DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is the core functionality of an infrastructure’s IP addressing scheme, providing both internet and intranet connectivity/functionality. Windows System Administrators should address DHCP lease issues to maintain optimal network connectivity.

Here is a guide that can assist in fixing potential DHCP issues:

Recognize Lease Issues. Be mindful of lease issues such as IP address conflicts, expired leasing contracts or an inadequate allocation of addresses.

Check DHCP Service Status. Verify whether the DHCP server is operational, online and distributing addresses correctly as expected. Review any warnings or errors within its log files to detect potential problems with it.

Check Client Connectivity. Confirm that affected clients can connect to the DHCP servers. Ping them using client devices in order to verify network connectivity.

Addressing IP Conflicts. The key to effectively managing duplicate addresses is being aware of them and then taking the necessary steps to eliminate them, using tools such as “arp -a”, or DHCP server logs, in order to detect potentially conflicting devices.

Change DHCP Rental Durations. If lease durations on DHCP servers seem too quick or slow to expire or release, adjust their settings as soon as possible.

Release and Renewal. On a client experiencing lease problems, use Command Prompt on that PC to run “ipconfig /release”, followed by “ipconfig /renew”, to release and renew DHCP respectively.

Flush DNS Cache. For optimal performance, client computers should periodically clear their DNS cache with “ipconfig/flushdns”, in order to avoid outdated lease agreements which have expired and therefore contain outdated DNS information.

Restart DHCP Server to Refresh Lease Allocations. Rebooting the DHCP server can refresh lease allocations.

Check Lease Exclusions Carefully review IP address exclusions or conflicts which might prevent proper allocation of leases.

Update your DHCP-Server. Be sure that the software on the DHCP-Server is always up-to-date, installing any patches or updates from vendors as soon as they become available.

Monitor Lease Activity. Continuously monitor DHCP lease activities and logs for anomalies or irregularities.

Document Any Changes. Keeping track of any modifications made to DHCP settings should be an ongoing practice.