2960 Configuring DHCP Features(IOS12.2)

DHCP Snooping

DHCP snooping is a DHCP security feature that provides network security by filtering untrusted DHCP messages and by building and maintaining a DHCP snooping binding database, also referred to as a DHCP snooping binding table. For more information about this database, see the "Displaying DHCP Snooping Information" section.

DHCP snooping acts like a firewall between untrusted hosts and DHCP servers. You use DHCP snooping to differentiate between untrusted interfaces connected to the end user and trusted interfaces connected to the DHCP server or another switch.

Note For DHCP snooping to function properly, all DHCP servers must be connected to the switch through trusted interfaces.

An untrusted DHCP message is a message that is received from outside the network or firewall. When you use DHCP snooping in a service-provider environment, an untrusted message is sent from a device that is not in the service-provider network, such as a customer's switch. Messages from unknown devices are untrusted because they can be sources of traffic attacks.

The DHCP snooping binding database has the MAC address, the IP address, the lease time, the binding type, the VLAN number, and the interface information that corresponds to the local untrusted interfaces of a switch. It does not have information regarding hosts interconnected with a trusted interface.

In a service-provider network, a trusted interface is connected to a port on a device in the same network. An untrusted interface is connected to an untrusted interface in the network or to an interface on a device that is not in the network.

When a switch receives a packet on an untrusted interface and the interface belongs to a VLAN in which DHCP snooping is enabled, the switch compares the source MAC address and the DHCP client hardware address. If the addresses match (the default), the switch forwards the packet. If the addresses do not match, the switch drops the packet.

The switch drops a DHCP packet when one of these situations occurs:

•A packet from a DHCP server, such as a DHCPOFFER, DHCPACK, DHCPNAK, or DHCPLEASEQUERY packet, is received from outside the network or firewall.

•A packet is received on an untrusted interface, and the source MAC address and the DHCP client hardware address do not match.

•The switch receives a DHCPRELEASE or DHCPDECLINE broadcast message that has a MAC address in the DHCP snooping binding database, but the interface information in the binding database does not match the interface on which the message was received.

•A DHCP relay agent forwards a DHCP packet that includes a relay-agent IP address that is not 0.0.0.0, or the relay agent forwards a packet that includes option-82 information to an untrusted port.

If the switch is an aggregation switch supporting DHCP snooping and is connected to an edge switch that is inserting DHCP option-82 information, the switch drops packets with option-82 information when packets are received on an untrusted interface. If DHCP snooping is enabled and packets are received on a trusted port, the aggregation switch does not learn the DHCP snooping bindings for connected devices and cannot build a complete DHCP snooping binding database.

When an aggregation switch can be connected to an edge switch through an untrusted interface and you enter the ip dhcp snooping information option allow-untrusted (12.1貌似还不支持)global configuration command, the aggregation switch accepts packets with option-82 information from the edge switch. The aggregation switch learns the bindings for hosts connected through an untrusted switch interface. The DHCP security features can still be enabled on the aggregation switch while the switch receives packets with option-82 information on untrusted input interfaces to which hosts are connected. The port on the edge switch that connects to the aggregation switch must be configured as a trusted interface.

Option-82 Data Insertion

In residential, metropolitan Ethernet-access environments, DHCP can centrally manage the IP address assignments for a large number of subscribers. When the DHCP option-82 feature is enabled on the switch, a subscriber device is identified by the switch port through which it connects to the network (in addition to its MAC address). Multiple hosts on the subscriber LAN can be connected to the same port on the access switch and are uniquely identified.

Note The DHCP option-82 feature is supported only when DHCP snooping is globally enabled and on the VLANs to which subscriber devices using this feature are assigned.

Figure 19-1 is an example of a metropolitan Ethernet network in which a centralized DHCP server assigns IP addresses to subscribers connected to the switch at the access layer. Because the DHCP clients and their associated DHCP server do not reside on the same IP network or subnet, a DHCP relay agent (the Catalyst switch) is configured with a helper address to enable broadcast forwarding and to transfer DHCP messages between the clients and the server.

Figure 19-1 DHCP Relay Agent in a Metropolitan Ethernet Network

When you enable the DHCP snooping information option 82 on the switch, this sequence of events occurs:

•The host (DHCP client) generates a DHCP request and broadcasts it on the network.

•When the switch receives the DHCP request, it adds the option-82 information in the packet. The option-82 information is the switch MAC address (the remote ID suboption) and the port identifier, vlan-mod-port, from which the packet is received (the circuit ID suboption).

•If the IP address of the relay agent is configured, the switch adds this IP address in the DHCP packet.

•The switch forwards the DHCP request that includes the option-82 field to the DHCP server.

•The DHCP server receives the packet. If the server is option-82-capable, it can use the remote ID, the circuit ID, or both to assign IP addresses and implement policies, such as restricting the number of IP addresses that can be assigned to a single remote ID or circuit ID. Then the DHCP server echoes the option-82 field in the DHCP reply.

•The DHCP server unicasts the reply to the switch if the request was relayed to the server by the switch. The switch verifies that it originally inserted the option-82 data by inspecting the remote ID and possibly the circuit ID fields. The switch removes the option-82 field and forwards the packet to the switch port that connects to the DHCP client that sent the DHCP request.

When the previously described sequence of events occurs, the values in these fields in Figure 19-2 do not change:

•Circuit ID suboption fields

–Suboption type

–Length of the suboption type

–Circuit ID type

–Length of the circuit ID type

•Remote ID suboption fields

–Suboption type

–Length of the suboption type

–Remote ID type

–Length of the remote ID type

In the port field of the circuit ID suboption, the port numbers start at 3. For example, on a switch with 24 10/100 ports and small form-factor pluggable (SFP) module slots, port 3 is the Fast Ethernet 0/1 port, port 4 is the Fast Ethernet 0/2 port, and so forth. Port 27 is the SFP module slot 0/1, and so forth.

Figure 19-2 shows the packet formats for the remote ID suboption and the circuit ID suboption. The switch uses the packet formats when DHCP snooping is globally enabled and when the ip dhcp snooping information option global configuration command is entered.

Figure 19-2 Suboption Packet Formats