DHCP Clients Unable to Obtain IP Lease from DHCP Server

 Last reviewed: March 11, 1998
Article ID: Q180557
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When your Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) clients attempt to lease or renew IP lease information, they may receive the following error message: 

   No DHCP server available.
NOTE: Your DHCP server is correctly configured and operating. A network trace captured at your DHCP server shows it is receiving the DHCP discovery packets from the clients but it does not offer any leases.

CAUSE

Your DHCP server is configured to be a DHCP Relay Agent in addition to a DHCP server. This causes the DHCP server to forward any DHCP Discover packets to another server without responding directly to the DHCP client.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, remove the DHCP Relay Agent configuration using the following steps on your DHCP server:

  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.

  2. Double-click Network, click the Protocols tab, and double-click TCP/IP Protocol.

  3. Click the DHCP Relay tab.

  4. Remove all IP addresses listed in the DHCP Servers list by clicking each address and then clicking Remove. 
Keywords          : ntnetserv NTSrv kberrmsg kbnetwork
Version           : WinNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt
Issue type        : kbprb

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Last reviewed: March 11, 1998
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