Cannot Obtain Lease with DHCP Scopes Using Multicast Addresses

ID: Q219308

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP3, 4.0 SP4

SYMPTOMS

When you have a computer running Windows NT 4.0 Server using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), computers on your network may not be able to obtain a lease.

In addition, computers configured as DHCP clients that have already obtained a lease may not function properly.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when you create a DHCP scope using DHCP Manager, and specify a class D TCP/IP address (multicast group address). DHCP scopes cannot contain class D TCP/IP multicast addresses.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5.

MORE INFORMATION

In the TCP/IP address space, class D addresses are reserved for multicast groups. The address range is 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. Class D addresses are not segregated into network and host units. Some class D multicast groups are reserved.

For additional information about DHCP, scopes, and multicasting, please refer to the following Request for Comment (RFC) documents:

Dynamic RFC1541: Host Control Protocol

RFC1112: Host Extensions for IP Multicasting

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Additional query words:

Keywords : kbnetwork ntsp kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00 nt4sp5fix
Version : winnt:4.0,4.0 SP3,4.0 SP4
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug