Beyond Linux From Scratch - Version 6.1

Chapter 14. DHCP Clients

Dhcpcd-1.3.22-pl4

Introduction to Dhcpcd

The dhcpcd package contains the dhcpcd client. This is useful for connecting your computer to a network which uses DHCP to assign network addresses.

Package Information

Additional Downloads

Installation of Dhcpcd

Install dhcpcd by running the following commands: 

patch -Np1 -i ../dhcpcd-1.3.22-pl4-fhs-1.patch &&
./configure --prefix="" --sysconfdir=/var/lib &&
make

Now, as the root user: 

make install

Command Explanations

patch -Np1 -i ../dhcpcd-1.3.22-pl4-fhs-1.patch: dhcpcd unpatched puts all configuration and temporary files in /etc/dhcpc. This becomes very annoying when dhcpcd tells you it's running and it's not. You look in /var/run for the PID file, but it's not there, the PID file that needs deleting is in /etc/dhcpc. This patch brings this program into FHS compliance, but more importantly, puts files where you expect them to be.

--prefix="": There may be a good reason for abandoning the normal BLFS convention of using --prefix=/usr here. If you are installing DHCP, it is likely that it is required during the boot process and /usr may be network mounted, in which case dhcpcd wouldn't be available due to being on the network! Therefore, depending on your situation, you may want it to be installed in /sbin or /usr/sbin. This command installs to /sbin.

--sysconfdir=/var/lib: This command installs configuration files in the /var/lib directory.

Configuring Dhcpcd

Config Files

/var/lib/dhcpc/*

Configuration Information

To configure dhcpcd, you need to first install the network service script, /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/services/dhcpcd included in the blfs-bootscripts-6.1 package (as user root): 

make install-service-dhcpcd

Finally, as the root user create the /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/ifconfig.eth0/dhcpcd configuration file using the following commands. Adjust appropriately for additional interfaces: 

install -v -d /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/ifconfig.eth0 &&
cat > /etc/sysconfig/network-devices/ifconfig.eth0/dhcpcd << "EOF"
ONBOOT="yes"
SERVICE="dhcpcd"
DHCP_START="[insert appropriate start options here]"
DHCP_STOP="-k [insert additional stop options here]"

# Set PRINTIP="yes" to have the script print
# the DHCP assigned IP address
PRINTIP="no"

# Set PRINTALL="yes" to print the DHCP assigned values for
# IP, SM, DG, and 1st NS. This requires PRINTIP="yes".
PRINTALL="no"
EOF

For more information on the appropriate DHCP_START and DHCP_STOP values, examine the man page for dhcpcd.

[Note]

Note

The default behavior of dhcpcd is to overwrite (after making backup copies) /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/yp.conf and /etc/ntp.conf with new files containing information from the DHCP server. If this is undesirable, review the dhcpcd man page for switches to add to the DHCP_START value.

Contents

Installed Program: dhcpcd
Installed Libraries: None
Installed Directory: /var/lib/dhcpc

Short Descriptions

dhcpcd

is an implementation of the DHCP client specified in RFC2131 and RFC1541 (depending on which options are specified).

Last updated on 2005-08-01 13:29:19 -0600