How do I revoke a DHCP lease in the 10.8.4 server app?

Question

How do I revoke a DHCP lease in the 10.8.4 server app?

Hello Everyone,

I have some devices (security cameras) that have successfully requested a DHCP lease. Since then I went ahead and manually created a static reservation for them with a MAC hardware address in the DHCP. For whatever reason they are not switching over to the reserved address. The leases were originally for 1 day. It has been 5 days now. After the first day I switched my lease time to 1 hour. I have done everything short of leaving the devices off for 24 hours.

In Lion server, I could revoke the lease via the gui. No such luck now. My call to Applecare resulted in a "there is no way in 10.8.4 to do this". They said it would switch to the new reserved address after the initial lease period timed out, so I'm hoping the representative was wrong twice. They mentioned a complete lease wipe, but couldn't say if this would cause me to lose my list of reserved static addresses, which isn't an option.

It seems crazy that such a basic feature wouldn't make it into this release of the DHCP service. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Posted on Jul 1, 2013 12:50 PM

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Answer 1

iToaster

Level 3

739 points

Jul 1, 2013 4:15 PM in response to Christopher Waltner

Have you tried restarting the dhcp server

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Answer 2

Jul 2, 2013 8:22 AM in response to Christopher Waltner

What's the particular device? Based on what you're describing, the device seems to be doing something slightly odd with the DHCP requests.

Or maybe there's another DHCP server around?

I'd expect the widget to query the DHCP server when it gets restarted; do you see anything in the logs related to the DHCP address request? You should (obviously) get the query, and you'll want to confirm that the MAC addresses match the existing static registrations.

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Answer 3

Jul 2, 2013 8:23 AM in response to iToaster

Yes. After 5 days I have repeatedly stopped and started the DHCP service and rebooted the server as well.

An update to my first post. I have gone ahead an unplugged the 8 devices from power for a period exceeding the lease. They cleared from the DHCP clients tab listing. I've now powered them again and they have once again requested and claimed their original addresses, rather than the reserved ones.

I also now have a new HP printer exibiting the same behavior. I also powered it down well past the lease timeout and it also has reclaimed its original dynamic address. It comes up with a darker client name, rather than the grayed out "unknown" that my ip cameras have.

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Answer 4

Jul 2, 2013 8:34 AM in response to MrHoffman

The devices in question are Vivotek cameras. Models FE8171, FE8161, & FE8172V

The HP printer is a Laserjet 400 color M451dw

If there was another DHCP server around, I would not expect the IP addresses to show up in the client list of my server.app DHCP service. As I'm the only network admin and I work for a school district that is currently out of session, the odds of a rogue DHCP server are very slim.

All MAC hardware addresses have been confirmed and verified that no fat finger mistakes were made.

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Answer 5

Jul 2, 2013 8:55 AM in response to MrHoffman

Performing a search on the IP address that the printer claimed in the System Log produced the following:

Jul 2 10:03:13 jss.westcentral.srv bootpd[54696]: DHCP Request

[en0]: 1,2c:59:e5:d2:ae:d9 <NPID2AED9>

Jul 2 10:03:13 jss.westcentral.srv bootpd{54696]: ACK sent

NPID2AED9 172.17.67.1 pktsize 300

NPID2AED9 being the default name that shipped with the printer, and what shows up in the client tab of the DHCP service.

I can understand that the Vivotek might be doing something funky with the DHCP, but a new HP printer?

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Answer 6

Jul 2, 2013 12:25 PM in response to Christopher Waltner

Are there any DHCP queries from the cameras? Check the DHCP server log via Console.app or Server.app (or Terminal.app) for details. (I don't know the 10.8 path to the DHCP logs offhand.)

According to a FAQ over at the Vivotek site, the following is the setup sequence for various recent cameras; the boxes start up in the "I don't have an IP address" self-allocated address block oddly enough, and apparently don't ask for a DHCP address? (You may well be aware of all of this, but this is the block that DHCP clients use when they first communicate with DHCP servers.)

If you are using our new product such as IP7138 / IP7139 / FD7131 / VS7100… etc, no matter your network environment is what, you can always find the camera by Installation Wizard II with the IP address 169.254.x.y.

And then, please double click the camera found by Installation Wizard II or directly type the IP address to your Internet Explorer URL box to access your camera (you do not need to change your PC's IP address). After access your camera, please go to "Network" page to configure proper network settings.

See if the devices are available via mDNS, as well; download the Bonjour Browser and have a look around your LAN. (If you're very lucky, the cameras might be visible and chatting on mDNS.)

Might also try resetting one of the cameras back to factory defaults, and seeing if you can get them to re-ask the DHCP server.

(I've had issues with some HP printers and DHCP clients and IP address assignment, but that's fodder for another discussion. And I also wouldn't rule out a rogue DHCP server, either. I've seen all sorts of unexpected stuff connected to networks over the years...)

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Answer 7

Jul 2, 2013 1:37 PM in response to MrHoffman

I started with resetting one of the camera units to factory defaults. This allowed it to retrieve the reserved address.

I tried it on the second camera and it failed to come back up on the network. I walked down to the PoE switch and cycled the power on it (again). This not only corrected the issue for the second camera, but the rest as well.

I'm going to assume that something on that one camera was messing it up for everyone. I'm off to check my printer and a couple wireless APs and see if they will grab the right addresses now.

A big thank you!

Hopefully Apple will restore a point and click revoke option soon.

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