Reference Guide

DHCP activation
Some Brocade switches have Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enabled by default.
The Fabric OS DHCP client conforms to the latest IETF Draft Standard RFCs for IPv4, IPv6, and DHCP, and supports the following
parameters:
∙ External Ethernet port IP addresses and subnet masks
∙ Default gateway IP address
Notes on DHCP
The following items need to be kept in mind when working with DHCP:
∙ The DHCP client uses a DHCP vendor-class identifier that allows DHCP servers to determine that the discover/request packet
are coming from a Brocade switch. The vendor-class identifier is the string "BROCADE" followed by the SWBD model number
of the platform. For example, the vendor-class identifier for a request from a Brocade G620 is "BROCADESWBD145."
∙ The DHCP client can obtain stateful IPv6 addresses.
∙ When DHCP is enabled, the switch name is registered to the Domain Name System (DNS) server automatically and the switch
is assigned an IP address from the DHCP server. If the switch name is changed using the CLI, the DNS record in the DNS
server is updated automatically. Dynamic DNS (DDNS) is the method used to automatically update a name server in the
Domain Name System (DNS).
Enabling DHCP for IPv4 in fixed-port devices
When you connect a DHCP-enabled switch to the network and power on the switch, the switch automatically obtains the Ethernet IP
address, Ethernet subnet mask, and default gateway address from the DHCP server.
NOTE
The DHCP client can only connect to a DHCP server on the same subnet as the switch. Do not enable DHCP if the DHCP
server is not on the same subnet as the switch.
Enabling DHCP after the Ethernet information has been configured releases the current Ethernet network interface settings. These
include the Ethernet IP address, Ethernet subnet mask, and gateway IP address. The Fibre Channel IP address and subnet mask are
static and are not affected by DHCP; for instructions on setting the FC IP address, refer to Static Ethernet addresses on page 49.
1. Connect to the switch and log in using an account assigned to the admin role.
2. Enter the ipAddrSet command.
ipaddrset
NOTE
Alternatively, you can enable DHCP for IPv4 by entering ipaddrset -ipv4 -add -dhcp ON as a single command. If you
do so, you do not need to complete the following steps.
3. Enable DHCP by entering on.
4. You can confirm that the change has been made using the ipAddrShow command.
Performing Basic Configuration Tasks
Brocade Fabric OS Administration Guide, 8.0.1
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