PRB: DHCP May Fail When TCP/IP Is Bound First to RAS

ID: Q142311

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

SYMPTOMS

A DHCP server may fail to lease addresses or renew leases to DHCP clients after a period of time when TCP/IP is bound first to RAS.

CAUSE

When the binding order of "Microsoft DHCP Server" places the RAS binding (Remote Access WAN Wrapper) ahead of the NIC binding, and the RAS TCP/IP address is 0.0.0.0, network client DHCP packets intended for the DHCP server are ignored.

In addition, the Event Viewer may log the the following system error:

Event ID 4281, Source WINS, Description:
"The machine you are running the WINS server on does not have a valid address."

When WINS requested the system for the address, it got 0.0.0.0 as the address.

NOTE: WINS binds to the first adapter in a machine with more than one adapter bound to TCP/IP. Check the binding order of adapters and make sure the first one has a valid IP address for the WINS server.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbnetwork nttcp NTSrv
Version : WINDOWS:2000; winnt:3.5,3.51,4.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbprb