation of the subnet identifier.

The main role of a DHCPv4 server is address assignment. For this, the server must be configured with at least one subnet and one pool of dynamic addresses to be managed. For example, assume that the server is connected to a network segment that uses the 192.0.2.0/24 prefix. The administrator of that network decides that addresses from range 192.0.2.10 to 192.0.2.20 are going to be managed by the Dhcp4 server. Such a configuration can be achieved in the following way:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [
                { "pool": "192.0.2.10 - 192.0.2.20" }
            ],
            ...
        }
    ]
}

Note that subnet is defined as a simple string, but the pools parameter is actually a list of pools; for this reason, the pool definition is enclosed in square brackets, even though only one range of addresses is specified.

Each pool is a structure that contains the parameters that describe a single pool. Currently there is only one parameter, pool, which gives the range of addresses in the pool.

It is possible to define more than one pool in a subnet; continuing the previous example, further assume that 192.0.2.64/26 should be also be managed by the server. It could be written as 192.0.2.64 to 192.0.2.127. Alternatively, it can be expressed more simply as 192.0.2.64/26. Both formats are supported by Dhcp4 and can be mixed in the pool list. For example, one could define the following pools:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [
                { "pool": "192.0.2.10-192.0.2.20" },
                { "pool": "192.0.2.64/26" }
            ],
            ...
        }
    ],
    ...
}

White space in pool definitions is ignored, so spaces before and after the hyphen are optional. They can be used to improve readability.

The number of pools is not limited, but for performance reasons it is recommended to use as few as possible.

The server may be configured to serve more than one subnet:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.1 - 192.0.2.200" } ],
            ...
        },
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.3.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.3.100 - 192.0.3.200" } ],
            ...
        },
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.4.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.4.1 - 192.0.4.254" } ],
            ...
        }
    ]
}

When configuring a DHCPv4 server using prefix/length notation, please pay attention to the boundary values. When specifying that the server can use a given pool, it will also be able to allocate the first (typically a network address) and the last (typically a broadcast address) address from that pool. In the aforementioned example of pool 192.0.3.0/24, both the 192.0.3.0 and 192.0.3.255 addresses may be assigned as well. This may be invalid in some network configurations. To avoid this, please use the "min-max" notation.

To send specific, fixed values use the following two parameters:

The server will only send T2 if it is less than valid lease time. T1 will only be sent if a: T2 is being sent and T1 is less than T2 or b: T2 is not being sent and T1 is less than the valid lease time.

Calculating the values is controlled by the following three parameters.

One of the major features of the DHCPv4 server is to provide configuration options to clients. Most of the options are sent by the server only if the client explicitly requests them using the Parameter Request List option. Those that do not require inclusion in the Parameter Request List option are commonly used options, e.g. "Domain Server", and options which require special behavior, e.g. "Client FQDN", which is returned to the client if the client has included this option in its message to the server.

Table 8.1, “List of Standard DHCPv4 Options” comprises the list of the standard DHCPv4 options whose values can be configured using the configuration structures described in this section. This table excludes the options which require special processing and thus cannot be configured with some fixed values. The last column of the table indicates which options can be sent by the server even when they are not requested in the Parameter Request list option, and those which are sent only when explicitly requested.

The following example shows how to configure the addresses of DNS servers, which is one of the most frequently used options. Options specified in this way are considered global and apply to all configured subnets.

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "domain-name-servers",
           "code": 6,
           "space": "dhcp4",
           "csv-format": true,
           "data": "192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2"
        },
        ...
    ]
}
        

Note that only one of name or code is required; you don't need to specify both. Space has a default value of "dhcp4", so you can skip this as well if you define a regular (not encapsulated) DHCPv4 option. Finally, csv-format defaults to true, so it too can be skipped, unless you want to specify the option value as a hexadecimal string. Therefore, the above example can be simplified to:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "domain-name-servers",
           "data": "192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2"
        },
        ...
    ]
}
        

Defined options are added to the response when the client requests them at a few exceptions, which are always added. To enforce the addition of a particular option set the always-send flag to true as in:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "domain-name-servers",
           "data": "192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2",
           "always-send": true
        },
        ...
    ]
}
        

The effect is the same as if the client added the option code in the Parameter Request List option (or its equivalent for vendor options):

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "domain-name-servers",
           "data": "192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2",
           "always-send": true
        },
        ...
    ],
    "subnet4": [
        {
           "subnet": "192.0.3.0/24",
           "option-data": [
               {
                   "name": "domain-name-servers",
                   "data": "192.0.3.1, 192.0.3.2"
               },
               ...
           ],
           ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}
        

The Domain Name Servers option is always added to responses (the always-send is "sticky") but the value is the subnet one when the client is localized in the subnet.

The name parameter specifies the option name. For a list of currently supported names, see Table 8.1, “List of Standard DHCPv4 Options” below. The code parameter specifies the option code, which must match one of the values from that list. The next line specifies the option space, which must always be set to "dhcp4" as these are standard DHCPv4 options. For other option spaces, including custom option spaces, see Section 8.2.13, “Nested DHCPv4 Options (Custom Option Spaces)”. The next line specifies the format in which the data will be entered; use of CSV (comma-separated values) is recommended. The sixth line gives the actual value to be sent to clients. Data is specified as normal text, with values separated by commas if more than one value is allowed.

Options can also be configured as hexadecimal values. If csv-format is set to false, option data must be specified as a hexadecimal string. The following commands configure the domain-name-servers option for all subnets with the following addresses: 192.0.3.1 and 192.0.3.2. Note that csv-format is set to false.

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "domain-name-servers",
            "code": 6,
            "space": "dhcp4",
            "csv-format": false,
            "data": "C0 00 03 01 C0 00 03 02"
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

Kea supports the following formats when specifying hexadecimal data:

Care should be taken to use proper encoding when using hexadecimal format. Kea's ability to validate data correctness in hexadecimal is limited.

Most of the parameters in the "option-data" structure are optional and can be omitted in some circumstances as discussed in Section 8.2.14, “Unspecified Parameters for DHCPv4 Option Configuration”.

It is possible to specify or override options on a per-subnet basis. If clients connected to most of your subnets are expected to get the same values of a given option, you should use global options; you can then override specific values for a small number of subnets. On the other hand, if you use different values in each subnet, it does not make sense to specify global option values; rather, you should set only subnet-specific ones.

The following commands override the global DNS servers option for a particular subnet, setting a single DNS server with address 192.0.2.3:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "option-data": [
                {
                    "name": "domain-name-servers",
                    "code": 6,
                    "space": "dhcp4",
                    "csv-format": true,
                    "data": "192.0.2.3"
                },
                ...
            ],
            ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

In some cases it is useful to associate some options with an address pool from which a client is assigned a lease. Pool- specific option values override subnet-specific and global option values. The server's administrator must not try to prioritize assignment of pool-specific options by trying to order pool declarations in the server configuration.

The following configuration snippet demonstrates how to specify the DNS servers option, which will be assigned to a client only if the client obtains an address from the given pool:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "pools": [
                {
                    "pool": "192.0.2.1 - 192.0.2.200",
                    "option-data": [
                        {
                            "name": "domain-name-servers",
                            "data": "192.0.2.3"
                         },
                         ...
                    ],
                    ...
                },
                ...
            ],
            ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

Options can also be specified in class or host reservation scope. The current Kea options precedence order is (from most important): host reservation, pool, subnet, shared network, class, global.

The currently supported standard DHCPv4 options are listed in Table 8.1, “List of Standard DHCPv4 Options”. "Name" and "Code" are the values that should be used as a name/code in the option-data structures. "Type" designates the format of the data; the meanings of the various types is given in Table 8.2, “List of Standard DHCP Option Types”.

When a data field is a string and that string contains the comma (,; U+002C) character, the comma must be escaped with two backslashes (\; U+005C). This double escape is required because both the routine splitting CSV data into fields and JSON use the same escape character; a single escape (\,) would make the JSON invalid. For example, the string "foo,bar" would be represented as:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "pools": [
                {
                    "option-data": [
                        {
                            "name": "boot-file-name",
                            "data": "foo\\,bar"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                ...
            ],
            ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

Some options are designated as arrays, which means that more than one value is allowed in such an option. For example, the option time-servers allows the specification of more than one IPv4 address, enabling clients to obtain the addresses of multiple NTP servers.

Section 8.2.10, “Custom DHCPv4 Options” describes the configuration syntax to create custom option definitions (formats). Creation of custom definitions for standard options is generally not permitted, even if the definition being created matches the actual option format defined in the RFCs. There is an exception to this rule for standard options for which Kea currently does not provide a definition. In order to use such options, a server administrator must create a definition as described in Section 8.2.10, “Custom DHCPv4 Options” in the 'dhcp4' option space. This definition should match the option format described in the relevant RFC, but the configuration mechanism will allow any option format as it currently has no means to validate it.

Kea supports custom (non-standard) DHCPv4 options. Assume that we want to define a new DHCPv4 option called "foo" which will have a code 222 and will convey a single, unsigned, 32-bit integer value. We can define such an option by using the following entry in the configuration file:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "code": 222,
            "type": "uint32",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "",
            "space": "dhcp4",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

The false value of the array parameter determines that the option does NOT comprise an array of "uint32" values but is, instead, a single value. Two other parameters have been left blank: record-types and encapsulate. The former specifies the comma-separated list of option data fields, if the option comprises a record of data fields. The record-types value should be non-empty if type is set to "record"; otherwise it must be left blank. The latter parameter specifies the name of the option space being encapsulated by the particular option. If the particular option does not encapsulate any option space, it should be left blank. Note that the option-def configuration statement only defines the format of an option and does not set its value(s).

The name, code, and type parameters are required; all others are optional. The array default value is false. The record-types and encapsulate default values are blank (i.e. ""). The default space is "dhcp4".

Once the new option format is defined, its value is set in the same way as for a standard option. For example, the following commands set a global value that applies to all subnets.

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "code": 222,
            "space": "dhcp4",
            "csv-format": true,
            "data": "12345"
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

New options can take more complex forms than simple use of primitives (uint8, string, ipv4-address, etc); it is possible to define an option comprising a number of existing primitives.

For example, assume we want to define a new option that will consist of an IPv4 address, followed by an unsigned 16-bit integer, followed by a boolean value, followed by a text string. Such an option could be defined in the following way:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "bar",
            "code": 223,
            "space": "dhcp4",
            "type": "record",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "ipv4-address, uint16, boolean, string",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

The type is set to "record" to indicate that the option contains multiple values of different types. These types are given as a comma-separated list in the record-types field and should be ones from those listed in Table 8.2, “List of Standard DHCP Option Types”.

The values of the option are set as follows:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "bar",
            "space": "dhcp4",
            "code": 223,
            "csv-format": true,
            "data": "192.0.2.100, 123, true, Hello World"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

csv-format is set to true to indicate that the data field comprises a command-separated list of values. The values in data must correspond to the types set in the record-types field of the option definition.

When array is set to true and type is set to "record", the last field is an array, i.e. it can contain more than one value, as in:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "bar",
            "code": 223,
            "space": "dhcp4",
            "type": "record",
            "array": true,
            "record-types": "ipv4-address, uint16",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

The new option content is one IPv4 address followed by one or more 16- bit unsigned integers.

Options with a code between 224 and 254 are reserved for private use. They can be defined at the global scope or at the client-class local scope; this allows option definitions to be used depending on context and option data to be set accordingly. For instance, to configure an old PXEClient vendor:

"Dhcp4": {
    "client-classes": [
        {
            "name": "pxeclient",
            "test": "option[vendor-class-identifier].text == 'PXEClient'",
            "option-def": [
                {
                    "name": "configfile",
                    "code": 209,
                    "type": "string"
                }
            ],
            ...
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

As the Vendor-Specific Information option (code 43) has vendor- specific format, i.e. can carry either raw binary value or sub-options, this mechanism is available for this option too.

In the following example taken from a real configuration, two vendor classes use the option 43 for different and incompatible purposes:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "cookie",
            "code": 1,
            "type": "string",
            "space": "APC"
        },
        {
            "name": "mtftp-ip",
            "code": 1,
            "type": "ipv4-address",
            "space": "PXE"
        },
        ...
    ],
    "client-classes": [
        {
            "name": "APC",
            "test": "(option[vendor-class-identifier].text == 'APC'",
            "option-def": [
                {
                    "name": "vendor-encapsulated-options",
                    "type": "empty",
                    "encapsulate": "APC"
                }
            ],
            "option-data": [
                {
                    "name": "cookie",
                    "space": "APC",
                    "data": "1APC"
                },
                {
                    "name": "vendor-encapsulated-options"
                },
                ...
            ],
            ...
        },
        {
            "name": "PXE",
            "test": "(option[vendor-class-identifier].text == 'PXE'",
            "option-def": [
                {
                    "name": "vendor-encapsulated-options",
                    "type": "empty",
                    "encapsulate": "PXE"
                }
            ],
            "option-data": [
                {
                    "name": "mtftp-ip",
                    "space": "PXE",
                    "data": "0.0.0.0"
                },
                {
                    "name": "vendor-encapsulated-options"
                },
                ...
            ],
            ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

The definition used to decode a VSI option is:

Currently there are two option spaces defined for the DHCPv4 daemon: "dhcp4" (for the top-level DHCPv4 options) and "vendor-encapsulated-options-space", which is empty by default but in which options can be defined. Such options will be carried in the Vendor-Specific Information option (code 43). The following examples show how to define an option "foo" in that space that has a code 1, and comprises an IPv4 address, an unsigned 16-bit integer, and a string. The "foo" option is conveyed in a Vendor-Specific Information option.

The first step is to define the format of the option:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "code": 1,
            "space": "vendor-encapsulated-options-space",
            "type": "record",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "ipv4-address, uint16, string",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }
    ],
    ...
}

(Note that the option space is set to "vendor-encapsulated-options-space".) Once the option format is defined, the next step is to define actual values for that option:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "space": "vendor-encapsulated-options-space",
            "code": 1,
            "csv-format": true,
            "data": "192.0.2.3, 123, Hello World"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

We also include the Vendor-Specific Information option, the option that conveys our sub-option "foo". This is required; otherwise the option will not be included in messages sent to the client.

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "vendor-encapsulated-options"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

Alternatively, the option can be specified using its code.

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "code": 43
        }
    ],
    ...
}

Another popular option that is often somewhat imprecisely called vendor option is option 125. It's proper name is vendor-independent vendor-specific information option or vivso. The idea behind those options is that each vendor has its own unique set of options with their own custom formats. The vendor is identified by a 32 unsigned integer called enterprise-id or vendor-id. For example, vivso with vendor-id 4491 repesents DOCSIS options and you are likely to see many of them when dealing with cable modems.

In Kea each vendor is represented by its own vendor space. Since there are hundreds of vendors and sometimes they use different option definitions for different hardware, it's impossible for Kea to support them all out of the box. Fortunately, it's easy to define support for new vendor options. Let's take an example of Genexis home gateway. This device requires sending vivso 125 option with a suboption 2 that contains a string with TFTP server URL. To support such a device, three steps are needed. First, we need to define option definitions that will explain how the option is supposed to be formed. Second, we will need to define option values. Third, we will need to tell Kea when to send those specific options. This last step will be done with client classification.

An example snippet of a configuration could look similar to the following:

{
    // First, we need to define that suboption 2 in vivso option for
    // vendor-id 25167 has specific format (it's a plain string in this example).
    // After this definition, we can specify values for option tftp.
    "option-def": [
    {
        // We define a short name, so the option could be referenced by name.
        // The option has code 2 and resides with vendor space 25167.
        // Its data is a plain string.
        "name": "tftp",
        "code": 2,
        "space": "vendor-25167",
        "type": "string"
    } ],

    "client-classes": [
    {
        // We now need to tell Kea how to recognize when to use vendor space 25167.
        // Usually we can use simple expression such as checking if the device
        // sent a vivso option with specific vendor-id, e.g.  "vendor[4491].exists"
        // Unfortunately, Genexis is a bit unusual in this aspect, because it
        // doesn't send vivso. In this case we need to look into vendor class
        // (option code 60) and see if there's specific string that identifies
        // the device.
        "name": "cpe_genexis",
        "test": "substring(option[60].hex,0,7) == 'HMC1000'",

        // Once the device is recognized, we want to send two options:
        // the VIVSO option with vendor-id set to 25167 and a suboption 2.
        "option-data": [
            {
                "name": "vivso-suboptions",
                "data": "25167",
                "encapsulate": "vendor-25167"
            },

            // The suboption 2 value is defined as any other option. However,
            // we want to send this suboption 2, even when the client didn't
            // explicitly requested it (often there is no way to do that for
            // vendor options). Therefore we use always-send to force Kea
            // to always send this option when 25167 vendor space is involved.
            {
                "name": "tftp",
                "space": "vendor-25167",
                "data": "tftp://192.0.2.1/genexis/HMC1000.v1.3.0-R.img",
                "always-send": true
            }
        ]
    } ]
}

One aspect requires a bit broader comment. By default Kea sends back only those options that are requested by a client, unless there are protocol rules that tell DHCP server to always send an option. This approach works nicely for most cases and avoids problems with clients refusing responses with options they don't understand. Unfortunately, this is more blurry when we consider vendor options. Some vendors (such as docsis, identified by vendor options 4491) have a mechanism to request specific vendor options and Kea is able to honor that. Unfortunately, for many other vendors, such as Genexis (25167) discussed here, Kea does not have such a mechanism, so it can't sent any suboptions on its own. To solve this issue, we came up with a concept of persistent options. Kea can be told to always send options, even if client didn't request them. This can be achieved by adding "always-send": true to your option definition. Note that in this particular case an option is defined in a vendor space 25167. With the "always-send" enabled, the option will be sent every time there is a need to deal with vendor space 25167.

Another possibility is to redefine the option; see Section 8.2.11, “DHCPv4 Private Options”.

It is sometimes useful to define a completely new option space. This is the case when a user creates a new option in the standard option space ("dhcp4") and wants this option to convey sub-options. Since they are in a separate space, sub-option codes will have a separate numbering scheme and may overlap with the codes of standard options.

Note that the creation of a new option space is not required when defining sub-options for a standard option, because it is created by default if the standard option is meant to convey any sub-options (see Section 8.2.12, “DHCPv4 Vendor-Specific Options”).

Assume that we want to have a DHCPv4 option called "container" with code 222 that conveys two sub-options with codes 1 and 2. First we need to define the new sub-options:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "subopt1",
            "code": 1,
            "space": "isc",
            "type": "ipv4-address",
            "record-types": "",
            "array": false,
            "encapsulate": ""
        },
        {
            "name": "subopt2",
            "code": 2,
            "space": "isc",
            "type": "string",
            "record-types": "",
            "array": false,
            "encapsulate": ""
        }
    ],
    ...
}

Note that we have defined the options to belong to a new option space (in this case, "isc").

The next step is to define a regular DHCPv4 option with our desired code and specify that it should include options from the new option space:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-def": [
        ...,
        {
            "name": "container",
            "code": 222,
            "space": "dhcp4",
            "type": "empty",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "",
            "encapsulate": "isc"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

The name of the option space in which the sub-options are defined is set in the encapsulate field. The type field is set to empty, to indicate that this option does not carry any data other than sub-options.

Finally, we can set values for the new options:

"Dhcp4": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "subopt1",
            "code": 1,
            "space": "isc",
            "data": "192.0.2.3"
        },
        }
            "name": "subopt2",
            "code": 2,
            "space": "isc",
            "data": "Hello world"
        },
        {
            "name": "container",
            "code": 222,
            "space": "dhcp4"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

Note that it is possible to create an option which carries some data in addition to the sub-options defined in the encapsulated option space. For example, if the "container" option from the previous example were required to carry a uint16 value as well as the sub-options, the type value would have to be set to "uint16" in the option definition. (Such an option would then have the following data structure: DHCP header, uint16 value, sub-options.) The value specified with the data parameter — which should be a valid integer enclosed in quotes, e.g. "123" — would then be assigned to the uint16 field in the "container" option.

In many cases it is not required to specify all parameters for an option configuration and the default values can be used. However, it is important to understand the implications of not specifying some of them, as it may result in configuration errors. The list below explains the behavior of the server when a particular parameter is not explicitly specified:

The DHCPv4 server supports the stateless client configuration whereby the client has an IP address configured (e.g. using manual configuration) and only contacts the server to obtain other configuration parameters, e.g. addresses of DNS servers. In order to obtain the stateless configuration parameters, the client sends the DHCPINFORM message to the server with the "ciaddr" set to the address that the client is currently using. The server unicasts the DHCPACK message to the client that includes the stateless configuration ("yiaddr" not set).

The server will respond to the DHCPINFORM when the client is associated with a subnet defined in the server's configuration. An example subnet configuration will look like this:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24"
            "option-data": [ {
                "name": "domain-name-servers",
                "code": 6,
                "data": "192.0.2.200,192.0.2.201",
                "csv-format": true,
                "space": "dhcp4"
            } ]
        }
    ]
}

This subnet specifies the single option which will be included in the DHCPACK message to the client in response to DHCPINFORM. Note that the subnet definition does not require the address pool configuration if it will be used solely for the stateless configuration.

This server will associate the subnet with the client if one of the following conditions is met:

The DHCPv4 server includes support for client classification. For a deeper discussion of the classification process see Chapter 14, Client Classification.

In certain cases it is useful to configure the server to differentiate between DHCP client types and treat them accordingly. Client classification can be used to modify the behavior of almost any part of the DHCP message processing. Kea currently offers client classification via: private options and option 43 deferred unpacking; subnet selection; pool selection; assignment of different options; and, for cable modems, specific options for use with the TFTP server address and the boot file field.

Kea can be instructed to limit access to given subnets based on class information. This is particularly useful for cases where two types of devices share the same link and are expected to be served from two different subnets. The primary use case for such a scenario is cable networks, where there are two classes of devices: the cable modem itself, which should be handed a lease from subnet A; and all other devices behind the modem, which should get a lease from subnet B. That segregation is essential to prevent overly curious users from playing with their cable modems. For details on how to set up class restrictions on subnets, see Section 14.6, “Configuring Subnets With Class Information”.

When subnets belong to a shared network, the classification applies to subnet selection but not to pools, e.g. a pool in a subnet limited to a particular class can still be used by clients which do not belong to the class, if the pool they are expected to use is exhausted. So the limit on access based on class information is also available at the pool level; see Section 14.7, “Configuring Pools With Class Information”, within a subnet. This is useful when segregating clients belonging to the same subnet into different address ranges.

In a similar way, a pool can be constrained to serve only known clients, i.e. clients which have a reservation, using the built-in "KNOWN" or "UNKNOWN" classes. One can assign addresses to registered clients without giving a different address per reservation, for instance when there are not enough available addresses. The determination whether there is a reservation for a given client is made after a subnet is selected, so it is not possible to use KNOWN/UNKNOWN classes to select a shared network or a subnet.

The process of classification is conducted in five steps. The first step is to assess an incoming packet and assign it to zero or more classes. The second step is to choose a subnet, possibly based on the class information. The next step is to evaluate class expressions depending on the built-in "KNOWN"/"UNKNOWN" classes after host reservation lookup, using them for pool selection and assigning classes from host reservations. The list of required classes is then built and each class of the list has its expression evaluated; when it returns "true" the packet is added as a member of the class. The last step is to assign options, again possibly based on the class information. More complete and detailed information is available in Chapter 14, Client Classification.

There are two main methods of classification. The first is automatic and relies on examining the values in the vendor class options or the existence of a host reservation. Information from these options is extracted, and a class name is constructed from it and added to the class list for the packet. The second specifies an expression that is evaluated for each packet. If the result is "true", the packet is a member of the class.

"Dhcp4": {
    "client-classes": [
        {
            "name": "ipxe_efi_x64",
            "test": "option[93].hex == 0x0009",
            "next-server": "192.0.2.254",
            "server-hostname": "hal9000",
            "boot-file-name": "/dev/null"
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
          }

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.10 - 192.0.2.20" } ],
            "client-class": "VENDOR_CLASS_docsis3.0"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "client-classes": [
        {
            "name": "Client_foo",
            "test": "substring(option[61].hex,0,3) == 'foo'",
            "option-data": [
                {
                    "name": "domain-name-servers",
                    "code": 6,
                    "space": "dhcp4",
                    "csv-format": true,
                    "data": "192.0.2.1, 192.0.2.2"
                }
            ]
        },
        ...
    ],
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.10 - 192.0.2.20" } ],
            "client-class": "Client_foo"
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "client-classes": [
       {
           "name": "Client_foo",
           "test": "member('ALL')",
           "only-if-required": true
       },
       ...
    ],
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.10 - 192.0.2.20" } ],
            "require-client-classes": [ "Client_foo" ],
            ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

As mentioned earlier, kea-dhcp4 can be configured to generate requests to the DHCP-DDNS server (referred to here as "D2") to update DNS entries. These requests are known as Name Change Requests or NCRs. Each NCR contains the following information:

The parameters for controlling the generation of NCRs for submission to D2 are contained in the dhcp-ddns section of the kea-dhcp4 server configuration. The mandatory parameters for the DHCP DDNS configuration are enable-updates, which is unconditionally required, and qualifying-suffix, which has no default value and is required when enable-updates is set to true. The two (disabled and enabled) minimal DHCP DDNS configurations are:

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "enable-updates": false
    },
    ...
}

and for example:

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "enable-updates": true,
        "qualifying-suffix": "example."
    },
    ...
}

The default values for the "dhcp-ddns" section are as follows:

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "server-ip": "192.168.1.10",
        "server-port": 900,
        ...
    },
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "override-client-update": true,
        ...
    },
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "override-no-update": true,
        ...
    },
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "replace-client-name": "always",
        ...
    },
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "generated-prefix": "another.host",
        ...
    },
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "qualifying-suffix": "foo.example.org",
        ...
    },
    ...
}

"Dhcp4": {
    "dhcp-ddns": {
        "hostname-char-set": "[^A-Za-z0-9.-]",
        "hostname-char-replacement": "x",
        ...
    },
    ...
}

In some cases, clients want to obtain configuration from a TFTP server. Although there is a dedicated option for it, some devices may use the siaddr field in the DHCPv4 packet for that purpose. That specific field can be configured using the next-server directive. It is possible to define it in the global scope or for a given subnet only. If both are defined, the subnet value takes precedence. The value in subnet can be set to 0.0.0.0, which means that next-server should not be sent. It may also be set to an empty string, which means the same as if it were not defined at all, i.e. use the global value.

The server-hostname (which conveys a server hostname, can be up to 64 bytes long, and will be sent in the sname field) and boot-file-name (which conveys the configuration file, can be up to 128 bytes long, and will be sent using the file field) directives are handled the same way as next-server.

"Dhcp4": {
    "next-server": "192.0.2.123",
    "boot-file-name": "/dev/null",
    ...,
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "next-server": "192.0.2.234",
            "server-hostname": "some-name.example.org",
            "boot-file-name": "bootfile.efi",
            ...
        }
    ]
}

The original DHCPv4 specification (RFC 2131) states that the DHCPv4 server must not send back client-id options when responding to clients. However, in some cases that confused clients that did not have a MAC address or client-id; see RFC 6842 for details. That behavior changed with the publication of RFC 6842, which updated RFC 2131. That update states that the server must send the client-id if the client sent it. That is Kea's default behavior. However, in some cases older devices that do not support RFC 6842 may refuse to accept responses that include the client-id option. To enable backward compatibility, an optional configuration parameter has been introduced. To configure it, use the following configuration statement:

"Dhcp4": {
    "echo-client-id": false,
    ...
}

The DHCP server must be able to identify the client from which it receives the message and distinguish it from other clients. There are many reasons why this identification is required; the most important ones are:

DHCPv4 uses two distinct identifiers which are placed by the client in the queries sent to the server and copied by the server to its responses to the client: "chaddr" and "client identifier". The former was introduced as a part of the BOOTP specification and it is also used by DHCP to carry the hardware address of the interface used to send the query to the server (MAC address for the Ethernet). The latter is carried in the Client-identifier option, introduced in RFC 2132.

RFC 2131 indicates that the server may use both of these identifiers to identify the client but the "client identifier", if present, takes precedence over "chaddr". One of the reasons for this is that "client identifier" is independent from the hardware used by the client to communicate with the server. For example, if the client obtained the lease using one network card and then the network card is moved to another host, the server will wrongly identify this host as the one which obtained the lease. Moreover, RFC 4361 gives the recommendation to use a DUID (see RFC 8415, the DHCPv6 specification) carried as "client identifier" when dual-stack networks are in use to provide consistent identification information for the client, regardless of the protocol type it is using. Kea adheres to these specifications, and the "client identifier" by default takes precedence over the value carried in the "chaddr" field when the server searches, creates, updates, or removes the client's lease.

When the server receives a DHCPDISCOVER or DHCPREQUEST message from the client, it will try to find out if the client already has a lease in the database and will hand out that lease rather than allocate a new one. Each lease in the lease database is associated with the "client identifier" and/or "chaddr". The server will first use the "client identifier" (if present) to search the lease. If the lease is found, the server will treat this lease as belonging to the client even if the current "chaddr" and the "chaddr" associated with the lease do not match. This facilitates the scenario when the network card on the client system has been replaced and thus the new MAC address appears in the messages sent by the DHCP client. If the server fails to find the lease using the "client identifier", it will perform another lookup using the "chaddr". If this lookup returns no result, the client is considered as not having a lease and the new lease will be created.

A common problem reported by network operators is that poor client implementations do not use stable client identifiers, instead generating a new "client identifier" each time the client connects to the network. Another well-known case is when the client changes its "client identifier" during the multi-stage boot process (PXE). In such cases, the MAC address of the client's interface remains stable, and using the "chaddr" field to identify the client guarantees that the particular system is considered to be the same client, even though its "client identifier" changes.

To address this problem, Kea includes a configuration option which enables client identification using "chaddr" only by instructing the server to disregard the server to "ignore" the "client identifier" during lease lookups and allocations for a particular subnet. Consider the following simplified server configuration:

"Dhcp4": {
    ...
    "match-client-id": true,
    ...
    "subnet4": [
    {
        "subnet": "192.0.10.0/24",
        "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.23-192.0.2.87" } ],
        "match-client-id": false
    },
    {
        "subnet": "10.0.0.0/8",
        "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.23-10.0.2.99" } ],
    }
    ]
}

The match-client-id is a boolean value which controls this behavior. The default value of true indicates that the server will use the "client identifier" for lease lookups and "chaddr" if the first lookup returns no results. The false means that the server will only use the "chaddr" to search for client's lease. Whether the DHCID for DNS updates is generated from the "client identifier" or "chaddr" is controlled through the same parameter.

The match-client-id parameter may appear both in the global configuration scope and/or under any subnet declaration. In the example shown above, the effective value of the match-client-id will be false for the subnet 192.0.10.0/24, because the subnet-specific setting of the parameter overrides the global value of the parameter. The effective value of the match-client-id for the subnet 10.0.0.0/8 will be set to true because the subnet declaration lacks this parameter and the global setting is by default used for this subnet. In fact, the global entry for this parameter could be omitted in this case, because true is the default value.

It is important to explain what happens when the client obtains its lease for one setting of the match-client-id and then renews when the setting has been changed. First, consider the case when the client obtains the lease when the match-client-id is set to true. The server will store the lease information, including "client identifier" (if supplied) and "chaddr", in the lease database. When the setting is changed and the client renews the lease, the server will determine that it should use the "chaddr" to search for the existing lease. If the client hasn't changed its MAC address, the server should successfully find the existing lease. The "client identifier" associated with the returned lease is ignored and the client is allowed to use this lease. When the lease is renewed only the "chaddr" is recorded for this lease, according to the new server setting.

In the second case the client has the lease with only a "chaddr" value recorded. When the match-client-id setting is changed to true, the server will first try to use the "client identifier" to find the existing client's lease. This will return no results because the "client identifier" was not recorded for this lease. The server will then use the "chaddr" and the lease will be found. If the lease appears to have no "client identifier" recorded, the server will assume that this lease belongs to the client and that it was created with the previous setting of the match-client-id. However, if the lease contains a "client identifier" which is different from the "client identifier" used by the client, the lease will be assumed to belong to another client and the new lease will be allocated.

The original DHCPv4 specification (RFC 2131) states that if a client requests an address in the INIT-REBOOT state, of which the server has no knowledge, the server must remain silent, except if the server knows that the client has requested an IP address from the wrong network. By default, Kea follows the behavior of the ISC dhcpd instead of the specification and also remains silent, if the client requests an IP address from the wrong network, because configuration information about a given network segment is not known to be correct. Kea only rejects a client's DHCPREQUEST with a DHCPNAK message if it already has a lease for the client, but with a different IP address. Administrators can override this behavior through the boolean authoritative (false by default) setting.

In authoritative mode, authoritative set to true, Kea always rejects INIT-REBOOT requests from unknown clients with DHCPNAK messages. The authoritative setting can be specified in global, shared-network, and subnet configuration scope and is automatically inherited from the parent scope, if not specified. All subnets in a shared-network must have the same authoritative setting.

The support of DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6 transport is described in RFC 7341 and is implemented using cooperating DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 servers. This section is about the configuration of the DHCPv4 side (the DHCPv6 side is described in Section 9.2.23, “DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6: DHCPv6 Side”).

The dhcp4o6-port global parameter specifies the first of the two consecutive ports of the UDP sockets used for the communication between the DHCPv6 and DHCPv4 servers (the DHCPv4 server is bound to ::1 on port + 1 and connected to ::1 on port).

With DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6, the DHCPv4 server does not have access to several of the identifiers it would normally use to select a subnet. To address this issue, three new configuration entries have been added; the presence of any of these allows the subnet to be used with DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6. These entries are:

The following configuration was used during some tests:

{

# DHCPv4 conf
"Dhcp4": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eno33554984" ]
    },

    "lease-database": {
        "type": "memfile",
        "name": "leases4"
    },

    "valid-lifetime": 4000,

    "subnet4": [ {
        "subnet": "10.10.10.0/24",
        "4o6-interface": "eno33554984",
        "4o6-subnet": "2001:db8:1:1::/64",
        "pools": [ { "pool": "10.10.10.100 - 10.10.10.199" } ]
    } ],

    "dhcp4o6-port": 6767,

    "loggers": [ {
        "name": "kea-dhcp4",
        "output_options": [ {
            "output": "/tmp/kea-dhcp4.log"
        } ],
        "severity": "DEBUG",
        "debuglevel": 0
    } ]
}

}

An important aspect of a well-running DHCP system is an assurance that the data remains consistent. However, in some cases it may be convenient to tolerate certain inconsistent data. For example, a network administrator that temporarily removed a subnet from a configuration wouldn't want all the leases associated with it to disappear from the lease database. Kea has a mechanism to better control sanity checks such as this.

Kea supports a configuration scope called sanity-checks. It currently allows only a single parameter called lease-checks. It governs the verification that is done when a new lease is loaded from a lease file. With the sanity-checks mechanism, it is possible to tell Kea to try to correct inconsistent data.

Every subnet has a subnet-id value; this is how Kea internally identifies subnets. Each lease has a subnet-id parameter as well, which identifies which subnet it belongs to. However, if the configuration has changed, it is possible that a lease could exist with a subnet-id, but without any subnet that matches it. Also, it may be possible that the subnet's configuration has changed and the subnet-id now belongs to a subnet that does not match the lease. Kea's corrective algorithm first checks to see if there is a subnet with the subnet-id specified by the lease. If there is, it verifies whether the lease belongs to that subnet. If not, depending on the lease-checks setting, the lease is discarded, a warning is displayed, or a new subnet is selected for the lease that matches it topologically.

There are five levels which are supported:

This feature is currently implemented for the memfile backend.

An example configuration that sets this parameter looks as follows:

"Dhcp4": {
    "sanity-checks": {
        "lease-checks": "fix-del"
    },
    ...
}

In a typical scenario there is an IPv4 subnet defined, e.g. 192.0.2.0/24, with a certain part of it dedicated for dynamic allocation by the DHCPv4 server. That dynamic part is referred to as a dynamic pool or simply a pool. In principle, a host reservation can reserve any address that belongs to the subnet. The reservations that specify addresses that belong to configured pools are called "in-pool reservations." In contrast, those that do not belong to dynamic pools are called "out-of-pool reservations." There is no formal difference in the reservation syntax and both reservation types are handled uniformly.

Kea supports global host reservations. These are reservations that are specified at the global level within the configuration and that do not belong to any specific subnet. Kea will still match inbound client packets to a subnet as before, but when the subnet's reservation mode is set to "global", Kea will look for host reservations only among the global reservations defined. Typically, such reservations would be used to reserve hostnames for clients which may move from one subnet to another.

As reservations and lease information are stored separately, conflicts may arise. Consider the following series of events: the server has configured the dynamic pool of addresses from the range of 192.0.2.10 to 192.0.2.20. Host A requests an address and gets 192.0.2.10. Now the system administrator decides to reserve address 192.0.2.10 for Host B. In general, reserving an address that is currently assigned to someone else is not recommended, but there are valid use cases where such an operation is warranted.

The server now has a conflict to resolve. If Host B boots up and requests an address, the server is not able to assign the reserved address 192.0.2.10. A naive approach would to be immediately remove the existing lease for Host A and create a new one for Host B. That would not solve the problem, though, because as soon as Host B gets the address, it will detect that the address is already in use by Host A and will send a DHCPDECLINE message. Therefore, in this situation, the server has to temporarily assign a different address from the dynamic pool (not matching what has been reserved) to Host B.

When Host A renews its address, the server will discover that the address being renewed is now reserved for another host - Host B. Therefore the server will inform Host A that it is no longer allowed to use it by sending a DHCPNAK message. The server will not remove the lease, though, as there's a small chance that the DHCPNAK may be lost if the network is lossy. If that happens, the client will not receive any responses, so it will retransmit its DHCPREQUEST packet. Once the DHCPNAK is received by Host A, it will revert to server discovery and will eventually get a different address. Besides allocating a new lease, the server will also remove the old one. As a result, address 192.0.2.10 will become free. When Host B tries to renew its temporarily assigned address, the server will detect that it has a valid lease, but will note that there is a reservation for a different address. The server will send DHCPNAK to inform Host B that its address is no longer usable, but will keep its lease (again, the DHCPNAK may be lost, so the server will keep it, until the client returns for a new address). Host B will revert to the server discovery phase and will eventually send a DHCPREQUEST message. This time the server will find that there is a reservation for that host and that the reserved address 192.0.2.10 is not used, so it will be granted. It will also remove the lease for the temporarily assigned address that Host B previously obtained.

This recovery will succeed, even if other hosts attempt to get the reserved address. If Host C requests the address 192.0.2.10 after the reservation is made, the server will either offer a different address (when responding to DHCPDISCOVER) or send DHCPNAK (when responding to DHCPREQUEST).

The recovery mechanism allows the server to fully recover from a case where reservations conflict with existing leases. This procedure takes time and will roughly take as long as the value set for renew-timer. The best way to avoid such recovery is not to define new reservations that conflict with existing leases. Another recommendation is to use out-of-pool reservations. If the reserved address does not belong to a pool, there is no way that other clients can get it.

When the reservation for a client includes the hostname, the server will return this hostname to the client in the Client FQDN or Hostname options. The server responds with the Client FQDN option only if the client has included Client FQDN option in its message to the server. The server will respond with the Hostname option if the client included Hostname option in its message to the server or when the client requested the Hostname option using the Parameter Request List option. The server will return the Hostname option even if it is not configured to perform DNS updates. The reserved hostname always takes precedence over the hostname supplied by the client or the autogenerated (from the IPv4 address) hostname.

The server qualifies the reserved hostname with the value of the qualifying-suffix parameter. For example, the following subnet configuration:

    {
        "subnet4": [ {
            "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.10-10.0.0.100" } ],
            "reservations": [
               {
                 "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
                 "hostname": "alice-laptop"
               }
            ]
         }],
        "dhcp-ddns": {
            "enable-updates": true,
            "qualifying-suffix": "example.isc.org."
        }
    }

will result in assigning the "alice-laptop.example.isc.org." hostname to the client using the MAC address "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff". If the qualifying-suffix is not specified, the default (empty) value will be used, and in this case the value specified as a hostname will be treated as a fully qualified name. Thus, by leaving the qualifying-suffix empty it is possible to qualify hostnames for different clients with different domain names:

    {
        "subnet4": [ {
            "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.10-10.0.0.100" } ],
            "reservations": [
               {
                 "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
                 "hostname": "alice-laptop.isc.org."
               },
               {
                 "hw-address": "12:34:56:78:99:AA",
                 "hostname": "mark-desktop.example.org."
               }

            ]
         }],
        "dhcp-ddns": {
            "enable-updates": true,
        }
    }

Kea offers the ability to specify options on a per-host basis. These options follow the same rules as any other options. These can be standard options (see Section 8.2.9, “Standard DHCPv4 Options”), custom options (see Section 8.2.10, “Custom DHCPv4 Options”), or vendor-specific options (see Section 8.2.12, “DHCPv4 Vendor-Specific Options”). The following example demonstrates how standard options can be defined.

{
    "subnet4": [ {
        "reservations": [
        {
            "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
            "ip-address": "192.0.2.1",
            "option-data": [
            {
                "name": "cookie-servers",
                "data": "10.1.1.202,10.1.1.203"
            },
            {
                "name": "log-servers",
                "data": "10.1.1.200,10.1.1.201"
            } ]
        } ]
    } ]
}

Vendor-specific options can be reserved in a similar manner:

{
    "subnet4": [ {
        "reservations": [
        {
            "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
            "ip-address": "10.0.0.7",
            "option-data": [
            {
                "name": "vivso-suboptions",
                "data": "4491"
            },
            {
                "name": "tftp-servers",
                "space": "vendor-4491",
                "data": "10.1.1.202,10.1.1.203"
            } ]
        } ]
    } ]
}

Options defined at host level have the highest priority. In other words, if there are options defined with the same type on global, subnet, class, and host level, the host-specific values will be used.

BOOTP/DHCPv4 messages include "siaddr", "sname", and "file" fields. Even though DHCPv4 includes corresponding options, such as option 66 and option 67, some clients may not support these options. For this reason, server administrators often use the "siaddr", "sname", and "file" fields instead.

With Kea, it is possible to make static reservations for these DHCPv4 message fields:

{
    "subnet4": [ {
        "reservations": [
        {
            "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
            "next-server": "10.1.1.2",
            "server-hostname": "server-hostname.example.org",
            "boot-file-name": "/tmp/bootfile.efi"
        } ]
    } ]
}

Note that those parameters can be specified in combination with other parameters for a reservation, e.g. a reserved IPv4 address. These parameters are optional, i.e. a subset of them can be specified, or all of them can be omitted.

Section 14.3, “Using Expressions in Classification” explains how to configure the server to assign classes to a client, based on the content of the options that this client sends to the server. Host reservations mechanisms also allow for the static assignment of classes to clients. The definitions of these classes are placed in the Kea configuration. The following configuration snippet shows how to specify that a client belongs to classes reserved-class1 and reserved-class2. Those classes are associated with specific options being sent to the clients which belong to them.

{
    "client-classes": [
    {
       "name": "reserved-class1",
       "option-data": [
       {
           "name": "routers",
           "data": "10.0.0.200"
       }
       ]
    },
    {
       "name": "reserved-class2",
       "option-data": [
       {
           "name": "domain-name-servers",
           "data": "10.0.0.201"
       }
       ]
    }
    ],
    "subnet4": [ {
        "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
        "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.10-10.0.0.100" } ],
        "reservations": [
        {
            "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
            
            "client-classes": [ "reserved-class1", "reserved-class2" ]
            
        }
        ]
    } ]
}

Static class assignments, as shown above, can be used in conjunction with classification, using expressions. The "KNOWN" or "UNKNOWN" builtin class is added to the packet and any class depending on it (directly or indirectly) and not only-if-required is evaluated.

It is possible to store host reservations in MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Cassandra. See Section 9.2.3, “Hosts Storage” for information on how to configure Kea to use reservations stored in MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Cassandra. Kea provides a dedicated hook for managing reservations in a database; section Section 15.4.4, “host_cmds: Host Commands” provides detailed information. The Kea wiki https://gitlab.isc.org/isc-projects/kea/wikis/designs/commands#23-host-reservations-hr-management provides some examples of how to conduct common host reservation operations.

The host reservation capability introduces additional restrictions for the allocation engine (the component of Kea that selects an address for a client) during lease selection and renewal. In particular, three major checks are necessary. First, when selecting a new lease, it is not sufficient for a candidate lease to simply not be in use by another DHCP client; it also must not be reserved for another client. Second, when renewing a lease, an additional check must be performed to see whether the address being renewed is reserved for another client. Finally, when a host renews an address, the server must check whether there is a reservation for this host, so the existing (dynamically allocated) address should be revoked and the reserved one be used instead.

Some of those checks may be unnecessary in certain deployments and not performing them may improve performance. The Kea server provides the reservation-mode configuration parameter to select the types of reservations allowed for a particular subnet. Each reservation type has different constraints for the checks to be performed by the server when allocating or renewing a lease for the client. Allowed values are:

The parameter can be specified at global, subnet, and shared-network levels.

An example configuration that disables reservation looks as follows:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
    {
        "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
        "reservation-mode": "disabled",
        ...
    }
    ]
}

An example configuration using global reservations is shown below:

"Dhcp4": {

    
    "reservation-mode": "global",
    "reservations": [
       {
        "hw-address": "01:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
        "hostname": "host-one"
       },
       {
        "hw-address": "02:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
        "hostname": "host-two"
       }
    ],
    
    "subnet4": [
    {
        "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
        ...
    }
    ]
}

For more details regarding global reservations, see Section 8.3.9, “Global Reservations in DHCPv4”.

Another aspect of the host reservations is the different types of identifiers. Kea currently supports four types of identifiers: hw-address, duid, client-id, and circuit-id. This is beneficial from a usability perspective; however, there is one drawback. For each incoming packet, Kea has to extract each identifier type and then query the database to see if there is a reservation by this particular identifier. If nothing is found, the next identifier is extracted and the next query is issued. This process continues until either a reservation is found or all identifier types have been checked. Over time, with an increasing number of supported identifier types, Kea would become slower and slower.

To address this problem, a parameter called host-reservation-identifiers is available. It takes a list of identifier types as a parameter. Kea will check only those identifier types enumerated in host-reservation-identifiers. From a performance perspective, the number of identifier types should be kept to a minimum, ideally one. If your deployment uses several reservation types, please enumerate them from most- to least-frequently used, as this increases the chances of Kea finding the reservation using the fewest queries. An example of host reservation identifiers looks as follows:

"host-reservation-identifiers": [ "circuit-id", "hw-address", "duid", "client-id" ],
"subnet4": [
    {
        "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
        ...
    }
]

If not specified, the default value is:

"host-reservation-identifiers": [ "hw-address", "duid", "circuit-id", "client-id" ]

In some deployments, such as mobile, clients can roam within the network and certain parameters must be specified regardless of the client's current location. To facilitate such a need, a global reservation mechanism has been implemented. The idea behind it is that regular host reservations are tied to specific subnets, by using a specific subnet-id. Kea can specify a global reservation that can be used in every subnet that has global reservations enabled.

This feature can be used to assign certain parameters, such as hostname or other dedicated, host-specific options. It can also be used to assign addresses. However, global reservations that assign addresses bypass the whole topology determination provided by DHCP logic implemented in Kea. It is very easy to misuse this feature and get a configuration that is inconsistent. To give a specific example, imagine a global reservation for address 192.0.2.100 and two subnets 192.0.2.0/24 and 192.0.5.0/24. If global reservations are used in both subnets and a device matching global host reservations visits part of the network that is serviced by 192.0.5.0/24, it will get an IP address 192.0.2.100, a subnet 192.0.5.0 and a default router 192.0.5.1. Obviously, such a configuration is unusable, as the client won't be able to reach its default gateway.

To use global host reservations, a configuration similar to the following can be used:

"Dhcp4:" {
    // This specifies global reservations. They will apply to all subnets that
    // have global reservations enabled.
    
    "reservations": [
    {
       "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
       "hostname": "hw-host-dynamic"
    },
    {
       "hw-address": "01:02:03:04:05:06",
       "hostname": "hw-host-fixed",

       // Use of IP address is global reservation is risky. If used outside of
       // matching subnet, such as 192.0.1.0/24, it will result in a broken
       // configuration being handled to the client.
       "ip-address": "192.0.1.77"
    },
    {
       "duid": "01:02:03:04:05",
       "hostname": "duid-host"
    },
    {
       "circuit-id": "'charter950'",
       "hostname": "circuit-id-host"
    },
    {
       "client-id": "01:11:22:33:44:55:66",
       "hostname": "client-id-host"
    }
    ],
    "valid-lifetime": 600,
    "subnet4": [ {
        "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
        "reservation-mode": "global",
        "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.10-10.0.0.100" } ]
    } ]
}

When using database backends, the global host reservations are distinguished from regular reservations by using subnet-id value of zero.

It is possible to specify an interface name in the shared network scope to tell the server that this specific shared network is reachable directly (not via relays) using a local network interface. It is sufficient to specify it once at the shared network level. As all subnets in a shared network are expected to be used on the same physical link, it is a configuration error to attempt to define a shared network using subnets that are reachable over different interfaces. It is possible to specify the interface parameter on each subnet, although its value must be the same for each subnet. Thus it is usually more convenient to specify it once at the shared network level.

"shared-networks": [
    {
        "name": "office-floor-2",

        // This tells Kea that the whole shared networks is reachable over
        // local interface. This applies to all subnets in this network.
        "interface": "eth0",

        "subnet4": [
            {
                "subnet": "10.0.0.0/8",
                "pools": [ { "pool":  "10.0.0.1 - 10.0.0.99" } ],
                "interface": "eth0"
            },
            {
                 "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
                 "pools": [ { "pool":  "192.0.2.100 - 192.0.2.199" } ]

                 // Specifying a different interface name is configuration
                 // error:
                 // "interface": "eth1"
            }
        ]
    } ]

Somewhat similar to interface names, relay IP addresses can also be specified for the whole shared network. However, depending on your relay configuration, it may use different IP addresses depending on which subnet is being used. Thus there is no requirement to use the same IP relay address for each subnet. Here's an example:

"shared-networks": [
    {
        "name": "kakapo",
        "relay": {
            "ip-addresses": [ "192.3.5.6" ]
        },
        "subnet4": [
            {
                "subnet": "192.0.2.0/26",
                "relay": {
                    "ip-addresses": [ "192.1.1.1" ]
                },
                "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.63 - 192.0.2.63" } ]
            },
            {
                "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
                "relay": {
                    "ip-addresses": [ "192.2.2.2" ]
                },
                "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.16 - 10.0.0.16" } ]
            }
        ]
    }
]

In this particular case the relay IP address specified at the network level doesn't make much sense, as it is overridden in both subnets, but it was left there as an example of how one could be defined at the network level. Note that the relay agent IP address typically belongs to the subnet it relays packets from, but this is not a strict requirement. Kea accepts any value here as long as it is a valid IPv4 address.

Sometimes it is desirable to segregate clients into specific subnets based on certain properties. This mechanism is called client classification and is described in Chapter 14, Client Classification. Client classification can be applied to subnets belonging to shared networks in the same way as it is used for subnets specified outside of shared networks. It is important to understand how the server selects subnets for clients when client classification is in use, to ensure that the desired subnet is selected for a given client type.

If a subnet is associated with a class, only the clients belonging to this class can use this subnet. If there are no classes specified for a subnet, any client connected to a given shared network can use this subnet. A common mistake is to assume that the subnet including a client class is preferred over subnets without client classes. Consider the following example:

{
    "client-classes": [
        {
            "name": "b-devices",
            "test": "option[93].hex == 0x0002"
        }
    ],
    "shared-networks": [
        {
            "name": "galah",
            "interface": "eth0",
            "subnet4": [
                {
                    "subnet": "192.0.2.0/26",
                    "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.1 - 192.0.2.63" } ],
                },
                {
                    "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
                    "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.2 - 10.0.0.250" } ],
                    "client-class": "b-devices"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

If the client belongs to the "b-devices" class (because it includes option 93 with a value of 0x0002), that doesn't guarantee that the subnet 10.0.0.0/24 will be used (or preferred) for this client. The server can use either of the two subnets because the subnet 192.0.2.0/26 is also allowed for this client. The client classification used in this case should be perceived as a way to restrict access to certain subnets, rather than a way to express subnet preference. For example, if the client doesn't belong to the "b-devices" class it may only use the subnet 192.0.2.0/26 and will never use the subnet 10.0.0.0/24.

A typical use case for client classification is in a cable network, where cable modems should use one subnet and other devices should use another subnet within the same shared network. In this case it is necessary to apply classification on all subnets. The following example defines two classes of devices, and the subnet selection is made based on option 93 values.

{
    "client-classes": [
        {

            "name": "a-devices",
            "test": "option[93].hex == 0x0001"
        },
        {
            "name": "b-devices",
            "test": "option[93].hex == 0x0002"
        }
    ],
    "shared-networks": [
        {
            "name": "galah",
            "interface": "eth0",
            "subnet4": [
                {
                    "subnet": "192.0.2.0/26",
                    "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.1 - 192.0.2.63" } ],
                    "client-class": "a-devices"
                },
                {
                    "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
                    "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.2 - 10.0.0.250" } ],
                    "client-class": "b-devices"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

In this example each class has its own restriction. Only clients that belong to class "a-devices" will be able to use subnet 192.0.2.0/26 and only clients belonging to "b-devices" will be able to use subnet 10.0.0.0/24. Care should be taken not to define too-restrictive classification rules, as clients that are unable to use any subnets will be refused service. However, this may be a desired outcome if one wishes to provide service only to clients with known properties (e.g. only VoIP phones allowed on a given link).

Note that it is possible to achieve an effect similar to the one presented in this section without the use of shared networks. If the subnets are placed in the global subnets scope, rather than in the shared network, the server will still use classification rules to pick the right subnet for a given class of devices. The major benefit of placing subnets within the shared network is that common parameters for the logically grouped subnets can be specified once, in the shared network scope, e.g. the "interface" or "relay" parameter. All subnets belonging to this shared network will inherit those parameters.

Subnets that are part of a shared network allow host reservations, similar to regular subnets:

{
    "shared-networks": [
    {
        "name": "frog",
        "interface": "eth0",
        "subnet4": [
            {
                "subnet": "192.0.2.0/26",
                "id": 100,
                "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.1 - 192.0.2.63" } ],
                "reservations": [
                    {
                        "hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
                        "ip-address": "192.0.2.28"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "subnet": "10.0.0.0/24",
                "id": 101,
                "pools": [ { "pool": "10.0.0.1 - 10.0.0.254" } ],
                "reservations": [
                    {
                        "hw-address": "11:22:33:44:55:66",
                        "ip-address": "10.0.0.29"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }
    ]
}
  

It is worth noting that Kea conducts additional checks when processing a packet if shared networks are defined. First, instead of simply checking whether there's a reservation for a given client in its initially selected subnet, Kea looks through all subnets in a shared network for a reservation. This is one of the reasons why defining a shared network may impact performance. If there is a reservation for a client in any subnet, that particular subnet will be picked for the client. Although it's technically not an error, it is considered a bad practice to define reservations for the same host in multiple subnets belonging to the same shared network.

While not strictly mandatory, it is strongly recommended to use explicit "id" values for subnets if you plan to use database storage for host reservations. If an ID is not specified, the values for it are autogenerated, i.e. it assigns increasing integer values starting from 1. Thus, the autogenerated IDs are not stable across configuration changes.

A relay must have an interface connected to the link on which the clients are being configured. Typically the relay has an IPv4 address configured on that interface, which belongs to the subnet from which the server will assign addresses. Normally, the server is able to use the IPv4 address inserted by the relay (in the giaddr field of the DHCPv4 packet) to select the appropriate subnet.

However, that is not always the case. In certain uncommon — but valid — deployments, the relay address may not match the subnet. This usually means that there is more than one subnet allocated for a given link. The two most common examples where this is the case are long-lasting network renumbering (where both old and new address space is still being used) and a cable network. In a cable network, both cable modems and the devices behind them are physically connected to the same link, yet they use distinct addressing. In such a case, the DHCPv4 server needs additional information (the IPv4 address of the relay) to properly select an appropriate subnet.

The following example assumes that there is a subnet 192.0.2.0/24 that is accessible via a relay that uses 10.0.0.1 as its IPv4 address. The server is able to select this subnet for any incoming packets that come from a relay that has an address in the 192.0.2.0/24 subnet. It also selects that subnet for a relay with address 10.0.0.1.

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.10 - 192.0.2.20" } ],
            "relay": {
                "ip-addresses": [ "10.0.0.1" ]
            },
            ...
        }
    ],
    ...
}

If "relay" is specified, the "ip-addresses" parameter within it is mandatory.

In certain cases, it is useful to mix relay address information, introduced in Section 8.6.1, “Using a Specific Relay Agent for a Subnet”, with client classification, explained in Chapter 14, Client Classification. One specific example is in a cable network, where typically modems get addresses from a different subnet than all the devices connected behind them.

Let us assume that there is one CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System) with one CM MAC (a physical link that modems are connected to). We want the modems to get addresses from the 10.1.1.0/24 subnet, while everything connected behind the modems should get addresses from another subnet (192.0.2.0/24). The CMTS that acts as a relay uses address 10.1.1.1. The following configuration can serve that configuration:

"Dhcp4": {
    "subnet4": [
        {
            "subnet": "10.1.1.0/24",
            "pools":  [ { "pool": "10.1.1.2 - 10.1.1.20" } ],
            "client-class" "docsis3.0",
            "relay": {
                "ip-addresses": [ "10.1.1.1 ]"
            }
        },
        {
            "subnet": "192.0.2.0/24",
            "pools": [ { "pool": "192.0.2.10 - 192.0.2.20" } ],
            "relay": {
                "ip-addresses": [ "10.1.1.1" ]
            }
        }
    ],
    ...
}

The ultimate goal for the CB is to serve as a central configuration repository for one or multiple Kea servers connected to the database. In the future it will be possible to store the most of the server's configuration in the database and reduce the configuration file to bare minimum, i.e. the only mandatory parameter will be the config-control which includes the necessary information to connect to the database. In the Kea 1.6.0 release, however, only the subset of the DHCPv4 server parameters can be stored in the database. All other parameters must be specified in the JSON configuration file, if required.

The following table lists DHCPv4 specific parameters supported by the Configuration Backend with an indication on which level of the hierarchy it is currently supported. The "n/a" is used in cases when the particular parameter is not applicable on the particular level of the hierarchy or in cases when the parameter is not supported by the server on this level of hierarchy. The "no" is used when the parameter is supported by the server on the particular level of hierarchy but is not configurable via the Configuration Backend.

All supported parameters can be configured via cb_cmds hooks library described in the Section 15.4.8, “cb_cmds: Configuration Backend Commands”. The general rule is that the scalar global parameters are set using the remote-global-parameter4-set. The shared network specific parameters are set using the remote-network4-set. Finally, the subnet and pool level parameters are set using the remote-subnet4-set. Whenever there is an exception from this general rule, it is highlighted in the table. The non-scalar global parameters have dedicated commands, e.g. modifying the global DHCPv4 options (option-data) is performed using the remote-option4-global-set.

Consider the following configuration snippet:

{
    "Dhcp4": {
        "config-control": {
            "config-databases": [
                {
                    "type": "mysql",
                    "name": "kea",
                    "user": "kea",
                    "password": "kea",
                    "host": "192.0.2.1",
                    "port": 3302
                }
            ],
            "config-fetch-wait-time": 20
        },
        "hooks-libraries": [
            {
                "library": "/usr/local/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_mysql_cb.so"
            },
            {
                "library": "/usr/local/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_cb_cmds.so"
            }
        ],
        ...
    }
}

The config-control contains two parameters. The config-databases is a list which contains one element comprising database type, location and the credentials to be used to connect to this database. Note that the parameters specified here correspond to the database specification for the lease database backend and hosts database backend. Currently only one database connection can be specified on the config-databases list. The server will connect to this database during the startup or reconfiguration, and will fetch the configuration available for this server from the database. This configuration is merged into the configuration read from the configuration file.

Once the Kea server is configured, it starts periodically polling for the configuration changes in the database. The frequency of polling is controlled by the config-fetch-wait-time parameter. It is expressed in seconds and it is the period between the time when the server completed last polling (and possibly the local configuration update) and the time when it begins polling again. In the example above, this period is set to 20 seconds. This means that after adding a new configuration into the database (e.g. added new subnet), it will take up to 20 seconds (plus the time needed to fetch and apply the new configuration) before the server starts using this subnet. The lower the config-fetch-wait-time value, the shorter the time for the server to react to the incremental configuration updates in the database. On the other hand, polling the database too frequently may impact the DHCP server's performance because the server needs to make at least one query to the database to discover the pending configuration updates.The default value of the config-fetch-wait-time is 30 seconds.

Finally, in the configuration example above, two hooks libraries are loaded. The former, libdhcp_mysql_cb.so, is the implementation of the Configuration Backend for MySQL. It must be always present when the server uses MySQL as the configuration repository. Failing to load this library will result in an error during the server configuration if the "mysql" database is selected with the config-control parameter.

The latter hooks library, libdhcp_cb_cmds.so, is optional. It should be loaded when the Kea server instance is to be used for managing the configuration in the database. See the Section 15.4.8, “cb_cmds: Configuration Backend Commands” for the details. Note that this hooks library is only available to the ISC customers with a support contract.

This section explains how to configure the DHCPv6 server using a configuration file. Before DHCPv6 is started, its configuration file has to be created. The basic configuration is as follows:

{
# DHCPv6 configuration starts on the next line
"Dhcp6": {

# First we set up global values
    "valid-lifetime": 4000,
    "renew-timer": 1000,
    "rebind-timer": 2000,
    "preferred-lifetime": 3000,

# Next we setup the interfaces to be used by the server.
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth0" ]
    },

# And we specify the type of lease database
    "lease-database": {
        "type": "memfile",
        "persist": true,
        "name": "/var/kea/dhcp6.leases"
    },

# Finally, we list the subnets from which we will be leasing addresses.
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
            "pools": [
                 {
                     "pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff"
                 }
             ]
        }
    ]
# DHCPv6 configuration ends with the next line
}

} 

The following paragraphs provide a brief overview of the parameters in the above example, along with their format. Subsequent sections of this chapter go into much greater detail for these and other parameters.

The lines starting with a hash (#) are comments and are ignored by the server; they do not impact its operation in any way.

The configuration starts in the first line with the initial opening curly bracket (or brace). Each configuration must contain an object specifying the configuration of the Kea module using it. In the example above this object is called Dhcp6.

The Dhcp6 configuration starts with the "Dhcp6": { line and ends with the corresponding closing brace (in the above example, the brace after the last comment). Everything defined between those lines is considered to be the Dhcp6 configuration.

In the general case, the order in which those parameters appear does not matter, but there are two caveats. The first one is to remember that the configuration file must be well-formed JSON. That means that the parameters for any given scope must be separated by a comma and there must not be a comma after the last parameter. When reordering a configuration file, keep in mind that moving a parameter to or from the last position in a given scope may also require moving the comma. The second caveat is that it is uncommon — although legal JSON — to repeat the same parameter multiple times. If that happens, the last occurrence of a given parameter in a given scope is used, while all previous instances are ignored. This is unlikely to cause any confusion as there are no real-life reasons to keep multiple copies of the same parameter in your configuration file.

Moving onto the DHCPv6 configuration elements, the first few elements define some global parameters. valid-lifetime defines how long the addresses (leases) given out by the server are valid. If nothing changes, a client that got an address is allowed to use it for 4000 seconds. (Note that integer numbers are specified as is, without any quotes around them.) The address will become deprecated in 3000 seconds, i.e. clients are allowed to keep old connections, but can't use this address for creating new connections. renew-timer and rebind-timer are values that define T1 and T2 timers that govern when the client will begin the renewal and rebind procedures.

The interfaces-config map specifies the server configuration concerning the network interfaces, on which the server should listen to the DHCP messages. The interfaces parameter specifies a list of network interfaces on which the server should listen. Lists are opened and closed with square brackets, with elements separated by commas. To listen on two interfaces, the interfaces-config should look like this:

"interfaces-config": {
    "interfaces": [ "eth0", "eth1" ]
},

The next couple of lines define the lease database, the place where the server stores its lease information. This particular example tells the server to use memfile, which is the simplest (and fastest) database backend. It uses an in-memory database and stores leases on disk in a CSV file. This is a very simple configuration; usually the lease database configuration is more extensive and contains additional parameters. Note that lease-database is an object and opens up a new scope, using an opening brace. Its parameters (just one in this example - type) follow. If there were more than one, they would be separated by commas. This scope is closed with a closing brace. As more parameters for the Dhcp6 definition follow, a trailing comma is present.

Finally, we need to define a list of IPv6 subnets. This is the most important DHCPv6 configuration structure as the server uses that information to process clients' requests. It defines all subnets from which the server is expected to receive DHCP requests. The subnets are specified with the subnet6 parameter. It is a list, so it starts and ends with square brackets. Each subnet definition in the list has several attributes associated with it, so it is a structure and is opened and closed with braces. At a minimum, a subnet definition has to have at least two parameters: subnet (which defines the whole subnet) and pools (which is a list of dynamically allocated pools that are governed by the DHCP server).

The example contains a single subnet. If more than one were defined, additional elements in the subnet6 parameter would be specified and separated by commas. For example, to define two subnets, the following syntax would be used:

"subnet6": [
    {
        "pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::/112" } ],
        "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64"
    },
    {
        "pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:2::1-2001:db8:2::ffff" } ],
        "subnet": "2001:db8:2::/64"
    }
]

Note that indentation is optional and is used for aesthetic purposes only. In some cases in may be preferable to use more compact notation.

After all parameters are specified, we have two contexts open: global and Dhcp6, hence we need two closing curly brackets to close them.

All leases issued by the server are stored in the lease database. Currently there are four database backends available: memfile (which is the default backend), MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Cassandra.

"Dhcp6": {
    "lease-database": {
        "type": "memfile",
        "persist": true,
        "name": "/tmp/kea-leases6.csv",
        "lfc-interval": 1800
    }
}

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "name": "database-name" , ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "keyspace": "database-name" , ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "host": "remote-host-name", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "contact-points": "remote-host-name[, ...]" , ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "host" : "", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "contact-points": "", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "port" : 12345, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "connect-timeout" : timeout-in-seconds, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "max-reconnect-tries" : number-of-tries, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "reconnect-wait-time" : number-of-milliseconds, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "contact-points" : "192.0.2.1,192.0.2.2", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "user": "user-name",
                               "password": "password",
                              ... },
           ... }

Kea is also able to store information about host reservations in the database. The hosts database configuration uses the same syntax as the lease database. In fact, a Kea server opens independent connections for each purpose, be it lease or hosts information. This arrangement gives the most flexibility. Kea can keep leases and host reservations separately, but can also point to the same database. Currently the supported hosts database types are MySQL, PostgreSQL and Cassandra.

For example, the following configuration can be used to configure connection to MySQL:

"Dhcp6": {
    "hosts-database": {
        "type": "mysql",
        "name": "kea",
        "user": "kea",
        "password": "secret123",
        "host": "localhost",
        "port": 3306
    }
}

Note that depending on your database configuration, many of the parameters may be optional.

Please note that usage of hosts storage is optional. A user can define all host reservations in the configuration file, and that is the recommended way if the number of reservations is small. However, when the number of reservations grows, it is more convenient to use host storage. Please note that both storage methods (configuration file and one of the supported databases) can be used together. If hosts are defined in both places, the definitions from the configuration file are checked first and external storage is checked later, if necessary.

In fact, host information can be placed in multiple stores. Operations are performed on the stores in the order they are defined in the configuration file, although this leads to a restriction in ordering in the case of a host reservation addition; read-only stores must be configured after a (required) read-write store, or the addition will fail.

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "name": "database-name" , ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "host": remote-host-name, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "host" : "", ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "port" : 12345, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "host-database": { "max-reconnect-tries" : number-of-tries, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "reconnect-wait-time" : number-of-milliseconds, ... }, ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "user": "user-name",
                               "password": "password",
                              ... },
           ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-databases": [ { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... ], ... }

"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "readonly": true, ... }, ... }

The DHCPv6 server has to be configured to listen on specific network interfaces. The simplest network interface configuration instructs the server to listen on all available interfaces:

"Dhcp6": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "*" ]
    }
    ...
}

The asterisk plays the role of a wildcard and means "listen on all interfaces." However, it is usually a good idea to explicitly specify interface names:

"Dhcp6": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ]
    },
    ...
}
  

It is possible to use a wildcard interface name (asterisk) concurrently with explicit interface names:

"Dhcp6": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3", "*" ]
    },
    ...
}
  

It is anticipated that this form of usage will only be used when it is desired to temporarily override a list of interface names and listen on all interfaces.

As with the DHCPv4 server, binding to specific addresses and disabling re-detection of interfaces are supported. But dhcp-socket-type is not because DHCPv6 uses UDP/IPv6 sockets only. The following example shows how to disable the interface detection:

"Dhcp6": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ],
        "re-detect": false
    },
    ...
}
  

The loopback interfaces (i.e. the "lo" or "lo0" interface) are not configured by default, unless explicitely mentioned in the configuration. Note that Kea requires a link-local address (which does not exist on all systems), or a specified unicast address as in:

"Dhcp6": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "enp0s2/2001:db8::1234:abcd" ]
    },
    ...
}
  

The subnet identifier is a unique number associated with a particular subnet. In principle, it is used to associate clients' leases with their respective subnets. When a subnet identifier is not specified for a subnet being configured, it will be automatically assigned by the configuration mechanism. The identifiers are assigned from 1 and are monotonically increased for each subsequent subnet: 1, 2, 3 ....

If there are multiple subnets configured with auto-generated identifiers and one of them is removed, the subnet identifiers may be renumbered. For example: if there are four subnets and the third is removed, the last subnet will be assigned the identifier that the third subnet had before removal. As a result, the leases stored in the lease database for subnet 3 are now associated with subnet 4, something that may have unexpected consequences. The only remedy for this issue at present is to manually specify a unique identifier for each subnet.

The following configuration will assign the specified subnet identifier to the newly configured subnet:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
            "id": 1024,
            ...
        }
    ]
}

This identifier will not change for this subnet unless the "id" parameter is removed or set to 0. The value of 0 forces auto-generation of the subnet identifier.

When the DHCPv6 server starts, by default it listens to the DHCP traffic sent to multicast address ff02::1:2 on each interface that it is configured to listen on (see Section 9.2.4, “Interface Configuration”). In some cases it is useful to configure a server to handle incoming traffic sent to global unicast addresses as well. The most common reason for this is to have relays send their traffic to the server directly. To configure the server to listen on a specific unicast address, the interface name can be optionally followed by a slash, followed by the global unicast address on which the server should listen. The server listens to this address in addition to normal link-local binding and listening on the ff02::1:2 address. The sample configuration below shows how to listen on 2001:db8::1 (a global address) configured on the eth1 interface.

"Dhcp6": {
    "interfaces-config": {
        "interfaces": [ "eth1/2001:db8::1" ]
    },
    ...
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "unicast",
            "data": "2001:db8::1"
        } ],
    ...
}
 

This configuration will cause the server to listen on eth1 on the link-local address, the multicast group (ff02::1:2), and 2001:db8::1.

Usually unicast support is associated with a server unicast option which allows clients to send unicast messages to the server. The example above includes a server unicast option specification which will cause the client to send messages to the specified unicast address.

It is possible to mix interface names, wildcards, and interface names/addresses in the list of interfaces. It is not possible, however, to specify more than one unicast address on a given interface.

Care should be taken to specify proper unicast addresses. The server will attempt to bind to the addresses specified without any additional checks. This approach was selected on purpose to allow the software to communicate over uncommon addresses if so desired.

The main role of a DHCPv6 server is address assignment. For this, the server must be configured with at least one subnet and one pool of dynamic addresses to be managed. For example, assume that the server is connected to a network segment that uses the 2001:db8:1::/64 prefix. The administrator of that network decides that addresses from range 2001:db8:1::1 to 2001:db8:1::ffff are going to be managed by the Dhcp6 server. Such a configuration can be achieved in the following way:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
       {
           "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
           "pools": [
               {
                   "pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff"
               }
           ],
           ...
       }
    ]
}

Note that subnet is defined as a simple string, but the pools parameter is actually a list of pools; for this reason, the pool definition is enclosed in square brackets, even though only one range of addresses is specified.

Each pool is a structure that contains the parameters that describe a single pool. Currently there is only one parameter, pool, which gives the range of addresses in the pool.

It is possible to define more than one pool in a subnet; continuing the previous example, further assume that 2001:db8:1:0:5::/80 should also be managed by the server. It could be written as 2001:db8:1:0:5:: to 2001:db8:1::5:ffff:ffff:ffff, but typing so many 'f's is cumbersome. It can be expressed more simply as 2001:db8:1:0:5::/80. Both formats are supported by Dhcp6 and can be mixed in the pool list. For example, one could define the following pools:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
    {
        "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
        "pools": [
            { "pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff" },
            { "pool": "2001:db8:1:05::/80" }
        ],
        ...
    }
    ]
}

White space in pool definitions is ignored, so spaces before and after the hyphen are optional. They can be used to improve readability.

The number of pools is not limited, but for performance reasons it is recommended to use as few as possible.

The server may be configured to serve more than one subnet. To add a second subnet, use a command similar to the following:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
    {
        "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
        "pools": [
            { "pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff" }
        ]
    },
    {
        "subnet": "2001:db8:2::/64",
        "pools": [
            { "pool": "2001:db8:2::/64" }
        ]
    },

        ...
    ]
}

In this example, we allow the server to dynamically assign all addresses available in the whole subnet. Although rather wasteful, it is certainly a valid configuration to dedicate the whole /64 subnet for that purpose. Note that the Kea server does not preallocate the leases, so there is no danger in using gigantic address pools.

When configuring a DHCPv6 server using prefix/length notation, please pay attention to the boundary values. When specifying that the server can use a given pool, it will also be able to allocate the first (typically a network address) address from that pool. For example, for pool 2001:db8:2::/64 the 2001:db8:2:: address may be assigned as well. To avoid this, use the "min-max" notation.

Subnets may also be configured to delegate prefixes, as defined in RFC 8415, section 6.3. A subnet may have one or more prefix delegation pools. Each pool has a prefixed address, which is specified as a prefix (prefix) and a prefix length (prefix-len), as well as a delegated prefix length (delegated-len). The delegated length must not be shorter than (that is, it must be numerically greater than or equal to) the prefix length. If both the delegated and prefix lengths are equal, the server will be able to delegate only one prefix. The delegated prefix does not have to match the subnet prefix.

Below is a sample subnet configuration which enables prefix delegation for the subnet:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "subnet": "2001:d8b:1::/64",
            "pd-pools": [
                {
                    "prefix": "3000:1::",
                    "prefix-len": 64,
                    "delegated-len": 96
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    ...
}

For each delegated prefix, the delegating router may choose to exclude a single prefix out of the delegated prefix as specified in RFC 6603. The requesting router must not assign the excluded prefix to any of its downstream interfaces, and it is intended to be used on a link through which the delegating router exchanges DHCPv6 messages with the requesting router. The configuration example below demonstrates how to specify an excluded prefix within a prefix pool definition. The excluded prefix "2001:db8:1:babe:cafe:80::/72" will be sent to a requesting router which includes the Prefix Exclude option in the ORO, and which is delegated a prefix from this pool.

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
            "pd-pools": [
                {
                    "prefix": "2001:db8:1:8000::",
                    "prefix-len": 48,
                    "delegated-len": 64,
                    "excluded-prefix": "2001:db8:1:babe:cafe:80::",
                    "excluded-prefix-len": 72
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

One of the major features of a DHCPv6 server is the ability to provide configuration options to clients. Although there are several options that require special behavior, most options are sent by the server only if the client explicitly requests them. The following example shows how to configure one of the most frequently used options, which supplies the address of DNS servers. Options specified in this way are considered global and apply to all configured subnets.

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "dns-servers",
           "code": 23,
           "space": "dhcp6",
           "csv-format": true,
           "data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe"
        },
        ...
    ]
}

The option-data line creates a new entry in the option-data table. This table contains information on all global options that the server is supposed to configure in all subnets. The name line specifies the option name. (For a complete list of currently supported names, see Table 9.1, “List of Standard DHCPv6 Options”.) The next line specifies the option code, which must match one of the values from that list. The line beginning with space specifies the option space, which must always be set to "dhcp6" as these are standard DHCPv6 options. For other name spaces, including custom option spaces, see Section 9.2.14, “Nested DHCPv6 Options (Custom Option Spaces)”. The following line specifies the format in which the data will be entered; use of CSV (comma-separated values) is recommended. Finally, the data line gives the actual value to be sent to clients. Data is specified as normal text, with values separated by commas if more than one value is allowed.

Options can also be configured as hexadecimal values. If "csv-format" is set to false, the option data must be specified as a hexadecimal string. The following commands configure the DNS-SERVERS option for all subnets with the following addresses: 2001:db8:1::cafe and 2001:db8:1::babe.

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "dns-servers",
           "code": 23,
           "space": "dhcp6",
           "csv-format": false,
           "data": "20 01 0D B8 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 CA FE
                    20 01 0D B8 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 BA BE"
        },
        ...
    ]
}
        

Kea supports the following formats when specifying hexadecimal data:

Care should be taken to use proper encoding when using hexadecimal format. Kea's ability to validate data correctness in hexadecimal is limited.

Most of the parameters in the "option-data" structure are optional and can be omitted in some circumstances as discussed in Section 9.2.15, “Unspecified Parameters for DHCPv6 Option Configuration”. Only one of name or code is required; you don't need to specify both. Space has a default value of "dhcp6", so you can skip this as well if you define a regular (not encapsulated) DHCPv6 option. Finally, csv-format defaults to true, so it too can be skipped, unless you want to specify the option value as hexstring. Therefore the above example can be simplified to:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "dns-servers",
           "data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe"
        },
        ...
    ]
}
        

Defined options are added to the response when the client requests them, as well as any options required by a protocol. An administrator can also specify that an option is always sent, even if a client did not specifically request it. To enforce the addition of a particular option, set the "always-send" flag to true as in:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "dns-servers",
           "data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe",
           "always-send": true
        },
        ...
    ]
}
        

The effect is the same as if the client added the option code in the Option Request Option (or its equivalent for vendor options) so in:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
           "name": "dns-servers",
           "data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe",
           "always-send": true
        },
        ...
    ],
    "subnet6": [
        {
           "subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
           "option-data": [
               {
                   "name": "dns-servers",
                   "data": "2001:db8:1::cafe, 2001:db8:1::babe"
               },
               ...
           ],
           ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}
        

The DNS servers option is always added to responses (the always-send is "sticky") but the value is the subnet one when the client is localized in the subnet.

It is possible to override options on a per-subnet basis. If clients connected to most of your subnets are expected to get the same values of a given option, you should use global options; you can then override specific values for a small number of subnets. On the other hand, if you use different values in each subnet, it does not make sense to specify global option values; rather, you should set only subnet-specific ones.

The following commands override the global DNS servers option for a particular subnet, setting a single DNS server with address 2001:db8:1::3.

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "option-data": [
                {
                    "name": "dns-servers",
                    "code": 23,
                    "space": "dhcp6",
                    "csv-format": true,
                    "data": "2001:db8:1::3"
                },
                ...
            ],
            ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

In some cases it is useful to associate some options with an address or prefix pool from which a client is assigned a lease. Pool- specific option values override subnet-specific and global option values. If the client is assigned multiple leases from different pools, the server will assign options from all pools from which the leases have been obtained. However, if the particular option is specified in multiple pools from which the client obtains the leases, only one instance of this option will be handed out to the client. The server's administrator must not try to prioritize assignment of pool-specific options by trying to order pools declarations in the server configuration.

The following configuration snippet demonstrates how to specify the DNS servers option, which will be assigned to a client only if the client obtains an address from the given pool:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "pools": [
                {
                    "pool": "2001:db8:1::100-2001:db8:1::300",
                    "option-data": [
                        {
                            "name": "dns-servers",
                            "data": "2001:db8:1::10"
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ]
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

Options can also be specified in a class of host reservation scope. The current Kea options precedence order is (from most important): host reservation, pool, subnet, shared network, class, global.

The currently supported standard DHCPv6 options are listed in Table 9.1, “List of Standard DHCPv6 Options”. "Name" and "Code" are the values that should be used as a name/code in the option-data structures. "Type" designates the format of the data; the meanings of the various types is given in Table 8.2, “List of Standard DHCP Option Types”.

When a data field is a string, and that string contains the comma (,; U+002C) character, the comma must be escaped with double backslashes (\; U+005C). This double escape is required, because both the routine splitting CSV data into fields and JSON use the same escape character; a single escape (\,) would make the JSON invalid. For example, the string "EST5EDT4,M3.2.0/02:00,M11.1.0/02:00" would be represented as:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "pools": [
                {
                    "option-data": [
                        {
                            "name": "new-posix-timezone",
                            "data": "EST5EDT4\\,M3.2.0/02:00\\,M11.1.0/02:00"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                ...
            ],
            ...
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

Some options are designated as arrays, which means that more than one value is allowed in such an option. For example, the option dns-servers allows the specification of more than one IPv6 address, enabling clients to obtain the addresses of multiple DNS servers.

Section 9.2.12, “Custom DHCPv6 Options” describes the configuration syntax to create custom option definitions (formats). Creation of custom definitions for standard options is generally not permitted, even if the definition being created matches the actual option format defined in the RFCs. There is an exception to this rule for standard options for which Kea currently does not provide a definition. In order to use such options, a server administrator must create a definition as described in Section 9.2.12, “Custom DHCPv6 Options” in the 'dhcp6' option space. This definition should match the option format described in the relevant RFC, but the configuration mechanism would allow any option format as it currently has no means to validate it.

Options marked with (1) have option definitions, but the logic behind them is not implemented. That means that technically Kea knows how to parse them in incoming messages or how to send them if configured to do so, but not what to do with them. Since the related RFCs require certain processing, the support for those options is non-functional. However, it may be useful in some limited lab testing; hence the definition formats are listed here.

Softwire46 options are involved in IPv4 over IPv6 provisioning by means of tunneling or translation as specified in RFC 7598. The following sections provide configuration examples of these options.

"Dhcp6": {
    ...
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "s46-cont-mape"
        } ],
    ...
}

{
    "space": "s46-cont-mape-options",
    "name": "s46-rule",
    "data": "128, 0, 24, 192.0.2.0, 2001:db8:1::/64"
}

{
    "space": "s46-cont-mape-options",
    "name": "s46-br",
    "data": "2001:db8:cafe::1",
}

{
    "space": "s46-cont-mapt-options",
    "name": "s46-dmr",
    "data": "2001:db8:cafe::/64",
}

{
    "space": "s46-cont-lw",
    "name": "s46-v4v6bind",
    "data": "192.0.2.3, 2001:db8:1:cafe::/64"
}

{
    "space": "s46-rule-options",
    "name": "s46-portparams",
    "data": "2, 3/4",
}

It is possible to define options in addition to the standard ones. Assume that we want to define a new DHCPv6 option called "foo" which will have code 100 and which will convey a single, unsigned, 32-bit integer value. We can define such an option by using the following commands:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "code": 100,
            "type": "uint32",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "",
            "space": "dhcp6",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

The "false" value of the array parameter determines that the option does NOT comprise an array of "uint32" values but is, instead, a single value. Two other parameters have been left blank: record-types and encapsulate. The former specifies the comma-separated list of option data fields, if the option comprises a record of data fields. The record-types value should be non-empty if type is set to "record"; otherwise it must be left blank. The latter parameter specifies the name of the option space being encapsulated by the particular option. If the particular option does not encapsulate any option space, it should be left blank. Note that the above example only defines the format of the new option and does not set its value(s).

Only the name, code, and type parameters are required; all others are optional. The array default value is false. The record-types and encapsulate default values are blank (i.e. ""). The default space is "dhcp6".

Once the new option format is defined, its value is set in the same way as for a standard option. For example, the following commands set a global value that applies to all subnets.

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "code": 100,
            "space": "dhcp6",
            "csv-format": true,
            "data": "12345"
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

New options can take more complex forms than simple use of primitives (uint8, string, ipv6-address, etc); it is possible to define an option comprising a number of existing primitives.

For example, assume we want to define a new option that will consist of an IPv6 address, followed by an unsigned 16-bit integer, followed by a boolean value, followed by a text string. Such an option could be defined in the following way:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "bar",
            "code": 101,
            "space": "dhcp6",
            "type": "record",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "ipv6-address, uint16, boolean, string",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

The "type" is set to "record" to indicate that the option contains multiple values of different types. These types are given as a comma-separated list in the record-types field and should be ones from those listed in Table 8.2, “List of Standard DHCP Option Types”.

The values of the options are set in a option-data statement as follows:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "bar",
            "space": "dhcp6",
            "code": 101,
            "csv-format": true,
            "data": "2001:db8:1::10, 123, false, Hello World"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

csv-format is set to true to indicate that the data field comprises a command-separated list of values. The values in data must correspond to the types set in the record-types field of the option definition.

When array is set to true and type is set to "record", the last field is an array, i.e. it can contain more than one value, as in:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "bar",
            "code": 101,
            "space": "dhcp6",
            "type": "record",
            "array": true,
            "record-types": "ipv6-address, uint16",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }, ...
    ],
    ...
}

The new option content is one IPv6 address followed by one or more 16- bit unsigned integers.

Currently there are two option spaces defined for the DHCPv6 daemon: "dhcp6" (for top-level DHCPv6 options) and "vendor-opts-space", which is empty by default, but in which options can be defined. Those options are carried in the Vendor-Specific Information option (code 17). The following examples show how to define an option "foo" with code 1 that consists of an IPv6 address, an unsigned 16-bit integer, and a string. The "foo" option is conveyed in a Vendor-Specific Information option, which comprises a single uint32 value that is set to "12345". The sub-option "foo" follows the data field holding this value.

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "code": 1,
            "space": "vendor-opts-space",
            "type": "record",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "ipv6-address, uint16, string",
            "encapsulate": ""
        }
    ],
    ...
}

(Note that the option space is set to vendor-opts-space.) Once the option format is defined, the next step is to define actual values for that option:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "foo",
            "space": "vendor-opts-space",
            "data": "2001:db8:1::10, 123, Hello World"
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

We should also define a value (enterprise-number) for the Vendor-Specific Information option, that conveys our option "foo".

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        ...,
        {
            "name": "vendor-opts",
            "data": "12345"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

Alternatively, the option can be specified using its code.

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        ...,
        {
            "code": 17,
            "data": "12345"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

It is sometimes useful to define completely new option spaces. This is the case when a user wants their new option to convey sub-options that use a separate numbering scheme, for example sub-options with codes 1 and 2. Those option codes conflict with standard DHCPv6 options, so a separate option space must be defined.

Note that the creation of a new option space is not required when defining sub-options for a standard option, because it is created by default if the standard option is meant to convey any sub-options (see Section 9.2.13, “DHCPv6 Vendor-Specific Options”).

Assume that we want to have a DHCPv6 option called "container" with code 102 that conveys two sub-options with codes 1 and 2. First we need to define the new sub-options:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-def": [
        {
            "name": "subopt1",
            "code": 1,
            "space": "isc",
            "type": "ipv6-address",
            "record-types": "",
            "array": false,
            "encapsulate": ""
        },
        {
            "name": "subopt2",
            "code": 2,
            "space": "isc",
            "type": "string",
            "record-types": "",
            "array": false
            "encapsulate": ""
        }
    ],
    ...
}

Note that we have defined the options to belong to a new option space (in this case, "isc").

The next step is to define a regular DHCPv6 option and specify that it should include options from the new option space:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-def": [
        ...,
        {
            "name": "container",
            "code": 102,
            "space": "dhcp6",
            "type": "empty",
            "array": false,
            "record-types": "",
            "encapsulate": "isc"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

The name of the option space in which the sub-options are defined is set in the encapsulate field. The type field is set to empty, which limits this option to only carrying data in sub-options.

Finally, we can set values for the new options:

"Dhcp6": {
    "option-data": [
        {
            "name": "subopt1",
            "code": 1,
            "space": "isc",
            "data": "2001:db8::abcd"
        },
        }
            "name": "subopt2",
            "code": 2,
            "space": "isc",
            "data": "Hello world"
        },
        {
            "name": "container",
            "code": 102,
            "space": "dhcp6"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

Note that it is possible to create an option which carries some data in addition to the sub-options defined in the encapsulated option space. For example, if the "container" option from the previous example were required to carry a uint16 value as well as the sub-options, the type value would have to be set to "uint16" in the option definition. (Such an option would then have the following data structure: DHCP header, uint16 value, sub-options.) The value specified with the data parameter — which should be a valid integer enclosed in quotes, e.g. "123" — would then be assigned to the uint16 field in the "container" option.

In many cases it is not required to specify all parameters for an option configuration and the default values can be used. However, it is important to understand the implications of not specifying some of them, as it may result in configuration errors. The list below explains the behavior of the server when a particular parameter is not explicitly specified:

To send specific, fixed values use the following two parameters:

You may specify any value for T2 greater than or equal to zero. When specifying T1 it must be less than T2. This flexibility is allowed to support a use case where admins want to suppress client renewals and rebinds by deferring them beyond the life span of the lease. This should cause the lease to expire, rather than get renewed by clients. If T1 is specified as larger than T2, it will be set to zero in the outbound IA.

In great majority of cases the values should follow this rule: T1 < T2 < preferred lifetime < valid lifetime. Alternatively, both T1 and T2 values can be configured to 0, which is a signal to DHCPv6 clients that they may renew at their own discretion. However, there are known broken client implementations out there that will start renewing immediately. If you plan to use T1=T2=0 values, please test first and make sure your clients behave rationally.

In some rare cases there may be a need to disable client's ability to renew addresses. This is undesired from protocol perspective and should be avoided if possible. However, if you want to do this, you can configure your T1 and T2 values to be equal or greater to your valid lifetime. Be advised that this will cause your clients to ocasionally lose their addresses, which is generally perceived as poor service. However, there may be some rare business cases when this is desired (e.g. when you want to break long lasting connections on purpose).

Calculating the values is controlled by the following three parameters.

The DHCPv6 server may receive requests from local (connected to the same subnet as the server) and remote (connected via relays) clients. As the server may have many subnet configurations defined, it must select an appropriate subnet for a given request.

In IPv4, the server can determine which of the configured subnets are local, as there is a reasonable expectation that the server will have a (global) IPv4 address configured on the interface, and it can use that information to detect whether a subnet is local. That assumption is not true in IPv6; the DHCPv6 server must be able to operate while only using link-local addresses. Therefore, an optional interface parameter is available within a subnet definition to designate that a given subnet is local, i.e. reachable directly over the specified interface. For example, the server that is intended to serve a local subnet over eth0 may be configured as follows:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "subnet": "2001:db8:beef::/48",
            "pools": [
                 {
                     "pool": "2001:db8:beef::/48"
                 }
             ],
            "interface": "eth0"
        }
    ],
    ...
}

The Rapid Commit option, described in RFC 8415, is supported by the Kea DHCPv6 server. However, support is disabled by default. It can be enabled on a per-subnet basis using the rapid-commit parameter as shown below:

"Dhcp6": {
    "subnet6": [
        {
            "subnet": "2001:db8:beef::/48",
            "rapid-commit": true,
            "pools": [
                 {
                     "pool": "2001:db8:beef::1-2001:db8:beef::10"
                 }
             ],
        }
    ],
    ...
}

This setting only affects the subnet for which the rapid-commit is set to true. For clients connected to other subnets, the server will ignore the Rapid Commit option sent by the client and will follow the 4-way exchange procedure, i.e. respond with an Advertise for a Solicit containing a Rapid Commit option.