DHCP at Virginia Tech: Academic and Administrative Networks

In addition to being the normal method for IP address allocation in the residence halls, DHCP is available in nearly all academic and administrative networks on campus. These networks have a pool of "roaming" IP addresses which are available to those users who have registered for this access. Any user or network liaison may register their computers for DHCP access. Academic and administrative departments wishing to use the campus DHCP servers on a large scale should contact dhcp-request@cns.vt.edu to discuss available tools.

Academic departments wishing to use CNS managed DHCP must register all MAC addresses of the machines they intend to use DHCP. Similarly, if an academic department wishes to operate their own DHCP server, they may only serve computers they have registered with their DHCP server. Departments should take care that addresses they wish to be served from their own address blocks via DHCP are not also registered for roaming access, as these machines may receive roaming pool addresses.

What is "roaming" access?

Users who wish to use the network in multiple locations are said to be "roaming." DHCP makes roaming much more manageable, as users need only plug in to an available Ethernet portal and the network (i.e. the DHCP server) configures all relevant network parameters for this location. Note that users need to be registered in order to use public access portals. If you experience difficulty obtaining roaming addresses anywhere on campus, contact the network operations center at 231-6780.

Internal CNS diagnostic notes