9. The DHCPv6 Server
9.1. Starting and Stopping the DHCPv6 Server
It is recommended that the Kea DHCPv6 server be started and stopped
using keactrl (described in Managing Kea with keactrl); however, it is also
possible to run the server directly via the kea-dhcp6 command, which accepts
the following command-line switches:
-c file- specifies the configuration file. This is the only mandatory switch.-d- specifies whether the server logging should be switched to debug/verbose mode. In verbose mode, the logging severity and debuglevel specified in the configuration file are ignored; "debug" severity and the maximum debuglevel (99) are assumed. The flag is convenient for temporarily switching the server into maximum verbosity, e.g. when debugging.-p server-port- specifies the local UDP port on which the server listens. This is only useful during testing, as a DHCPv6 server listening on ports other than the standard ones is not able to handle regular DHCPv6 queries.-P client-port- specifies the remote UDP port to which the server sends all responses. This is only useful during testing, as a DHCPv6 server sending responses to ports other than the standard ones is not able to handle regular DHCPv6 queries.-t file- specifies a configuration file to be tested.kea-dhcp6loads it, checks it, and exits. During the test, log messages are printed to standard output and error messages to standard error. The result of the test is reported through the exit code (0 = configuration looks OK, 1 = error encountered). The check is not comprehensive; certain checks are possible only when running the server.-T file- specifies a configuration file to be tested.kea-dhcp6loads it, checks it, and exits. It performs extra checks beyond what-toffers, such as establishing database connections (for the lease backend, host reservations backend, configuration backend, and forensic logging backend), loading hook libraries, parsing hook-library configurations, etc. It does not open UNIX or TCP/UDP sockets, nor does it open or rotate files, as any of these actions could interfere with a running process on the same machine.-v- displays the Kea version and exits.-V- displays the Kea extended version with additional parameters and exits. The listing includes the versions of the libraries dynamically linked to Kea.-W- displays the Kea configuration report and exits. The report is a copy of theconfig.reportfile produced by./configure; it is embedded in the executable binary.The contents of the
config.reportfile may also be accessed by examining certain libraries in the installation tree or in the source tree.# from installation using libkea-process.so $ strings ${prefix}/lib/libkea-process.so | sed -n 's/;;;; //p' # from sources using libkea-process.so $ strings src/lib/process/.libs/libkea-process.so | sed -n 's/;;;; //p' # from sources using libkea-process.a $ strings src/lib/process/.libs/libkea-process.a | sed -n 's/;;;; //p' # from sources using libcfgrpt.a $ strings src/lib/process/cfgrpt/.libs/libcfgrpt.a | sed -n 's/;;;; //p'
On startup, the server detects available network interfaces and attempts to open UDP sockets on all interfaces listed in the configuration file. Since the DHCPv6 server opens privileged ports, it requires root access; this daemon must be run as root.
During startup, the server attempts to create a PID file of the
form: [runstatedir]/kea/[conf name].kea-dhcp6.pid, where:
runstatedir: The value as passed into the build configure script; it defaults to/usr/local/var/run. Note that this value may be overridden at runtime by setting the environment variableKEA_PIDFILE_DIR, although this is intended primarily for testing purposes.conf name: The configuration file name used to start the server, minus all preceding paths and the file extension. For example, given a pathname of/usr/local/etc/kea/myconf.txt, the portion used would bemyconf.
If the file already exists and contains the PID of a live process, the
server issues a DHCP6_ALREADY_RUNNING log message and exits. It is
possible, though unlikely, that the file is a remnant of a system crash
and the process to which the PID belongs is unrelated to Kea. In such a
case, it would be necessary to manually delete the PID file.
The server can be stopped using the kill command. When running in a
console, the server can also be shut down by pressing Ctrl-c. Kea detects
the key combination and shuts down gracefully.
The reconfiguration of each Kea server is triggered by the SIGHUP signal. When a server receives the SIGHUP signal it rereads its configuration file and, if the new configuration is valid, uses the new configuration. If the new configuration proves to be invalid, the server retains its current configuration; however, in some cases a fatal error message is logged indicating that the server is no longer providing any service: a working configuration must be loaded as soon as possible.
9.2. DHCPv6 Server Configuration
9.2.1. Introduction
This section explains how to configure the Kea DHCPv6 server using a configuration file.
Before DHCPv6 is started, its configuration file must be created. The basic configuration is as follows:
{
# DHCPv6 configuration starts on the next line
"Dhcp6": {
# First we set up global values
"valid-lifetime": 4000,
"renew-timer": 1000,
"rebind-timer": 2000,
"preferred-lifetime": 3000,
# Next we set up the interfaces to be used by the server.
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth0" ]
},
# And we specify the type of lease database
"lease-database": {
"type": "memfile",
"persist": true,
"name": "/var/lib/kea/dhcp6.leases"
},
# Finally, we list the subnets from which we will be leasing addresses.
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff"
}
]
}
]
# DHCPv6 configuration ends with the next line
}
}
The following paragraphs provide a brief overview of the parameters in the above example, along with their format. Subsequent sections of this chapter go into much greater detail for these and other parameters.
The lines starting with a hash (#) are comments and are ignored by the server; they do not impact its operation in any way.
The configuration starts in the first line with the initial opening
curly bracket (or brace). Each configuration must contain an object
specifying the configuration of the Kea module using it. In the example
above, this object is called Dhcp6.
The Dhcp6 configuration starts with the "Dhcp6": { line and ends
with the corresponding closing brace (in the above example, the brace
after the last comment). Everything defined between those lines is
considered to be the Dhcp6 configuration.
In general, the order in which those parameters appear does not matter, but there are two caveats. The first one is that the configuration file must be well-formed JSON, meaning that the parameters for any given scope must be separated by a comma, and there must not be a comma after the last parameter. When reordering a configuration file, moving a parameter to or from the last position in a given scope may also require moving the comma. The second caveat is that it is uncommon — although legal JSON — to repeat the same parameter multiple times. If that happens, the last occurrence of a given parameter in a given scope is used, while all previous instances are ignored. This is unlikely to cause any confusion as there are no real-life reasons to keep multiple copies of the same parameter in the configuration file.
The first few DHCPv6 configuration elements
define some global parameters. valid-lifetime defines how long the
addresses (leases) given out by the server are valid; the default
is for a client to be allowed to use a given address for 4000
seconds. (Note that integer numbers are specified as is, without any
quotes around them.) The address will become deprecated in 3000 seconds,
i.e. clients are allowed to keep old connections, but cannot use this
address to create new connections. renew-timer and
rebind-timer are values (also in seconds) that define T1 and T2 timers, which govern
when the client begins the renewal and rebind procedures.
The interfaces-config map specifies the network interfaces on which the
server should listen to DHCP messages. The interfaces parameter specifies
a list of network interfaces on which the server should listen. Lists are
opened and closed with square brackets, with elements separated by commas. To
listen on two interfaces, the interfaces-config element should look like
this:
{
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth0", "eth1" ]
},
...
}
The next lines define the lease database, the place where the
server stores its lease information. This particular example tells the
server to use memfile, which is the simplest and fastest database
backend. It uses an in-memory database and stores leases on disk in a
CSV (comma-separated values) file. This is a very simple configuration example;
usually the lease database configuration is more extensive and contains
additional parameters. Note that lease-database is an object and opens up a
new scope, using an opening brace. Its parameters (just one in this example:
type) follow. If there were more than one, they would be separated
by commas. This scope is closed with a closing brace. As more parameters
for the Dhcp6 definition follow, a trailing comma is present.
Finally, we need to define a list of IPv6 subnets. This is the most
important DHCPv6 configuration structure, as the server uses that
information to process clients' requests. It defines all subnets from
which the server is expected to receive DHCP requests. The subnets are
specified with the subnet6 parameter. It is a list, so it starts and
ends with square brackets. Each subnet definition in the list has
several attributes associated with it, so it is a structure and is
opened and closed with braces. At a minimum, a subnet definition must
have at least two parameters: subnet, which defines the whole
subnet; and pools, which is a list of dynamically allocated pools
that are governed by the DHCP server.
The example contains a single subnet. If more than one were defined,
additional elements in the subnet6 parameter would be specified and
separated by commas. For example, to define two subnets, the following
syntax would be used:
{
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::/112" } ],
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64"
},
{
"id": 2,
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:2::1-2001:db8:2::ffff" } ],
"subnet": "2001:db8:2::/64"
}
],
...
}
Note that indentation is optional and is used for aesthetic purposes only. In some cases it may be preferable to use more compact notation.
After all the parameters have been specified, there are two contexts open:
global and Dhcp6; thus, two closing curly brackets must be used to close
them.
9.2.2. Lease Storage
All leases issued by the server are stored in the lease database. There are three database backends available: memfile (the default), MySQL, PostgreSQL.
9.2.2.1. Memfile - Basic Storage for Leases
The server is able to store lease data in different repositories. Larger deployments may elect to store leases in a database; Lease Database Configuration describes this option. In typical smaller deployments, though, the server stores lease information in a CSV file rather than a database. As well as requiring less administration, an advantage of using a file for storage is that it eliminates a dependency on third-party database software.
The configuration of the memfile backend is controlled through
the Dhcp6/lease-database parameters. The type parameter is mandatory
and specifies which storage for leases the server should use, through
the "memfile" value. The following list gives additional optional parameters
that can be used to configure the memfile backend.
persist: controls whether the new leases and updates to existing leases are written to the file. It is strongly recommended that the value of this parameter be set totrueat all times during the server's normal operation. Not writing leases to disk means that if a server is restarted (e.g. after a power failure), it will not know which addresses have been assigned. As a result, it may assign new clients addresses that are already in use. The value offalseis mostly useful for performance-testing purposes. The default value of thepersistparameter istrue, which enables writing lease updates to the lease file.name: specifies an absolute location of the lease file in which new leases and lease updates are recorded. The default value for this parameter is"[kea-install-dir]/var/lib/kea/kea-leases6.csv".lfc-interval: specifies the interval, in seconds, at which the server will perform a lease file cleanup (LFC). This removes redundant (historical) information from the lease file and effectively reduces the lease file size. The cleanup process is described in more detail later in this section. The default value of thelfc-intervalis3600. A value of0disables the LFC.max-row-errors: specifies the number of row errors before the server stops attempting to load a lease file. When the server loads a lease file, it is processed row by row, each row containing a single lease. If a row is flawed and cannot be processed correctly the server logs it, discards the row, and goes on to the next row. This parameter can be used to set a limit on the number of such discards that can occur, after which the server abandons the effort and exits. The default value of0disables the limit and allows the server to process the entire file, regardless of how many rows are discarded.
An example configuration of the memfile backend is presented below:
"Dhcp6": {
"lease-database": {
"type": "memfile",
"persist": true,
"name": "/tmp/kea-leases6.csv",
"lfc-interval": 1800,
"max-row-errors": 100
}
}
This configuration selects /tmp/kea-leases6.csv as the storage file
for lease information and enables persistence (writing lease updates to
this file). It also configures the backend to perform a periodic cleanup
of the lease file every 1800 seconds (30 minutes) and sets the maximum number of
row errors to 100.
9.2.2.2. Why Is Lease File Cleanup Necessary?
It is important to know how the lease file contents are organized to understand why the periodic lease file cleanup is needed. Every time the server updates a lease or creates a new lease for a client, the new lease information must be recorded in the lease file. For performance reasons, the server does not update the existing client's lease in the file, as this would potentially require rewriting the entire file. Instead, it simply appends the new lease information to the end of the file; the previous lease entries for the client are not removed. When the server loads leases from the lease file, e.g. at server startup, it assumes that the latest lease entry for the client is the valid one. Previous entries are discarded, meaning that the server can reconstruct accurate information about the leases even though there may be many lease entries for each client. However, storing many entries for each client results in a bloated lease file and impairs the performance of the server's startup and reconfiguration, as it needs to process a larger number of lease entries.
Lease file cleanup (LFC) removes all previous entries for each client
and leaves only the latest ones. The interval at which the cleanup is
performed is configurable, and it should be selected according to the
frequency of lease renewals initiated by the clients. The more frequent
the renewals, the smaller the value of lfc-interval should be. Note,
however, that the LFC takes time and thus it is possible (although
unlikely) that, if the lfc-interval is too short, a new cleanup may
be started while the previous one is still running. The server would
recover from this by skipping the new cleanup when it detected that the
previous cleanup was still in progress, but it implies that the actual
cleanups will be triggered more rarely than the configured interval. Moreover,
triggering a new cleanup adds overhead to the server, which is not
able to respond to new requests for a short period of time when the new
cleanup process is spawned. Therefore, it is recommended that the
lfc-interval value be selected in a way that allows the LFC
to complete the cleanup before a new cleanup is triggered.
Lease file cleanup is performed by a separate process (in the background) to avoid a performance impact on the server process. To avoid conflicts between two processes using the same lease files, the LFC process starts with Kea opening a new lease file; the actual LFC process operates on the lease file that is no longer used by the server. There are also other files created as a side effect of the lease file cleanup. The detailed description of the LFC process is located later in this Kea Administrator's Reference Manual: The LFC Process.
9.2.2.3. Lease Database Configuration
Note
Lease database access information must be configured for the DHCPv6 server, even if it has already been configured for the DHCPv4 server. The servers store their information independently, so each server can use a separate database or both servers can use the same database.
Note
Kea requires the database timezone to match the system timezone. For more details, see First-Time Creation of the MySQL Database and First-Time Creation of the PostgreSQL Database.
Lease database configuration is controlled through the
Dhcp6/lease-database parameters. The database type must be set to
memfile, mysql or postgresql, e.g.:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... }
Next, the name of the database to hold the leases must be set; this is the name used when the database was created (see First-Time Creation of the MySQL Database or First-Time Creation of the PostgreSQL Database).
For MySQL or PostgreSQL:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "name": "database-name" , ... }, ... }
If the database is located on a different system from the DHCPv6 server, the database host name must also be specified:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "host": "remote-host-name", ... }, ... }
Normally, the database is on the same machine as the DHCPv6 server. In this case, set the value to the empty string:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "host" : "", ... }, ... }
Should the database use a port other than the default, it may be specified as well:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "port" : 12345, ... }, ... }
Should the database be located on a different system, the administrator may need to specify a longer interval for the connection timeout:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "connect-timeout" : timeout-in-seconds, ... }, ... }
The default value of five seconds should be more than adequate for local connections. If a timeout is given, though, it should be an integer greater than zero.
The maximum number of times the server automatically attempts to reconnect to the lease database after connectivity has been lost may be specified:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "max-reconnect-tries" : number-of-tries, ... }, ... }
If the server is unable to reconnect to the database after making the maximum number of attempts, the server will exit. A value of 0 (the default) disables automatic recovery and the server will exit immediately upon detecting a loss of connectivity (MySQL and PostgreSQL only).
The number of milliseconds the server waits between attempts to reconnect to the lease database after connectivity has been lost may also be specified:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "reconnect-wait-time" : number-of-milliseconds, ... }, ... }
The default value for MySQL and PostgreSQL is 0, which disables automatic recovery and causes the server to exit immediately upon detecting the loss of connectivity.
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "on-fail" : "stop-retry-exit", ... }, ... }
The possible values are:
stop-retry-exit- disables the DHCP service while trying to automatically recover lost connections, and shuts down the server on failure after exhaustingmax-reconnect-tries. This is the default value for the lease backend, the host backend, and the configuration backend.serve-retry-exit- continues the DHCP service while trying to automatically recover lost connections, and shuts down the server on failure after exhaustingmax-reconnect-tries.serve-retry-continue- continues the DHCP service and does not shut down the server even if the recovery fails. This is the default value for forensic logging.
Note
Automatic reconnection to database backends is configured individually per backend; this allows users to tailor the recovery parameters to each backend they use. We suggest that users enable it either for all backends or none, so behavior is consistent.
Losing connectivity to a backend for which reconnection is disabled results (if configured) in the server shutting itself down. This includes cases when the lease database backend and the hosts database backend are connected to the same database instance.
It is highly recommended not to change the stop-retry-exit default
setting for the lease manager, as it is critical for the connection to be
active while processing DHCP traffic. Change this only if the server is used
exclusively as a configuration tool.
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "retry-on-startup" : true, ... }, ... }
During server startup, the inability to connect to any of the configured
backends is considered fatal only if retry-on-startup is set to false
(the default). A fatal error is logged and the server exits, based on the idea
that the configuration should be valid at startup. Exiting to the operating
system allows nanny scripts to detect the problem.
If retry-on-startup is set to true, the server starts reconnection
attempts even at server startup or on reconfigure events, and honors the
action specified in the on-fail parameter.
The host parameter is used by the MySQL and PostgreSQL backends.
Finally, the credentials of the account under which the server will access the database should be set:
"Dhcp6": {
"lease-database": {
"user": "user-name",
"password": "password",
...
},
...
}
If there is no password to the account, set the password to the empty
string "". (This is the default.)
9.2.2.4. Tuning Database Timeouts
In rare cases, reading or writing to the database may hang. This can be caused by a temporary network issue, or by misconfiguration of the proxy server switching the connection between different database instances. These situations are rare, but users have reported that Kea sometimes hangs while performing database IO operations. Setting appropriate timeout values can mitigate such issues.
MySQL exposes two distinct connection options to configure the read and
write timeouts. Kea's corresponding read-timeout and write-timeout
configuration parameters specify the timeouts in seconds. For example:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "read-timeout" : 10, "write-timeout": 20, ... }, ... }
Setting these parameters to 0 is equivalent to not specifying them, and causes the Kea server to establish a connection to the database with the MySQL defaults. In this case, Kea waits indefinitely for the completion of the read and write operations.
MySQL versions earlier than 5.6 do not support setting timeouts for
read and write operations. Moreover, the read-timeout and write-timeout
parameters can only be specified for the MySQL backend; setting them for
any other backend database type causes a configuration error.
To set a timeout in seconds for PostgreSQL, use the tcp-user-timeout
parameter. For example:
"Dhcp6": { "lease-database": { "tcp-user-timeout" : 10, ... }, ... }
Specifying this parameter for other backend types causes a configuration error.
Note
The timeouts described here are only effective for TCP connections.
Please note that the MySQL client library used by the Kea servers
typically connects to the database via a UNIX domain socket when the
host parameter is localhost, but establishes a TCP connection
for 127.0.0.1.
Since Kea.2.7.4, the libdhcp_mysql.so hook library must be loaded in order to store leases in the MySQL Lease Database Backend. Specify the lease backend hook library location:
"Dhcp6": { "hooks-libraries": [
{
// the MySQL lease backend hook library required for lease storage.
"library": "/opt/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_mysql.so"
}, ... ], ... }
Since Kea.2.7.4, the libdhcp_pgsql.so hook library must be loaded in order to store leases in the PostgreSQL Lease Database Backend. Specify the lease backend hook library location.
"Dhcp6": { "hooks-libraries": [
{
// the PostgreSQL lease backend hook library required for lease storage.
"library": "/opt/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_pgsql.so"
}, ... ], ... }
9.2.3. Hosts Storage
Kea is also able to store information about host reservations in the database. The hosts database configuration uses the same syntax as the lease database. In fact, the Kea server opens independent connections for each purpose, be it lease or hosts information, which gives the most flexibility. Kea can keep leases and host reservations separately, but can also point to the same database. Currently the supported hosts database types are MySQL and PostgreSQL.
The following configuration can be used to configure a connection to MySQL:
"Dhcp6": {
"hosts-database": {
"type": "mysql",
"name": "kea",
"user": "kea",
"password": "secret123",
"host": "localhost",
"port": 3306
}
}
Depending on the database configuration, many of the parameters may be optional.
Please note that usage of hosts storage is optional. A user can define all host reservations in the configuration file, and that is the recommended way if the number of reservations is small. However, when the number of reservations grows, it is more convenient to use host storage. Please note that both storage methods (the configuration file and one of the supported databases) can be used together. If hosts are defined in both places, the definitions from the configuration file are checked first and external storage is checked later, if necessary.
Host information can be placed in multiple stores. Operations are performed on the stores in the order they are defined in the configuration file, although this leads to a restriction in ordering in the case of a host reservation addition; read-only stores must be configured after a (required) read-write store, or the addition will fail.
Note
Kea requires the database timezone to match the system timezone. For more details, see First-Time Creation of the MySQL Database and First-Time Creation of the PostgreSQL Database.
9.2.3.1. DHCPv6 Hosts Database Configuration
Hosts database configuration is controlled through the
Dhcp6/hosts-database parameters. If enabled, the type of database must
be set to mysql or postgresql.
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... }
Next, the name of the database to hold the reservations must be set; this is the name used when the lease database was created (see Supported Backends for instructions on how to set up the desired database type):
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "name": "database-name" , ... }, ... }
If the database is located on a different system than the DHCPv6 server, the database host name must also be specified:
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "host": remote-host-name, ... }, ... }
Normally, the database is on the same machine as the DHCPv6 server. In this case, set the value to the empty string:
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "host" : "", ... }, ... }
Should the database use a port different than the default, it may be specified as well:
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "port" : 12345, ... }, ... }
The maximum number of times the server automatically attempts to reconnect to the host database after connectivity has been lost may be specified:
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "max-reconnect-tries" : number-of-tries, ... }, ... }
If the server is unable to reconnect to the database after making the maximum number of attempts, the server will exit. A value of 0 (the default) disables automatic recovery and the server will exit immediately upon detecting a loss of connectivity (MySQL and PostgreSQL only).
The number of milliseconds the server waits between attempts to reconnect to the host database after connectivity has been lost may also be specified:
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "reconnect-wait-time" : number-of-milliseconds, ... }, ... }
The default value for MySQL and PostgreSQL is 0, which disables automatic recovery and causes the server to exit immediately upon detecting the loss of connectivity.
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "on-fail" : "stop-retry-exit", ... }, ... }
The possible values are:
stop-retry-exit- disables the DHCP service while trying to automatically recover lost connections. Shuts down the server on failure after exhaustingmax-reconnect-tries. This is the default value for MySQL and PostgreSQL.serve-retry-exit- continues the DHCP service while trying to automatically recover lost connections. Shuts down the server on failure after exhaustingmax-reconnect-tries.serve-retry-continue- continues the DHCP service and does not shut down the server even if the recovery fails.
Note
Automatic reconnection to database backends is configured individually per backend. This allows users to tailor the recovery parameters to each backend they use. We suggest that users enable it either for all backends or none, so behavior is consistent.
Losing connectivity to a backend for which reconnection is disabled results (if configured) in the server shutting itself down. This includes cases when the lease database backend and the hosts database backend are connected to the same database instance.
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "retry-on-startup" : true, ... }, ... }
During server startup, the inability to connect to any of the configured
backends is considered fatal only if retry-on-startup is set to false
(the default). A fatal error is logged and the server exits, based on the idea
that the configuration should be valid at startup. Exiting to the operating
system allows nanny scripts to detect the problem.
If retry-on-startup is set to true, the server starts reconnection
attempts even at server startup or on reconfigure events, and honors the
action specified in the on-fail parameter.
Finally, the credentials of the account under which the server will access the database should be set:
"Dhcp6": {
"hosts-database": {
"user": "user-name",
"password": "password",
...
},
...
}
If there is no password to the account, set the password to the empty
string "". (This is the default.)
The multiple-storage extension uses a similar syntax; a configuration is
placed into a hosts-databases list instead of into a hosts-database
entry, as in:
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-databases": [ { "type": "mysql", ... }, ... ], ... }
If the same host is configured both in-file and in-database, Kea does not issue a warning, as it would if both were specified in the same data source. Instead, the host configured in-file has priority over the one configured in-database.
9.2.3.2. Using Read-Only Databases for Host Reservations with DHCPv6
In some deployments, the user whose name is specified in the database backend configuration may not have write privileges to the database. This is often required by the policy within a given network to secure the data from being unintentionally modified. In many cases administrators have deployed inventory databases, which contain substantially more information about the hosts than just the static reservations assigned to them. The inventory database can be used to create a view of a Kea hosts database and such a view is often read-only.
Kea host-database backends operate with an implicit configuration to
both read from and write to the database. If the user does not
have write access to the host database, the backend will fail to start
and the server will refuse to start (or reconfigure). However, if access
to a read-only host database is required for retrieving reservations
for clients and/or assigning specific addresses and options, it is
possible to explicitly configure Kea to start in "read-only" mode. This
is controlled by the readonly boolean parameter as follows:
"Dhcp6": { "hosts-database": { "readonly": true, ... }, ... }
Setting this parameter to false configures the database backend to
operate in "read-write" mode, which is also the default configuration if
the parameter is not specified.
Note
The readonly parameter is only supported for MySQL and
PostgreSQL databases.
Since Kea.2.7.4, the libdhcp_mysql.so hook library must be loaded in order to store host reservations in the MySQL Host Database Backend. Specify the lease backend hook library location:
"Dhcp6": { "hooks-libraries": [
{
// the MySQL host backend hook library required for host storage.
"library": "/opt/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_mysql.so"
}, ... ], ... }
Since Kea.2.7.4, the libdhcp_pgsql.so hook library must be loaded in order to store host reservations in the PostgreSQL Host Database Backend. Specify the lease backend hook library location.
"Dhcp6": { "hooks-libraries": [
{
// the PostgreSQL host backend hook library required for host storage.
"library": "/opt/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_pgsql.so"
}, ... ], ... }
9.2.3.3. Tuning Database Timeouts for Hosts Storage
9.2.4. Interface Configuration
The DHCPv6 server must be configured to listen on specific network interfaces. The simplest network interface configuration tells the server to listen on all available interfaces:
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "*" ]
},
...
}
The asterisk plays the role of a wildcard and means "listen on all interfaces." However, it is usually a good idea to explicitly specify interface names:
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ]
},
...
}
It is possible to use an interface wildcard (*) concurrently with explicit interface names:
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3", "*" ]
},
...
}
This format should only be used when it is desired to temporarily override a list of interface names and listen on all interfaces.
As with the DHCPv4 server, binding to specific addresses and disabling
re-detection of interfaces are supported. But dhcp-socket-type is
not supported, because DHCPv6 uses only UDP/IPv6 sockets. The following example
shows how to disable interface detection:
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ],
"re-detect": false
},
...
}
The loopback interfaces (i.e. the lo or lo0 interface) are not
configured by default, unless explicitly mentioned in the
configuration. Note that Kea requires a link-local address (which does
not exist on all systems) or a specified unicast address, as in:
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "enp0s2/2001:db8::1234:abcd" ]
},
...
}
Kea binds the service sockets for each interface on startup. If another process is already using a port, then Kea logs the message and suppresses an error. DHCP service runs, but it is unavailable on some interfaces.
The "service-sockets-require-all" option makes Kea require all sockets to be successfully bound. If any opening fails, Kea interrupts the initialization and exits with a non-zero status. (Default is false).
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ],
"service-sockets-require-all": true
},
...
}
Sometimes, immediate interruption isn't a good choice. The port can be
unavailable only temporary. In this case, retrying the opening may resolve
the problem. Kea provides two options to specify the retrying:
service-sockets-max-retries and service-sockets-retry-wait-time.
The first defines a maximal number of retries that Kea makes to open a socket. The zero value (default) means that the Kea doesn't retry the process.
The second defines a wait time (in milliseconds) between attempts. The default value is 5000 (5 seconds).
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth1", "eth3" ],
"service-sockets-max-retries": 5,
"service-sockets-retry-wait-time": 5000
},
...
}
If "service-sockets-max-retries" is non-zero and "service-sockets-require-all" is false, then Kea retries the opening (if needed) but does not fail if any socket is still not opened.
9.2.5. IPv6 Subnet Identifier
The subnet identifier (subnet ID) is a unique number associated with a particular subnet. In principle, it is used to associate clients' leases with their respective subnets. The server configuration must contain unique and stable identifiers for all subnets.
Note
Subnet IDs must be greater than zero and less than 4294967295.
The following configuration assigns the specified subnet identifier to a newly configured subnet:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"id": 1024,
...
}
]
}
9.2.6. IPv6 Subnet Prefix
The subnet prefix is the second way to identify a subnet. Kea can accept non-canonical subnet addresses; for instance, this configuration is accepted:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::1/64",
...
}
]
}
This works even if there is another subnet with the "2001:db8:1::/64" prefix; only the textual form of subnets are compared to avoid duplicates.
Note
Abuse of this feature can lead to incorrect subnet selection (see IPv6 Subnet Selection).
9.2.7. Unicast Traffic Support
When the DHCPv6 server starts, by default it listens to the DHCP traffic
sent to multicast address ff02::1:2 on each interface that it is
configured to listen on (see Interface Configuration). In some cases it is
useful to configure a server to handle incoming traffic sent to global
unicast addresses as well; the most common reason for this is to have
relays send their traffic to the server directly. To configure the
server to listen on a specific unicast address, add a slash (/) after the interface name,
followed by the global unicast
address on which the server should listen. The server will listen to this
address in addition to normal link-local binding and listening on the
ff02::1:2 address. The sample configuration below shows how to listen on
2001:db8::1 (a global address) configured on the eth1 interface.
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eth1/2001:db8::1" ]
},
"option-data": [
{
"name": "unicast",
"data": "2001:db8::1"
} ],
...
}
This configuration will cause the server to listen on eth1 on the
link-local address, the multicast group (ff02::1:2), and 2001:db8::1.
Usually, unicast support is associated with a server unicast option which allows clients to send unicast messages to the server. The example above includes a server unicast option specification which causes the client to send messages to the specified unicast address.
It is possible to mix interface names, wildcards, and interface names/addresses in the list of interfaces. It is not possible, however, to specify more than one unicast address on a given interface.
Care should be taken to specify proper unicast addresses, as the server will attempt to bind to the addresses specified without any additional checks. This approach was selected intentionally, to allow the software to communicate over uncommon addresses if so desired.
9.2.8. Configuration of IPv6 Address Pools
The main role of a DHCPv6 server is address assignment. For this, the server must be configured with at least one subnet and one pool of dynamic addresses to be managed. For example, assume that the server is connected to a network segment that uses the 2001:db8:1::/64 prefix. The administrator of that network decides that addresses from the range 2001:db8:1::1 to 2001:db8:1::ffff are going to be managed by the DHCPv6 server. Such a configuration can be achieved in the following way:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff"
}
],
...
}
]
}
Note that subnet is defined as a simple string, but the pools
parameter is actually a list of pools; for this reason, the pool
definition is enclosed in square brackets, even though only one range of
addresses is specified.
Each pool is a structure that contains the parameters that describe
a single pool. Currently there is only one parameter, pool, which
gives the range of addresses in the pool.
It is possible to define more than one pool in a subnet; continuing the
previous example, further assume that 2001:db8:1:0:5::/80 should also be
managed by the server. It could be written as 2001:db8:1:0:5:: to
2001:db8:1::5:ffff:ffff:ffff, but typing so many f characters is cumbersome.
The pool can be expressed more simply as 2001:db8:1:0:5::/80. Both formats are
supported by Dhcp6 and they can be mixed in the pool list. For example,
the following pools could be defined:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{ "pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff" },
{ "pool": "2001:db8:1:05::/80" }
],
...
}
]
}
White space in pool definitions is ignored, so spaces before and after the hyphen are optional. They can be used to improve readability.
The number of pools is not limited, but for performance reasons it is recommended to use as few as possible.
The server may be configured to serve more than one subnet. To add a second subnet, use a command similar to the following:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{ "pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff" }
]
},
{
"id": 2,
"subnet": "2001:db8:2::/64",
"pools": [
{ "pool": "2001:db8:2::/64" }
]
},
...
]
}
In this example, we allow the server to dynamically assign all addresses available in the whole subnet. Although rather wasteful, it is certainly a valid configuration to dedicate the whole /64 subnet for that purpose. Note that the Kea server does not preallocate the leases, so there is no danger in using gigantic address pools.
When configuring a DHCPv6 server using prefix/length notation, please
pay attention to the boundary values. When specifying that the server
can use a given pool, it is also able to allocate the first
(typically a network address) address from that pool. For example, for
pool 2001:db8:2::/64, the 2001:db8:2:: address may be assigned as well.
To avoid this, use the min-max notation.
9.2.9. Subnet and Prefix Delegation Pools
Subnets may also be configured to delegate prefixes, as defined in RFC
8415, section 6.3. A subnet may
have one or more prefix delegation pools. Each pool has a prefixed
address, which is specified as a prefix (prefix) and a prefix length
(prefix-len), as well as a delegated prefix length
(delegated-len). The delegated length must not be shorter than
(i.e. it must be numerically greater than or equal to) the prefix length.
If both the delegated and prefix lengths are equal, the server will be
able to delegate only one prefix. The delegated prefix does not have to
match the subnet prefix.
Below is a sample subnet configuration which enables prefix delegation for the subnet:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:d8b:1::/64",
"pd-pools": [
{
"prefix": "3000:1::",
"prefix-len": 64,
"delegated-len": 96
}
]
}
],
...
}
9.2.10. Prefix Exclude Option
For each delegated prefix, the delegating router may choose to exclude a
single prefix out of the delegated prefix as specified in RFC
6603. The requesting router must
not assign the excluded prefix to any of its downstream interfaces.
The excluded prefix is intended to be used on a link through which the delegating router
exchanges DHCPv6 messages with the requesting router. The configuration
example below demonstrates how to specify an excluded prefix within a
prefix pool definition. The excluded prefix
2001:db8:1:8000:cafe:80::/72 will be sent to a requesting router which
includes the Prefix Exclude option in the Option Request option (ORO),
and which is delegated a prefix from this pool.
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
"pd-pools": [
{
"prefix": "2001:db8:1:8000::",
"prefix-len": 56,
"delegated-len": 64,
"excluded-prefix": "2001:db8:1:8000:cafe:80::",
"excluded-prefix-len": 72
}
]
}
]
}
Note
Here are some liberties and limits to the values that subnets and pools can take in Kea configurations that are out of the ordinary:
Kea configuration case |
Allowed |
Comment |
|---|---|---|
Overlapping subnets |
Yes |
Administrator consideration needs to be given to how clients are matched to these subnets. |
Overlapping address pools in one subnet |
No |
Startup error: DHCP6_PARSER_FAIL |
Overlapping address pools in different subnets |
Yes |
Specifying the same address pool in different subnets can be used as an equivalent of the global address pool. In that case, the server can assign addresses from the same range regardless of the client's subnet. If an address from such a pool is assigned to a client in one subnet, the same address will be renewed for this client if it moves to another subnet. Another client in a different subnet will not be assigned an address already assigned to the client in any of the subnets. |
Address pools that are outside the subnet they are configured under |
No |
Startup error: DHCP6_PARSER_FAIL |
Overlapping prefix delegation pools in one subnet |
No |
Startup error: DHCP6_PARSER_FAIL |
Overlapping prefix delegation pools in different subnets |
Yes |
Specifying the same prefix delegation pool in different subnets can be used as an equivalent of the global pool. In that case, the server can delegate the same prefixes regardless of the client's subnet. If a prefix from such a pool is delegated to a client in one subnet, the same prefix will be renewed for this client if it moves to another subnet. Another client in a different subnet will not be delegated a prefix already delegated to the client in any of the subnets. |
Prefix delegation pools not matching the subnet prefix |
Yes |
It is common in many deployments to configure the prefix delegation pools not matching the subnet prefix, e.g. a prefix pool of 3000::/96 within the 2001:db8:1::/64 subnet. Such use cases are supported by the Kea DHCPv6 server. |
9.2.11. Standard DHCPv6 Options
One of the major features of the DHCPv6 server is the ability to provide configuration options to clients. Although there are several options that require special behavior, most options are sent by the server only if the client explicitly requests them. The following example shows how to configure the addresses of DNS servers, one of the most frequently used options. Options specified in this way are considered global and apply to all configured subnets.
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"code": 23,
"space": "dhcp6",
"csv-format": true,
"data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe"
},
...
]
}
The option-data line creates a new entry in the option-data table.
This table contains information on all global options that the server is
supposed to configure in all subnets. The name line specifies the
option name. (For a complete list of currently supported names, see
List of standard DHCPv6 options configurable by an administrator.) The next line specifies the
option code, which must match one of the values from that list. The line
beginning with space specifies the option space, which must always
be set to dhcp6 as these are standard DHCPv6 options. For other name
spaces, including custom option spaces, see Nested DHCPv6 Options (Custom Option Spaces). The following line
specifies the format in which the data will be entered; use of CSV
(comma-separated values) is recommended. Finally, the data line
gives the actual value to be sent to clients. The data parameter is specified as
normal text, with values separated by commas if more than one value is
allowed.
Options can also be configured as hexadecimal values. If csv-format is
set to false, the option data must be specified as a hexadecimal string.
The following commands configure the dns-servers option for all subnets
with the addresses 2001:db8:1::cafe and 2001:db8:1::babe.
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"code": 23,
"space": "dhcp6",
"csv-format": false,
"data": "20 01 0D B8 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 CA FE \
20 01 0D B8 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 BA BE"
},
...
]
}
Note
The value for the setting of the data element is split across two
lines in this example for clarity; when entering the command, the
whole string should be entered on the same line.
Kea supports the following formats when specifying hexadecimal data:
Delimited octets- one or more octets separated by either colons or spaces (":" or " "). While each octet may contain one or two digits, we strongly recommend always using two digits. Valid examples are "ab:cd:ef" and "ab cd ef".String of digits- a continuous string of hexadecimal digits with or without a "0x" prefix. Valid examples are "0xabcdef" and "abcdef".
Care should be taken to use proper encoding when using hexadecimal format; Kea's ability to validate data correctness in hexadecimal is limited.
It is also possible to specify data for binary options as
a single-quoted text string within double quotes, as shown (note that
csv-format must be set to false):
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "subscriber-id",
"code": 38,
"space": "dhcp6",
"csv-format": false,
"data": "'convert this text to binary'"
},
...
],
...
}
Most of the parameters in the option-data structure are optional and
can be omitted in some circumstances, as discussed in Unspecified Parameters for DHCPv6 Option Configuration.
Only one of name or code
is required; it is not necessary to specify both. Space has a default value
of dhcp6, so this can be skipped as well if a regular (not
encapsulated) DHCPv6 option is defined. Finally, csv-format defaults to true, so it
too can be skipped, unless the option value is specified as
hexstring. Therefore, the above example can be simplified to:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe"
},
...
]
}
Defined options are added to the response when the client requests them,
as well as any options required by a protocol. An administrator can also
specify that an option is always sent, even if a client did not
specifically request it. To enforce the addition of a particular option,
set the always-send flag to true, as in:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe",
"always-send": true
},
...
]
}
The effect is the same as if the client added the option code in the Option Request Option (or its equivalent for vendor options), as in:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe",
"always-send": true
},
...
],
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8:1::cafe, 2001:db8:1::babe"
},
...
],
...
},
...
],
...
}
In the example above, the dns-servers option respects the global
always-send flag and is always added to responses, but for subnet
2001:db8:1::/64, the value is taken from the subnet-level option data
specification.
Contrary to always-send, if the never-send flag is set to
true for a particular option, the server does not add it to the response.
The effect is the same as if the client removed the option code in the
Option Request Option (or its equivalent for vendor options):
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::cafe, 2001:db8::babe"
},
...
],
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"never-send": true
},
...
],
...
},
...
],
...
}
In the example above, the dns-server option is never added to responses
on subnet 2001:db8:1::/64. never-send has precedence over
always-send, so if both are true the option is not added.
Note
The always-send and never-send flags are sticky, meaning
they do not follow the usual configuration inheritance rules.
Instead, if they are enabled at least once along the configuration
inheritance chain, they are applied - even if they are
disabled in other places which would normally receive a higher priority.
For instance, if one of the flags is enabled in the global scope,
but disabled at the subnet level, it is enabled,
disregarding the subnet-level setting.
Note
The never-send flag is less powerful than libdhcp_flex_option.so;
for instance, it has no effect on options managed by the server itself.
Both always-send and never-send have no effect on options
which cannot be requested, for instance from a custom space.
It is possible to override options on a per-subnet basis. If clients connected to most subnets are expected to get the same values of a given option, administrators should use global options; it is possible to override specific values for a small number of subnets. On the other hand, if different values are used in each subnet, it does not make sense to specify global option values; rather, only subnet-specific ones should be set.
The following commands override the global dns-servers option for a
particular subnet, setting a single DNS server with address
2001:db8:1::3.
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"code": 23,
"space": "dhcp6",
"csv-format": true,
"data": "2001:db8:1::3"
},
...
],
...
},
...
],
...
}
In some cases it is useful to associate some options with an address or prefix pool from which a client is assigned a lease. Pool-specific option values override subnet-specific and global option values. If the client is assigned multiple leases from different pools, the server assigns options from all pools from which the leases have been obtained. However, if the particular option is specified in multiple pools from which the client obtains the leases, only one instance of this option is handed out to the client. The server's administrator must not try to prioritize assignment of pool-specific options by trying to order pool declarations in the server configuration.
The following configuration snippet demonstrates how to specify the
dns-servers option, which will be assigned to a client only if the client
obtains an address from the given pool:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::100-2001:db8:1::300",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8:1::10"
}
]
}
]
},
...
],
...
}
Options can also be specified in class or host-reservation scope. The current Kea options precedence order is (from most important to least): host reservation, pool, subnet, shared network, class, global.
Note
Beginning with Kea 2.7.4, option inclusion can also be controlled through option class-tagging, see Option Class-Tagging
When a data field is a string and that string contains the comma (,;
U+002C) character, the comma must be escaped with two backslashes (\\,;
U+005C). This double escape is required because both the routine
splitting of CSV data into fields and JSON use the same escape character; a
single escape (\,) would make the JSON invalid. For example, the string
"EST5EDT4,M3.2.0/02:00,M11.1.0/02:00" must be represented as:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"pools": [
{
"option-data": [
{
"name": "new-posix-timezone",
"data": "EST5EDT4\\,M3.2.0/02:00\\,M11.1.0/02:00"
}
]
},
...
],
...
},
...
],
...
}
Some options are designated as arrays, which means that more than one
value is allowed. For example, the option dns-servers
allows the specification of more than one IPv6 address, enabling clients
to obtain the addresses of multiple DNS servers.
Custom DHCPv6 Options describes the
configuration syntax to create custom option definitions (formats).
Creation of custom definitions for standard options is generally not
permitted, even if the definition being created matches the actual
option format defined in the RFCs. However, there is an exception to this rule
for standard options for which Kea currently does not provide a
definition. To use such options, a server administrator must
create a definition as described in Custom DHCPv6 Options in the dhcp6 option space. This
definition should match the option format described in the relevant RFC,
but the configuration mechanism allows any option format as there is
currently no way to validate it.
The currently supported standard DHCPv6 options are listed in the table below. "Name" and "Code" are the values that should be used as a name/code in the option-data structures. "Type" designates the format of the data; the meanings of the various types are given in List of standard DHCP option types.
Name |
Code |
Type |
Array? |
|---|---|---|---|
preference |
7 |
uint8 |
false |
unicast |
12 |
ipv6-address |
false |
sip-server-dns |
21 |
fqdn |
true |
sip-server-addr |
22 |
ipv6-address |
true |
dns-servers |
23 |
ipv6-address |
true |
domain-search |
24 |
fqdn |
true |
nis-servers |
27 |
ipv6-address |
true |
nisp-servers |
28 |
ipv6-address |
true |
nis-domain-name |
29 |
fqdn |
true |
nisp-domain-name |
30 |
fqdn |
true |
sntp-servers |
31 |
ipv6-address |
true |
information-refresh-time |
32 |
uint32 |
false |
bcmcs-server-dns |
33 |
fqdn |
true |
bcmcs-server-addr |
34 |
ipv6-address |
true |
geoconf-civic |
36 |
record (uint8, uint16, binary) |
false |
remote-id |
37 |
record (uint32, binary) |
false |
subscriber-id |
38 |
binary |
false |
client-fqdn |
39 |
record (uint8, fqdn) |
false |
pana-agent |
40 |
ipv6-address |
true |
new-posix-timezone |
41 |
string |
false |
new-tzdb-timezone |
42 |
string |
false |
ero |
43 |
uint16 |
true |
lq-query (1) |
44 |
record (uint8, ipv6-address) |
false |
client-data (1) |
45 |
empty |
false |
clt-time (1) |
46 |
uint32 |
false |
lq-relay-data (1) |
47 |
record (ipv6-address, binary) |
false |
lq-client-link (1) |
48 |
ipv6-address |
true |
v6-lost |
51 |
fqdn |
false |
capwap-ac-v6 |
52 |
ipv6-address |
true |
relay-id |
53 |
binary |
false |
ntp-server |
56 |
empty |
false |
v6-access-domain |
57 |
fqdn |
false |
sip-ua-cs-list |
58 |
fqdn |
true |
bootfile-url |
59 |
string |
false |
bootfile-param |
60 |
tuple |
true |
client-arch-type |
61 |
uint16 |
true |
nii |
62 |
record (uint8, uint8, uint8) |
false |
aftr-name |
64 |
fqdn |
false |
erp-local-domain-name |
65 |
fqdn |
false |
rsoo |
66 |
empty |
false |
pd-exclude |
67 |
binary |
false |
rdnss-selection |
74 |
record (ipv6-address, uint8, fqdn) |
true |
client-linklayer-addr |
79 |
binary |
false |
link-address |
80 |
ipv6-address |
false |
solmax-rt |
82 |
uint32 |
false |
inf-max-rt |
83 |
uint32 |
false |
dhcp4o6-server-addr |
88 |
ipv6-address |
true |
s46-rule |
89 |
record (uint8, uint8, uint8, ipv4-address, ipv6-prefix) |
false |
s46-br |
90 |
ipv6-address |
false |
s46-dmr |
91 |
ipv6-prefix |
false |
s46-v4v6bind |
92 |
record (ipv4-address, ipv6-prefix) |
false |
s46-portparams |
93 |
record(uint8, psid) |
false |
s46-cont-mape |
94 |
empty |
false |
s46-cont-mapt |
95 |
empty |
false |
s46-cont-lw |
96 |
empty |
false |
v6-captive-portal |
103 |
string |
false |
v6-sztp-redirect |
136 |
tuple |
true |
ipv6-address-andsf |
143 |
ipv6-address |
true |
v6-dnr |
144 |
record (uint16, uint16, fqdn, binary) |
false |
Options marked with (1) have option definitions, but the logic behind them is not implemented. That means that, technically, Kea knows how to parse them in incoming messages or how to send them if configured to do so, but not what to do with them. Since the related RFCs require certain processing, the support for those options is non-functional. However, it may be useful in some limited lab testing; hence the definition formats are listed here.
Some options are more complex to configure than others. In particular, the Softwire46 family of options and Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers (DNR) are discussed in separate sections below.
Kea supports more options than those listed above. The following list is mostly useful for readers who want to understand whether Kea is able to support certain options. The following options are returned by the Kea engine itself and in general should not be configured manually.
Name |
Code |
Description |
|---|---|---|
client-id |
1 |
Sent by the client; Kea uses it to distinguish between clients. |
server-id |
2 |
Sent by clients to request action from a specific server and by the server to identify itself. See Server Identifier in DHCPv6 for details. |
ia-na |
3 |
A container option that conveys IPv6 addresses ( |
ia-ta |
4 |
Conveys temporary addresses. Deprecated feature, not supported. |
iaaddr |
5 |
Conveys addresses with lifetimes in |
oro |
6 |
ORO (or Option Request Option) is used by clients to request a list of options they are interested in. Kea supports it and sends the requested options back if configured with required options. |
elapsed-time |
8 |
Sent by clients to identify how long they have been trying to obtain a configuration. Kea uses high values sent by clients as an indicator that something is wrong; this is one of the aspects used in HA to determine if the partner is healthy or not. |
relay-msg |
9 |
Used by relays to encapsulate the original client message. Kea uses it when sending back relayed responses to the relay agent. |
auth |
11 |
Used to pass authentication information between clients and server. The support for this option is very limited. |
status-code |
13 |
An option that the server can attach in case of various failures, such as running out of addresses or not being configured to assign prefixes. |
rapid-commit |
14 |
Used to signal the client's willingness to support |
user-class |
15 |
Sent by the client to self-identify the device type. Kea can use this for client classification. |
vendor-class |
16 |
Similar to |
vendor-opts |
17 |
A vendor-specific container that is used by both the client and the server to exchange vendor-specific options. The logic behind those options varies between vendors. Vendor options are explained in DHCPv6 Vendor-Specific Options. |
interface-id |
18 |
May be inserted by the relay agent to identify the interface that the original client message was received on. Kea may be told to use this information to select specific subnets. Also, if specified, Kea echoes this option back, so the relay will know which interface to use to reach the client. |
ia-pd |
25 |
A container for conveying Prefix Delegations (PDs)) that are being delegated to clients. See Subnet and Prefix Delegation Pools for details. |
iaprefix |
26 |
Conveys the IPv6 prefix in the |
9.2.12. Common Softwire46 Options
Softwire46 options are involved in IPv4-over-IPv6 provisioning by means of tunneling or translation, as specified in RFC 7598. The following sections provide configuration examples of these options.
9.2.12.1. Softwire46 Container Options
Softwire46 (S46) container options group rules and optional port parameters for a specified domain. There are three container options specified in the "dhcp6" (top-level) option space: the MAP-E Container option, the MAP-T Container option, and the S46 Lightweight 4over6 Container option. These options only contain the encapsulated options specified below; they do not include any data fields.
To configure the server to send a specific container option along with all encapsulated options, the container option must be included in the server configuration as shown below:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "s46-cont-mape"
} ],
...
}
This configuration will cause the server to include the MAP-E Container
option to the client. Use s46-cont-mapt or s46-cont-lw for the MAP-T
Container and S46 Lightweight 4over6 Container options, respectively.
All remaining Softwire46 options described below are included in one of
the container options. Thus, they must be included in appropriate
option spaces by selecting a space name, which specifies the
option where they are supposed to be included.
9.2.12.2. S46 Rule Option
The S46 Rule option is used to convey the Basic Mapping Rule (BMR) and Forwarding Mapping Rule (FMR).
{
"space": "s46-cont-mape-options",
"name": "s46-rule",
"data": "128, 0, 24, 192.0.2.0, 2001:db8:1::/64"
}
Another possible space value is s46-cont-mapt-options.
The S46 Rule option conveys a number of parameters:
flags- an unsigned 8-bit integer, with currently only the most-significant bit specified. It denotes whether the rule can be used for forwarding (128) or not (0).ea-len- an 8-bit-long Embedded Address length. Allowed values range from 0 to 48.IPv4 prefix length- an 8-bit-long expression of the prefix length of the Rule IPv4 prefix specified in theipv4-prefixfield. Allowed values range from 0 to 32.IPv4 prefix- a fixed-length 32-bit field that specifies the IPv4 prefix for the S46 rule. The bits in the prefix after a specific number of bits (defined inprefix4-len) are reserved, and MUST be initialized to zero by the sender and ignored by the receiver.IPv6 prefix- a field in prefix/length notation that specifies the IPv6 domain prefix for the S46 rule. The field is padded on the right with zero bits up to the nearest octet boundary, whenprefix6-lenis not evenly divisible by 8.
9.2.12.3. S46 BR Option
The S46 BR option is used to convey the IPv6 address of the Border Relay. This option is mandatory in the MAP-E Container option and is not permitted in the MAP-T and S46 Lightweight 4over6 Container options.
{
"space": "s46-cont-mape-options",
"name": "s46-br",
"data": "2001:db8:cafe::1"
}
Another possible space value is s46-cont-lw-options.
9.2.12.4. S46 DMR Option
The S46 DMR option is used to convey values for the Default Mapping Rule (DMR). This option is mandatory in the MAP-T container option and is not permitted in the MAP-E and S46 Lightweight 4over6 Container options.
{
"space": "s46-cont-mapt-options",
"name": "s46-dmr",
"data": "2001:db8:cafe::/64"
}
This option must not be included in other containers.
9.2.12.5. S46 IPv4/IPv6 Address Binding Option
The S46 IPv4/IPv6 Address Binding option may be used to specify the full or shared IPv4 address of the Customer Edge (CE). The IPv6 prefix field is used by the CE to identify the correct prefix to use for the tunnel source.
{
"space": "s46-cont-lw",
"name": "s46-v4v6bind",
"data": "192.0.2.3, 2001:db8:1:cafe::/64"
}
This option must not be included in other containers.
9.2.12.6. S46 Port Parameters
The S46 Port Parameters option specifies optional port-set information that may be provided to CEs.
{
"space": "s46-rule-options",
"name": "s46-portparams",
"data": "2, 3/4"
}
Another possible space value is s46-v4v6bind, to include this option
in the S46 IPv4/IPv6 Address Binding option.
Note that the second value in the example above specifies the PSID and
PSID-length fields in the format of PSID/PSID length. This is equivalent
to the values of PSID-len=4 and PSID=12288 conveyed in the S46 Port
Parameters option.
9.2.13. DNR (Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers) Options for DHCPv6
The Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers, or DNR option, was introduced in RFC 9463 as a way to communicate location of DNS resolvers available over means other than the classic DNS over UDP over port 53. As of spring 2024, the supported technologies are DoT (DNS-over-TLS), DoH (DNS-over-HTTPS), and DoQ (DNS-over-QUIC), but the option was designed to be extensible to accommodate other protocols in the future.
The DNR option may be configured using convenient notation: comma-delimited fields must be provided in the following order:
Service Priority (mandatory),
ADN FQDN (mandatory),
IP address(es) (optional; if more than one, they must be separated by spaces)
SvcParams as a set of key=value pairs (optional; if more than one, they must be separated by spaces) To provide more than one
alpn-id, separate them with double backslash-escaped commas as in the example below).
Let's imagine that we want to convey a DoT server operating at dot1.example.org
(which resolves to two IPv6 addresses: 2001:db8::1 and 2001:db8::2) on a non-standard port 8530.
An example option that would convey this information looks as follows:
{
"name": "v6-dnr", // name of the option
// The following fields should be specified:
// - service priority (unsigned 16-bit integer)
// - authentication-domain-name (FQDN of the encrypted resolver)
// - a list of one or more IPv6 addresses
// - list of parameters in key=value format, space separated; any comma
// characters in this field must be escaped with double backslashes
"data": "100, dot1.example.org., 2001:db8::1 2001:db8::2, alpn=dot port=8530"
}
The above option will be encoded on-wire as follows:
00 64 - service priority (100 in hex as unsigned 16-bit integer)
00 12 - length of the Authentication Domain Name (name of the resolver) FQDN (18 in hex as unsigned 16-bit integer)
04 64 6f 74 31 07 65 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 03 6f 72 67 00 - 18 octets of the ADN FQDN
00 20 - 32 octets is the length of the following two IPv6 addresses
20 01 0d b8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 - 2001:db8::1
20 01 0d b8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 - 2001:db8::2
00 01 - SvsParams begin - this is alpn SvcParamKey
00 04 - length of the alpn SvcParamValue field (4 octets)
03 - length of the following alpn-id coded on one octet
64 6f 74 - "dot" - value of the alpn
00 03 - this is port SvcParamKey
00 02 - length of the SvcParamValue field is 2 octets
21 52 - the actual value is 0x2152 or 8530 in decimal
The following example shows how to configure more than one ALPN protocol in Service Parameters.
The example specifies a resolver known as resolver.example that supports:
DoT on default port 853
DoQ on default port 853
DoH at
https://resolver.example/q{?dns}
{
"name": "v6-dnr", // name of the option
// Note the double backslash-escaped commas in the alpn-id list.
"data": "150, resolver.example., 2001:db8::1 2001:db8::2, alpn=dot\\,doq\\,h2\\,h3 dohpath=/q{?dns}"
}
The above option will be encoded on-wire as follows:
00 96 - service priority (150 in hex as unsigned 16-bit integer)
00 12 - length of the Authentication Domain Name (name of the resolver) FQDN (18 in hex as unsigned 16-bit integer)
08 72 65 73 6f 6c 76 65 72 07 65 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 00 - 18 octets of the ADN FQDN
00 20 - 32 octets is the length of the following two IPv6 addresses
20 01 0d b8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 - 2001:db8::1
20 01 0d b8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 - 2001:db8::2
00 01 - SvsParams begin - this is the alpn SvcParamKey
00 0e - length of the alpn SvcParamValue field (14 octets)
03 - length of the following alpn-id coded on one octet
64 6f 74 - "dot" - value of the alpn
03 - length of the following alpn-id coded on one octet
64 6f 71 - "doq" - value of the alpn
02 - length of the following alpn-id coded on one octet
68 32 - "h2" - value of the alpn "HTTP/2 over TLS"
02 - length of the following alpn-id coded on one octet
68 33 - "h3" - value of the alpn "HTTP/3"
00 07 - this is dohpath SvcParamKey
00 08 - length of the SvcParamValue field is 8 octets
2f 71 7b 3f 64 6e 73 7d - "/q{?dns}" dohpath
Note
If "comma" or "pipe" characters are used as text rather than as field delimiters, they must be escaped with
double backslashes (\\, or \\|). Escaped commas must be used when configuring more than one ALPN
protocol, to separate them. The "pipe" (0x7C) character can be used in the dohpath service parameter,
as it is allowed in a URI.
RFC 9463, Section 4.1
encourages the use of the ALPN (Application-Layer Protocol Negotiation) SvcParam, as it is required in most cases.
It defines the protocol for reaching the encrypted resolver. The most common values are
dot, doq, and h2 (meaning HTTP/2.0 over TLS, used in DoH).
Per RFC 9461 Section 5: if the
alpn SvcParam indicates support for HTTP, dohpath MUST be present. The URI Template MUST contain
a "dns" variable. For example, when advertising a DoH resolver available at
https://doh1.example.org/query{?dns}, the dohpath should be set to relative URI /query{?dns}.
Users interested in configuring this option are encouraged to read the following materials:
A very nice set of examples is available in Section 7 of RFC 9461.
A list of all currently defined service parameters is maintained in the IANA registry. This specifies records that can be stored in the svcParams field of the DNR option.
A list of currently allowed protocols in the ALPN parameter is maintained in another IANA registry.
RFC 9463 provides option definitions. In terms of SvcParams, it states that
alpnandportmust be supported, and support fordohpath(used for DoH) is recommended.Section 2.2 of RFC 9460 defines the on-wire format for SvcParams.
Sections 7.1 and 7.2 of RFC 9460 define the on-wire format for alpn and port.
Section 5 of RFC 9461 defines the on-wire format for
dohpath.
Kea currently supports the following service parameters:
Name
Code
Description
alpn
1
Specifies comma-separated protocol types (DoT, DoH, etc.)
port
3
Unsigned 16-bit integer. Indicates a non-standard TCP or UDP port.
dohpath
7
Mandatory for DoH. Contains URL path for the DoT resolver.
The other currently defined service parameters mandatory (0), no-default-alpn (2), ipv4hint (4), ech (5), ipv6hint (6), and ohttp (8) are not usable in the DNR option.
Further examples are provided in Kea sources in the all-options.json file
in the doc/examples/kea6 directory. The DHCPv4 option is nearly identical, and is described
in DNR (Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers) Options for DHCPv4.
9.2.14. NTP Server Suboptions
NTP server option is a container of suboptions: ntp-server-address (1), ntp-server-multicast (2) carrying an IPv6 address, and ntp-server-fqdn (3) carrying a FQDN in wire format defined in the "v6-ntp-server-suboptions" option space. Each option instance carries one and only one suboption as required by RFC 5908.
9.2.15. Custom DHCPv6 Options
Kea supports custom (non-standard) DHCPv6 options.
Let's say that we want to define a new DHCPv6 option called foo, which
will have code 100 and will convey a single, unsigned, 32-bit
integer value. Such an option can be defined by putting the following entry
in the configuration file:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-def": [
{
"name": "foo",
"code": 100,
"type": "uint32",
"array": false,
"record-types": "",
"space": "dhcp6",
"encapsulate": ""
},
...
],
...
}
The false value of the array parameter determines that the option
does NOT comprise an array of uint32 values but is, instead, a single
value. Two other parameters have been left blank: record-types and
encapsulate. The former specifies the comma-separated list of option
data fields, if the option comprises a record of data fields. The
record-types value should be non-empty if type is set to
record; otherwise it must be left blank. The latter parameter
specifies the name of the option space being encapsulated by the
particular option. If the particular option does not encapsulate any
option space, the parameter should be left blank. Note that the option-def
configuration statement only defines the format of an option and does
not set its value(s).
The name, code, and type parameters are required; all others
are optional. The array parameter's default value is false. The
record-types and encapsulate parameters' default values are blank
(""). The default space is dhcp6.
Once the new option format is defined, its value is set in the same way as for a standard option. For example, the following commands set a global value that applies to all subnets.
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "foo",
"code": 100,
"space": "dhcp6",
"csv-format": true,
"data": "12345"
},
...
],
...
}
New options can take more complex forms than the simple use of primitives (uint8, string, ipv6-address, etc.); it is possible to define an option comprising a number of existing primitives.
For example, say we want to define a new option that will consist of an IPv6 address, followed by an unsigned 16-bit integer, followed by a boolean value, followed by a text string. Such an option could be defined in the following way:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-def": [
{
"name": "bar",
"code": 101,
"space": "dhcp6",
"type": "record",
"array": false,
"record-types": "ipv6-address, uint16, boolean, string",
"encapsulate": ""
},
...
],
...
}
The type parameter is set to "record" to indicate that the option
contains multiple values of different types. These types are given as a
comma-separated list in the record-types field and should be ones
from those listed in List of standard DHCP option types.
The values of the options are set in an option-data statement as
follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "bar",
"space": "dhcp6",
"code": 101,
"csv-format": true,
"data": "2001:db8:1::10, 123, false, Hello World"
}
],
...
}
The csv-format parameter is set to true to indicate that the data
field comprises a comma-separated list of values. The values in data must
correspond to the types set in the record-types field of the option
definition.
When array is set to true and type is set to "record", the
last field is an array, i.e. it can contain more than one value, as in:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-def": [
{
"name": "bar",
"code": 101,
"space": "dhcp6",
"type": "record",
"array": true,
"record-types": "ipv6-address, uint16",
"encapsulate": ""
},
...
],
...
}
The new option content is one IPv6 address followed by one or more 16-bit unsigned integers.
Note
In general, boolean values are specified as true or false,
without quotes. Some specific boolean parameters may also accept
"true", "false", 0, 1, "0", and "1".
9.2.16. DHCPv6 Vendor-Specific Options
Vendor options in DHCPv6 are carried in the Vendor-Specific
Information option (code 17). The idea behind option 17
is that each vendor has its own unique set of options with their own custom
formats. The vendor is identified by a 32-bit unsigned integer called
enterprise-number or vendor-id.
The standard spaces defined in Kea and their options are:
vendor-2495: Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. for 4o6 options:
option code |
option name |
option description |
|---|---|---|
60000 |
4o6-interface |
the name of the 4o6 server's client-facing interface |
60001 |
4o6-source-address |
the address that the 4o6 server uses to send packets to the client |
60002 |
4o6-source-port |
the port that the 4o6 server opens to send packets to the client |
vendor-4491: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. for DOCSIS3 options:
option code |
option name |
option description |
|---|---|---|
1 |
oro |
ORO (or Option Request Option) is used by clients to request a list of options they are interested in. |
2 |
tftp-servers |
a list of IPv4 addresses of TFTP servers to be used by the cable modem |
The following examples show how to
define an option "foo" with code 1 that consists of an IPv6 address,
an unsigned 16-bit integer, and a string. The "foo" option is
conveyed in a Vendor-Specific Information option, which comprises a
single uint32 value that is set to 12345. The sub-option "foo"
follows the data field holding this value.
The first step is to define the format of the option:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-def": [
{
"name": "foo",
"code": 1,
"space": "vendor-12345",
"type": "record",
"array": false,
"record-types": "ipv6-address, uint16, string",
"encapsulate": ""
}
],
...
}
Note that the option space is set to "vendor-12345".
Once the option format is defined, the next step is to define actual values
for that option:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "foo",
"space": "vendor-12345",
"data": "2001:db8:1::10, 123, Hello World"
},
...
],
...
}
We should also define a value ("enterprise-number") for the
Vendor-Specific Information option, to convey the option foo.
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "vendor-opts",
"data": "12345"
},
...
],
...
}
Alternatively, the option can be specified using its code.
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"code": 17,
"data": "12345"
},
...
],
...
}
A common configuration is to set the always-send flag to true, so the
vendor option is sent even when the client did not specify it in the query.
This is also how kea-dhcp6 can be configured to send multiple vendor options
from different vendors, along with each of their specific enterprise numbers.
To send these options regardless of whether the client specifies an enterprise number,
the server must be configured with "always-send": true, including the Vendor-Specific
Information option (code 17).
{
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"always-send": true,
"data": "tagged",
"name": "tag",
"space": "vendor-2234"
},
{
"always-send": true,
"data": "https://example.com:1234/path",
"name": "url",
"space": "vendor-3561"
}
],
"option-def": [
{
"code": 22,
"name": "tag",
"space": "vendor-2234",
"type": "string"
},
{
"code": 11,
"name": "url",
"space": "vendor-3561",
"type": "string"
}
]
}
}
Note
The kea-dhcp6 server is able to recognize multiple Vendor Class
options (code 16) with different enterprise numbers in the client requests,
and to send multiple Vendor-Specific Information options (code 17) in the
responses, one for each vendor.
9.2.17. Nested DHCPv6 Options (Custom Option Spaces)
It is sometimes useful to define a completely new option space: for example, a user might create a new option to convey sub-options that use a separate numbering scheme, such as sub-options with codes 1 and 2. Those option codes conflict with standard DHCPv6 options, so a separate option space must be defined.
Note that the creation of a new option space is not required when defining sub-options for a standard option, because one is created by default if the standard option is meant to convey any sub-options (see DHCPv6 Vendor-Specific Options).
If we want a DHCPv6 option called container with code 102,
that conveys two sub-options with codes 1 and 2, we first need to
define the new sub-options:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-def": [
{
"name": "subopt1",
"code": 1,
"space": "isc",
"type": "ipv6-address",
"record-types": "",
"array": false,
"encapsulate": ""
},
{
"name": "subopt2",
"code": 2,
"space": "isc",
"type": "string",
"record-types": "",
"array": false,
"encapsulate": ""
}
],
...
}
Note that we have defined the options to belong to a new option space
(in this case, "isc").
The next step is to define a regular DHCPv6 option with the desired code and specify that it should include options from the new option space:
"Dhcp6": {
"option-def": [
{
"name": "container",
"code": 102,
"space": "dhcp6",
"type": "empty",
"array": false,
"record-types": "",
"encapsulate": "isc"
},
...
],
...
}
The name of the option space in which the sub-options are defined is set
in the encapsulate field. The type field is set to "empty", to
indicate that this option does not carry any data other than
sub-options.
Finally, we can set values for the new options:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"option-data": [
{
"name": "subopt1",
"code": 1,
"space": "isc",
"data": "2001:db8::abcd"
},
{
"name": "subopt2",
"code": 2,
"space": "isc",
"data": "Hello world"
},
{
"name": "container",
"code": 102,
"space": "dhcp6"
}
]
}
}
It is possible to create an option which carries some data in
addition to the sub-options defined in the encapsulated option space.
For example, if the container option from the previous example were
required to carry a uint16 value as well as the sub-options, the
type value would have to be set to "uint16" in the option
definition. (Such an option would then have the following data
structure: DHCP header, uint16 value, sub-options.) The value specified
with the data parameter — which should be a valid integer enclosed
in quotes, e.g. "123" — would then be assigned to the uint16 field in
the container option.
9.2.18. Unspecified Parameters for DHCPv6 Option Configuration
In many cases it is not required to specify all parameters for an option configuration, and the default values can be used. However, it is important to understand the implications of not specifying some of them, as it may result in configuration errors. The list below explains the behavior of the server when a particular parameter is not explicitly specified:
name- the server requires either an option name or an option code to identify an option. If this parameter is unspecified, the option code must be specified.code- the server requires either an option name or an option code to identify an option; this parameter may be left unspecified if thenameparameter is specified. However, this also requires that the particular option have a definition (either as a standard option or an administrator-created definition for the option using anoption-defstructure), as the option definition associates an option with a particular name. It is possible to configure an option for which there is no definition (unspecified option format). Configuration of such options requires the use of the option code.space- if the option space is unspecified it defaults todhcp6, which is an option space holding standard DHCPv6 options.data- if the option data is unspecified it defaults to an empty value. The empty value is mostly used for the options which have no payload (boolean options), but it is legal to specify empty values for some options which carry variable-length data and for which the specification allows a length of 0. For such options, the data parameter may be omitted in the configuration.csv-format- if this value is not specified, the server assumes that the option data is specified as a list of comma-separated values to be assigned to individual fields of the DHCP option.
9.2.19. Controlling the Values Sent for T1 and T2 Times
According to RFC 8415, section 21.4, the recommended T1 and T2 values are 50% and 80% of the preferred lease time, respectively. Kea can be configured to send values that are specified explicitly or that are calculated as percentages of the preferred lease time. The server's behavior is determined by a combination of configuration parameters, of which T1 and T2 are only two.
The lease's preferred and valid lifetimes are expressed as triplets with minimum, default, and maximum values using configuration entries:
min-preferred-lifetime- specifies the minimum preferred lifetime (optional).preferred-lifetime- specifies the default preferred lifetime.max-preferred-lifetime- specifies the maximum preferred lifetime (optional).min-valid-lifetime- specifies the minimum valid lifetime (optional).valid-lifetime- specifies the default valid lifetime.max-valid-lifetime- specifies the maximum valid lifetime (optional).
These values may be specified within client classes.
When the client does not specify lifetimes, the default is used. A specified lifetime - using the IAADDR or IAPREFIX sub-option with non-zero values - uses these values when they are between the configured minimum and maximum bounds. Values outside the bounds are rounded up or down as needed.
Note
If the preferred-lifetime has not been explicitly specified,
or if the specified value is larger than the value of valid-lifetime, the server
uses the value of valid-lifetime multiplied by 0.625.
To send specific fixed values, use the following two parameters:
renew-timer- specifies the value of T1 in seconds.rebind-timer- specifies the value of T2 in seconds.
Any value greater than or equal to zero may be specified for T2. T1, if specified, must be less than T2. This flexibility allows a use case where administrators want to suppress client renewals and rebinds by deferring them beyond the lifespan of the lease. This should cause the lease to expire, rather than get renewed by clients. If T1 is specified as larger than T2, T1 is silently set to zero in the outbound IA.
In the great majority of cases, the values should follow this rule: T1 < T2 < preferred lifetime < valid lifetime. Alternatively, both T1 and T2 values can be configured to 0, which is a signal to DHCPv6 clients that they may renew at their own discretion. However, there are known broken client implementations in use that will start renewing immediately. Administrators who plan to use T1=T2=0 values should test first and make sure their clients behave rationally.
In some rare cases there may be a need to disable a client's ability to renew addresses. This is undesired from a protocol perspective and should be avoided if possible. However, if necessary, administrators can configure the T1 and T2 values to be equal or greater to the valid lifetime. Be advised that this will cause clients to occasionally lose their addresses, which is generally perceived as poor service. However, there may be some rare business cases when this is desired (e.g. when it is desirable to intentionally break long-lasting connections).
Calculation of the values is controlled by the following three parameters:
calculate-tee-times- whentrue, T1 and T2 are calculated as percentages of the valid lease time. It defaults totrue.t1-percent- the percentage of the valid lease time to use for T1. It is expressed as a real number between 0.0 and 1.0 and must be less thant2-percent. The default value is 0.5, per RFC 8415.t2-percent- the percentage of the valid lease time to use for T2. It is expressed as a real number between 0.0 and 1.0 and must be greater thant1-percent. The default value is 0.8 per RFC 8415.
Note
Unlike DHCPv4 the tee (T1, T2) times are always present in DHCPv6 address and
prefix options. Therefore the default value for calculate-tee-times
for kea-dhcp6 is true. This ensures the server's default
behavior will result in non-zero tee times being sent to clients. This
is to avoid the server being swamped by misbehaving clients that do not
calculate it for themselves.
Note
If both explicit values are specified and
calculate-tee-times is true, the server will use the explicit values.
Administrators with a setup where some subnets or shared-networks
use explicit values and some use calculated values must
not define the explicit values at any level higher than where they
will be used. Inheriting them from too high a scope, such as
global, will cause them to have values at every level underneath
(both shared-networks and subnets), effectively disabling calculated
values.
9.2.20. IPv6 Subnet Selection
The DHCPv6 server may receive requests from local (connected to the same subnet as the server) and remote (connected via relays) clients. As the server may have many subnet configurations defined, it must select an appropriate subnet for a given request.
In IPv4, the server can determine which of the configured subnets are
local, as there is a reasonable expectation that the server will have a
(global) IPv4 address configured on the interface. That assumption is not
true in IPv6; the DHCPv6 server must be able to operate while only using
link-local addresses. Therefore, an optional interface parameter is
available within a subnet definition to designate that a given subnet is
local, i.e. reachable directly over the specified interface. For
example, a server that is intended to serve a local subnet over eth0
may be configured as follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:beef::/48",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:beef::/48"
}
],
"interface": "eth0"
}
],
...
}
9.2.21. Rapid Commit
The Rapid Commit option, described in RFC
8415, is supported by the Kea
DHCPv6 server. However, support is disabled by default. It can be
enabled on a per-subnet basis using the rapid-commit parameter as
shown below:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:beef::/48",
"rapid-commit": true,
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:beef::1-2001:db8:beef::10"
}
]
}
]
}
}
This setting only affects the subnet for which rapid-commit is
set to true. For clients connected to other subnets, the server
ignores the Rapid Commit option sent by the client and follows the
4-way exchange procedure, i.e. responds with an Advertise for a Solicit
containing a Rapid Commit option.
9.2.22. DHCPv6 Relays
A DHCPv6 server with multiple subnets defined must select the appropriate subnet when it receives a request from a client. For clients connected via relays, two mechanisms are used:
The first uses the linkaddr field in the RELAY_FORW message. The name of
this field is somewhat misleading in that it does not contain a
link-layer address; instead, it holds an address (typically a global
address) that is used to identify a link. The DHCPv6 server checks to
see whether the address belongs to a defined subnet and, if it does,
that subnet is selected for the client's request.
The second mechanism is based on interface-id options. While forwarding
a client's message, relays may insert an interface-id option into the
message that identifies the interface on the relay that received the
message. (Some relays allow configuration of that parameter, but it is
sometimes hard-coded and may range from the very simple [e.g. "vlan100"]
to the very cryptic; one example seen on real hardware was
"ISAM144|299|ipv6|nt:vp:1:110".) The server can use this information to
select the appropriate subnet. The information is also returned to the
relay, which then knows the interface to use to transmit the response to
the client. For this to work successfully, the relay interface IDs must
be unique within the network and the server configuration must match
those values.
When configuring the DHCPv6 server, two similarly named parameters can be configured for a subnet:
interface- defines which local network interface can be used to access a given subnet.interface-id- specifies the content of theinterface-idoption used by relays to identify the interface on the relay to which the response packet is sent.
The two are mutually exclusive; a subnet cannot be reachable both locally (direct traffic) and via relays (remote traffic). Specifying both is a configuration error and the DHCPv6 server will refuse such a configuration.
The following example configuration shows how to specify an interface-id
with a value of "vlan123":
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:beef::/48",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:beef::/48"
}
],
"interface-id": "vlan123"
}
],
...
}
9.2.23. Relay-Supplied Options
RFC 6422 defines a mechanism called Relay-Supplied DHCP Options. In certain cases relay agents are the only entities that may have specific information, and they can insert options when relaying messages from the client to the server. The server then does certain checks and copies those options to the response sent to the client.
There are certain conditions that must be met for the option to be included. First, the server must not provide the option itself; in other words, if both relay and server provide an option, the server always takes precedence. Second, the option must be RSOO-enabled. (RSOO is the "Relay Supplied Options option.") IANA maintains a list of RSOO-enabled options here. However, there may be cases when system administrators want to echo other options. Kea can be instructed to treat other options as RSOO-enabled; for example, to mark options 110, 120, and 130 as RSOO-enabled, the following syntax should be used:
"Dhcp6": {
"relay-supplied-options": [ "110", "120", "130" ],
...
}
At this time, only option 65 is RSOO-enabled by IANA. This option
will always be treated as RSOO-enabled, so there is no need to explicitly mark
it. When enabling standard options, it is also possible to use their
names rather than their option code, e.g. use dns-servers instead of
23. See ref:dhcp6-std-options-list for the names. In
certain cases this may also work for custom options, but due to the
nature of the parser code this may be unreliable and should be avoided.
9.2.24. Client Classification in DHCPv6
The DHCPv6 server includes support for client classification. For a deeper discussion of the classification process, see Client Classification.
In certain cases it is useful to configure the server to differentiate between DHCP client types and treat them accordingly. Client classification can be used to modify the behavior of almost any part of DHCP message processing. Kea currently offers three mechanisms that take advantage of client classification in DHCPv6: subnet selection, address pool selection, and DHCP options assignment.
Kea can be instructed to limit access to given subnets based on class information. This is particularly useful for cases where two types of devices share the same link and are expected to be served from two different subnets. The primary use case for such a scenario is cable networks, where there are two classes of devices: the cable modem itself, which should be handed a lease from subnet A; and all other devices behind the modem, which should get leases from subnet B. That segregation is essential to prevent overly curious end-users from playing with their cable modems. For details on how to set up class restrictions on subnets, see Configuring Subnets With Class Information.
When subnets belong to a shared network, the classification applies to subnet selection but not to pools; that is, a pool in a subnet limited to a particular class can still be used by clients which do not belong to the class, if the pool they are expected to use is exhausted. The limit on access based on class information is also available at the address/prefix pool level within a subnet: see Configuring Pools With Class Information. This is useful when segregating clients belonging to the same subnet into different address ranges.
In a similar way, a pool can be constrained to serve only known clients,
i.e. clients which have a reservation, using the built-in KNOWN or
UNKNOWN classes. Addresses can be assigned to registered clients
without giving a different address per reservation: for instance, when
there are not enough available addresses. The determination whether
there is a reservation for a given client is made after a subnet is
selected, so it is not possible to use KNOWN/UNKNOWN classes to select a
shared network or a subnet.
The process of classification is conducted in five steps. The first step
is to assess an incoming packet and assign it to zero or more classes.
The second step is to choose a subnet, possibly based on the class
information. When the incoming packet is in the special class DROP,
it is dropped and a debug message logged.
The next step is to evaluate class expressions depending on the built-in
KNOWN/UNKNOWN classes after host reservation lookup, using them for
pool/pd-pool selection and assigning classes from host reservations. The
list of required classes is then built and each class of the list has
its expression evaluated; when it returns true, the packet is added as
a member of the class. The last step is to assign options, again possibly
based on the class information. More complete and detailed information
is available in Client Classification.
There are two main methods of classification. The first is automatic and
relies on examining the values in the vendor class options or the
existence of a host reservation. Information from these options is
extracted, and a class name is constructed from it and added to the
class list for the packet. The second method specifies an expression that is
evaluated for each packet. If the result is true, the packet is a
member of the class.
Note
The new early-global-reservations-lookup global parameter flag
enables a lookup for global reservations before the subnet selection
phase. This lookup is similar to the general lookup described above
with two differences:
the lookup is limited to global host reservations
the
UNKNOWNclass is never set
Note
Care should be taken with client classification, as it is easy for clients that do not meet class criteria to be denied all service.
9.2.24.1. Defining and Using Custom Classes
The following example shows how to configure a class using an expression
and a subnet using that class. This configuration defines the class
named Client_enterprise. It is comprised of all clients whose client
identifiers start with the given hex string (which would indicate a DUID
based on an enterprise id of 0xAABBCCDD). Members of this class will be given an address
from 2001:db8:1::0 to 2001:db8:1::FFFF and the addresses of their DNS
servers set to 2001:db8:0::1 and 2001:db8:2::1.
"Dhcp6": {
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "Client_enterprise",
"test": "substring(option[1].hex,0,6) == 0x0002AABBCCDD",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"code": 23,
"space": "dhcp6",
"csv-format": true,
"data": "2001:db8:0::1, 2001:db8:2::1"
}
]
},
...
],
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::-2001:db8:1::ffff" } ],
"client-class": "Client_enterprise"
}
],
...
}
This example shows a configuration using an automatically generated
VENDOR_CLASS_ class. The administrator of the network has decided that
addresses in the range 2001:db8:1::1 to 2001:db8:1::ffff are to be
managed by the DHCPv6 server and that only clients belonging to the
eRouter1.0 client class are allowed to use that pool.
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::-2001:db8:1::ffff"
}
],
"client-class": "VENDOR_CLASS_eRouter1.0"
}
],
...
}
9.2.24.2. Additional Classification
In some cases it is useful to limit the scope of a class to a pool, subnet, or shared network. There are two parameters which are used to limit the scope of the class by instructing the server to evaluate test expressions when required.
The evaluate-additional-classes, which takes a list of class
names and is valid in pool, subnet, and shared network scope. Classes in
these lists are marked as additional and evaluated after selection of this
specific pool/subnet/shared network and before output-option processing.
The second one is the per-class only-in-additional-list flag, which is
false by default. When it is set to true, the test expression of
the class is not evaluated at the reception of the incoming packet but later,
and only if the class is present in an evaluate-additional-classes list.
In this example, a class is assigned to the incoming packet when the specified subnet is used:
"Dhcp6": {
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "Client_foo",
"test": "member('ALL')",
"only-in-additional-list": true
},
...
],
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::-2001:db8:1::ffff"
}
],
"evaluate-additional-classes": [ "Client_foo" ],
...
},
...
],
...
}
Additional evaluation can be used to express complex dependencies like
subnet membership. It can also be used to reverse the
precedence; if option-data is set in a subnet, it takes precedence
over option-data in a class. If option-data is moved to a
required class and required in the subnet, a class evaluated earlier
may take precedence.
Additional evaluation is also available at shared network and pool/pd-pool
levels. The order in which additional classes are considered is:
(pd-)pool, subnet, and shared network, i.e. in the same order from the
way in which option-data is processed.
Since Kea version 2.7.4 additional classes configured without
a test expression are unconditionally added, i.e. they are considered
to always be evaluated to true.
Note
As of Kea version 2.7.4, only-if-required and require-client-classes
have been renamed to only-in-additional-list and evaluate-additional-classes
respectivley. The original names will still be accepted as input to allow
users to migrate but will eventually be unsupported.
9.2.25. DDNS for DHCPv6
As mentioned earlier, kea-dhcp6 can be configured to generate requests
to the DHCP-DDNS server, kea-dhcp-ddns, (referred to herein as "D2") to
update DNS entries. These requests are known as NameChangeRequests or
NCRs. Each NCR contains the following information:
Whether it is a request to add (update) or remove DNS entries.
Whether the change requests forward DNS updates (AAAA records), reverse DNS updates (PTR records), or both.
The Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), lease address, and DHCID (information identifying the client associated with the FQDN).
DDNS-related parameters are split into two groups:
Connectivity Parameters
These are parameters which specify where and how
kea-dhcp6connects to and communicates with D2. These parameters can only be specified within the top-leveldhcp-ddnssection in thekea-dhcp6configuration. The connectivity parameters are listed below:enable-updatesserver-ipserver-portsender-ipsender-portmax-queue-sizencr-protocolncr-format
Behavioral Parameters
These parameters influence behavior such as how client host names and FQDN options are handled. They have been moved out of the
dhcp-ddnssection so that they may be specified at the global, shared-network, and/or subnet levels. Furthermore, they are inherited downward from global to shared-network to subnet. In other words, if a parameter is not specified at a given level, the value for that level comes from the level above it. The behavioral parameters are as follows:ddns-send-updatesddns-override-no-updateddns-override-client-updateddns-replace-client-nameddns-generated-prefixddns-qualifying-suffixddns-update-on-renewddns-conflict-resolution-modeddns-ttl-percenthostname-char-sethostname-char-replacement
Note
Behavioral parameters that affect the FQDN are in effect even
if both enable-updates and ddns-send-updates are false,
to support environments in which clients are responsible
for their own DNS updates. This applies to ddns-replace-client-name,
ddns-generated-prefix, ddns-qualifying-suffix, hostname-char-set,
and hostname-char-replacement.
The default configuration and values would appear as follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"dhcp-ddns": {
// Connectivity parameters
"enable-updates": false,
"server-ip": "127.0.0.1",
"server-port":53001,
"sender-ip":"",
"sender-port":0,
"max-queue-size":1024,
"ncr-protocol":"UDP",
"ncr-format":"JSON"
},
// Behavioral parameters (global)
"ddns-send-updates": true,
"ddns-override-no-update": false,
"ddns-override-client-update": false,
"ddns-replace-client-name": "never",
"ddns-generated-prefix": "myhost",
"ddns-qualifying-suffix": "",
"ddns-update-on-renew": false,
"ddns-conflict-resolution-mode": "check-with-dhcid",
"hostname-char-set": "",
"hostname-char-replacement": "",
...
}
There are two parameters which determine whether kea-dhcp6
can generate DDNS requests to D2: the existing dhcp-ddns:enable-updates
parameter, which now only controls whether kea-dhcp6 connects to D2;
and the new behavioral parameter, ddns-send-updates, which determines
whether DDNS updates are enabled at a given level (i.e. global, shared-network,
or subnet). The following table shows how the two parameters function
together:
dhcp-ddns: enable-updates |
Global ddns-send-updates |
Outcome |
|---|---|---|
false (default) |
false |
no updates at any scope |
false |
true (default) |
no updates at any scope |
true |
false |
updates only at scopes with
a local value of |
true |
true |
updates at all scopes except those
with a local value of |
Kea 1.9.1 added two new parameters; the first is ddns-update-on-renew.
Normally, when leases are renewed, the server only updates DNS if the DNS
information for the lease (e.g. FQDN, DNS update direction flags) has changed.
Setting ddns-update-on-renew to true instructs the server to always update
the DNS information when a lease is renewed, even if its DNS information has not
changed. This allows Kea to "self-heal" if it was previously unable
to add DNS entries or they were somehow lost by the DNS server.
Note
Setting ddns-update-on-renew to true may impact performance, especially
for servers with numerous clients that renew often.
The second parameter added in Kea 1.9.1 is ddns-use-conflict-resolution. This
boolean parameter was passed through to D2 and enabled or disabled conflict resolution
as described in RFC 4703. Beginning with
Kea 2.5.0, it is deprecated and replaced by ddns-conflict-resolution-mode, which
offers four modes of conflict resolution-related behavior:
check-with-dhcid- This mode, the default, instructs D2 to carry out RFC 4703-compliant conflict resolution. Existing DNS entries may only be overwritten if they have a DHCID record and it matches the client's DHCID. This is equivalent toddns-use-conflict-resolution:true;
no-check-with-dhcid- Existing DNS entries may be overwritten by any client, whether those entries include a DHCID record or not. The new entries will include a DHCID record for the client to whom they belong. This is equivalent toddns-use-conflict-resolution:false;
check-exists-with-dhcid- Existing DNS entries may only be overwritten if they have a DHCID record. The DHCID record need not match the client's DHCID. This mode provides a way to protect static DNS entries (those that do not have a DHCID record) while allowing dynamic entries (those that do have a DHCID record) to be overwritten by any client. This behavior was not supported prior to Kea 2.4.0.
no-check-without-dhcid- Existing DNS entries may be overwritten by any client; new entries will not include DHCID records. This behavior was not supported prior to Kea 2.4.0.
Note
For backward compatibility, ddns-use-conflict-resolution is still accepted in
JSON configuration. The server replaces the value internally with
ddns-conflict-resolution-mode and an appropriate value: `
check-with-dhcid for true and no-check-with-dhcid for false.
Note
Setting ddns-conflict-resolution-mode to any value other than
check-with-dhcid disables the overwrite safeguards
that the rules of conflict resolution (from
RFC 4703) are intended to
prevent. This means that existing entries for an FQDN or an
IP address made for Client-A can be deleted or replaced by entries
for Client-B. Furthermore, there are two scenarios by which entries
for multiple clients for the same key (e.g. FQDN or IP) can be created.
1. Client-B uses the same FQDN as Client-A but a different IP address. In this case, the forward DNS entries (AAAA and DHCID RRs) for Client-A will be deleted as they match the FQDN, and new entries for Client-B will be added. The reverse DNS entries (PTR and DHCID RRs) for Client-A, however, will not be deleted as they belong to a different IP address, while new entries for Client-B will still be added.
2. Client-B uses the same IP address as Client-A but a different FQDN. In this case, the reverse DNS entries (PTR and DHCID RRs) for Client-A will be deleted as they match the IP address, and new entries for Client-B will be added. The forward DNS entries (AAAA and DHCID RRs) for Client-A, however, will not be deleted, as they belong to a different FQDN, while new entries for Client-B will still be added.
Disabling conflict resolution should be done only after careful review of
specific use cases. The best way to avoid unwanted DNS entries is to
always ensure that lease changes are processed through Kea, whether they are
released, expire, or are deleted via the lease6-del command, prior to
reassigning either FQDNs or IP addresses. Doing so causes kea-dhcp6
to generate DNS removal requests to D2.
The DNS entries Kea creates contain a value for TTL (time to live).
The kea-dhcp6 server calculates that value based on
RFC 4702, Section 5,
which suggests that the TTL value be 1/3 of the lease's lifetime, with
a minimum value of 10 minutes.
The parameter ddns-ttl-percent, when specified,
causes the TTL to be calculated as a simple percentage of the lease's
lifetime, using the parameter's value as the percentage. It is specified
as a decimal percent (e.g. .25, .75, 1.00) and may be specified at the
global, shared-network, and subnet levels. By default it is unspecified.
9.2.25.1. DHCP-DDNS Server Connectivity
For NCRs to reach the D2 server, kea-dhcp6 must be able to communicate
with it. kea-dhcp6 uses the following configuration parameters to
control this communication:
enable-updates- This enables connectivity tokea-dhcp-ddnssuch that DDNS updates can be constructed and sent. It must betruefor NCRs to be generated and sent to D2. It defaults tofalse.server-ip- This is the IP address on which D2 listens for requests. The default is the local loopback interface at address 127.0.0.1. Either an IPv4 or IPv6 address may be specified.server-port- This is the port on which D2 listens for requests. The default value is53001.sender-ip- This is the IP address whichkea-dhcp6uses to send requests to D2. The default value is blank, which instructskea-dhcp6to select a suitable address.sender-port- This is the port whichkea-dhcp6uses to send requests to D2. The default value of0instructskea-dhcp6to select a suitable port.max-queue-size- This is the maximum number of requests allowed to queue while waiting to be sent to D2. This value guards against requests accumulating uncontrollably if they are being generated faster than they can be delivered. If the number of requests queued for transmission reaches this value, DDNS updating is turned off until the queue backlog has been sufficiently reduced. The intent is to allow thekea-dhcp4server to continue lease operations without running the risk that its memory usage may grow without limit. The default value is1024.ncr-protocol- This specifies the socket protocol to use when sending requests to D2. Currently only UDP is supported.ncr-format- This specifies the packet format to use when sending requests to D2. Currently only JSON format is supported.
By default, kea-dhcp-ddns is assumed to be running on the same machine
as kea-dhcp6, and all of the default values mentioned above should be
sufficient. If, however, D2 has been configured to listen on a different
address or port, these values must be altered accordingly. For example, if
D2 has been configured to listen on 2001:db8::5 port 900, the following
configuration is required:
"Dhcp6": {
"dhcp-ddns": {
"server-ip": "2001:db8::5",
"server-port": 900,
...
},
...
}
9.2.25.2. When Does the kea-dhcp6 Server Generate a DDNS Request?
The kea-dhcp6 server follows the behavior prescribed for DHCP servers in
RFC 4704. It is important to keep
in mind that kea-dhcp6 makes the initial decision of when and what to
update and forwards that information to D2 in the form of NCRs. Carrying
out the actual DNS updates and dealing with such things as conflict
resolution are within the purview of D2 itself
(see The DHCP-DDNS Server). This section describes when kea-dhcp6
generates NCRs and the configuration parameters that can be used to
influence this decision. It assumes that both the connectivity parameter
enable-updates and the behavioral parameter ddns-send-updates
are true.
Note
Currently the interface between kea-dhcp6 and D2 only supports
requests which update DNS entries for a single IP address. If a lease
grants more than one address, kea-dhcp6 creates the DDNS update
request for only the first of these addresses.
In general, kea-dhcp6 generates DDNS update requests when:
A new lease is granted in response to a DHCPREQUEST;
An existing lease is renewed but the FQDN associated with it has changed; or
An existing lease is released in response to a DHCPRELEASE.
In the second case, lease renewal, two DDNS requests are issued: one request to remove entries for the previous FQDN, and a second request to add entries for the new FQDN. In the third case, a lease release - a single DDNS request - to remove its entries will be made.
As for the first case, the decisions involved when granting a new lease are
more complex. When a new lease is granted, kea-dhcp6 generates a
DDNS update request only if the DHCPREQUEST contains the FQDN option
(code 39).
By default, kea-dhcp6 respects the FQDN N and S flags
specified by the client as shown in the following table:
Client Flags:N-S |
Client Intent |
Server Response |
Server Flags:N-S-O |
|---|---|---|---|
0-0 |
Client wants to do forward updates, server should do reverse updates |
Server generates reverse-only request |
1-0-0 |
0-1 |
Server should do both forward and reverse updates |
Server generates request to update both directions |
0-1-0 |
1-0 |
Client wants no updates done |
Server does not generate a request |
1-0-0 |
The first row in the table above represents "client delegation." Here
the DHCP client states that it intends to do the forward DNS updates and
the server should do the reverse updates. By default, kea-dhcp6
honors the client's wishes and generates a DDNS request to the D2 server
to update only reverse DNS data. The parameter
ddns-override-client-update can be used to instruct the server to
override client delegation requests. When this parameter is true,
kea-dhcp6 disregards requests for client delegation and generates a
DDNS request to update both forward and reverse DNS data. In this case,
the N-S-O flags in the server's response to the client will be 0-1-1,
respectively.
(Note that the flag combination N=1, S=1 is prohibited according to RFC
4702. If such a combination is
received from the client, the packet will be dropped by kea-dhcp6.)
To override client delegation, set the following values in the configuration file:
"Dhcp6": {
"ddns-override-client-update": true,
...
}
The third row in the table above describes the case in which the client
requests that no DNS updates be done. The parameter
ddns-override-no-update can be used to instruct the server to disregard
the client's wishes. When this parameter is true, kea-dhcp6
generates DDNS update requests to kea-dhcp-ddns even if the client
requests that no updates be done. The N-S-O flags in the server's response to
the client will be 0-1-1.
To override client delegation, issue the following commands:
"Dhcp6": {
"ddns-override-no-update": true,
...
}
The kea-dhcp6 server always generates DDNS update requests if the
client request only contains the Host Name option. In addition, it includes
an FQDN option in the response to the client, with the FQDN N-S-O flags
set to 0-1-0, respectively. The domain name portion of the FQDN option
is the name submitted to D2 in the DDNS update request.
9.2.25.3. kea-dhcp6 Name Generation for DDNS Update Requests
Each NameChangeRequest must of course include the fully qualified domain
name whose DNS entries are to be affected. kea-dhcp6 can be configured
to supply a portion or all of that name, based on what it receives
from the client in the DHCPREQUEST.
The default rules for constructing the FQDN that will be used for DNS entries are:
If the DHCPREQUEST contains the client FQDN option, take the candidate name from there.
If the candidate name is a partial (i.e. unqualified) name, then add a configurable suffix to the name and use the result as the FQDN.
If the candidate name provided is empty, generate an FQDN using a configurable prefix and suffix.
If the client provides neither option, then take no DNS action.
These rules can be amended by setting the ddns-replace-client-name
parameter, which provides the following modes of behavior:
never- use the name the client sent. If the client sent no name, do not generate one. This is the default mode.always- replace the name the client sent. If the client sent no name, generate one for the client.when-present- replace the name the client sent. If the client sent no name, do not generate one.when-not-present- use the name the client sent. If the client sent no name, generate one for the client.
Note
In early versions of Kea, this parameter was a boolean and permitted only
values of true and false. Boolean values have been deprecated
and are no longer accepted; administrators currently using booleans
must replace them with the desired mode name. A value of true
maps to when-present, while false maps to never.
For example, to instruct kea-dhcp6 to always generate the FQDN for a
client, set the parameter ddns-replace-client-name to always as
follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"ddns-replace-client-name": "always",
...
}
The prefix used in the generation of an FQDN is specified by the
ddns-generated-prefix parameter. The default value is "myhost". To alter
its value, simply set it to the desired string:
"Dhcp6": {
"ddns-generated-prefix": "another.host",
...
}
The suffix used when generating an FQDN, or when qualifying a partial
name, is specified by the ddns-qualifying-suffix parameter. It is
strongly recommended that the user supply a value for the qualifying
suffix when DDNS updates are enabled. For obvious reasons, we cannot
supply a meaningful default.
"Dhcp6": {
"ddns-qualifying-suffix": "foo.example.org",
...
}
When qualifying a partial name, kea-dhcp6 constructs the name in the
format:
[candidate-name].[ddns-qualifying-suffix].
where candidate-name is the partial name supplied in the DHCPREQUEST.
For example, if the FQDN domain name value is "some-computer" and the
ddns-qualifying-suffix is "example.com", the generated FQDN is:
some-computer.example.com.
When generating the entire name, kea-dhcp6 constructs the name in
the format:
[ddns-generated-prefix]-[address-text].[ddns-qualifying-suffix].
where address-text is simply the lease IP address converted to a
hyphenated string. For example, if the lease address is 3001:1::70E, the
qualifying suffix is "example.com", and the default value is used for
ddns-generated-prefix, the generated FQDN is:
myhost-3001-1--70E.example.com.
9.2.25.4. Sanitizing Client FQDN Names
Some DHCP clients may provide values in the name component of the FQDN
option (option code 39) that contain undesirable
characters. It is possible to configure kea-dhcp6 to sanitize these
values. The most typical use case is ensuring that only characters that
are permitted by RFC 1035 be included: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and "-". This may be
accomplished with the following two parameters:
hostname-char-set- a regular expression describing the invalid character set. This can be any valid, regular expression using POSIX extended expression syntax. Embedded nulls (0x00) are always considered an invalid character to be replaced (or omitted). The default is"[^A-Za-z0-9.-]". This matches any character that is not a letter, digit, dot, hyphen, or null.hostname-char-replacement- a string of zero or more characters with which to replace each invalid character in the host name. An empty string causes invalid characters to be OMITTED rather than replaced. The default is"".
The following configuration replaces anything other than a letter, digit, dot, or hyphen with the letter "x":
"Dhcp6": {
"hostname-char-set": "[^A-Za-z0-9.-]",
"hostname-char-replacement": "x",
...
}
Thus, a client-supplied value of "myhost-$[123.org" would become "myhost-xx123.org". Sanitizing is performed only on the portion of the name supplied by the client, and it is performed before applying a qualifying suffix (if one is defined and needed).
Note
Name sanitizing is meant to catch the more common cases of invalid characters through a relatively simple character-replacement scheme. It is difficult to devise a scheme that works well in all cases. Administrators who find they have clients with odd corner cases of character combinations that cannot be readily handled with this mechanism should consider writing a hook that can carry out sufficiently complex logic to address their needs.
Make sure that the dot, ".", is considered a valid character by the
hostname-char-set expression, such as this: "[^A-Za-z0-9.-]".
When scrubbing FQDNs, dots are treated as delimiters and used to separate
the option value into individual domain labels that are scrubbed and
then re-assembled.
If clients are sending values that differ only by characters
considered as invalid by the hostname-char-set, be aware that
scrubbing them will yield identical values. In such cases, DDNS
conflict rules will permit only one of them to register the name.
Finally, given the latitude clients have in the values they send, it
is virtually impossible to guarantee that a combination of these two
parameters will always yield a name that is valid for use in DNS. For
example, using an empty value for hostname-char-replacement could
yield an empty domain label within a name, if that label consists
only of invalid characters.
Note
It is possible to specify hostname-char-set
and/or hostname-char-replacement at the global scope.
The Kea hook library libdhcp_ddns_tuning.so provides the ability
for both kea-dhcp4 and kea-dhcp6 to generate host names
procedurally based on an expression, to skip DDNS updates on a per-client basis,
or to fine-tune various DNS update aspects. Please refer to the libdhcp_ddns_tuning.so: DDNS Tuning
documentation for the configuration options.
9.2.26. DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6: DHCPv6 Side
The support of DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6 transport is described in RFC 7341 and is implemented using cooperating DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 servers. This section is about the configuration of the DHCPv6 side (the DHCPv4 side is described in DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6: DHCPv4 Side).
Note
DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6 support is experimental and the details of the inter-process communication may change; for instance, the support of port relay (RFC 8357) introduced an incompatible change. Both the DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 sides should be running the same version of Kea.
There is only one specific parameter for the DHCPv6 side:
dhcp4o6-port, which specifies the first of the two consecutive ports
of the UDP sockets used for the communication between the DHCPv6 and
DHCPv4 servers. The DHCPv6 server is bound to ::1 on port and
connected to ::1 on port + 1.
Two other configuration entries are generally required: unicast traffic support (see Unicast Traffic Support) and the DHCP 4o6 server address option (name "dhcp4o6-server-addr", code 88).
ISC tested the following configuration:
{
# DHCPv6 conf
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "eno33554984/2001:db8:1:1::1" ]
},
"lease-database": {
"type": "memfile",
"name": "leases6"
},
"preferred-lifetime": 3000,
"valid-lifetime": 4000,
"renew-timer": 1000,
"rebind-timer": 2000,
"subnet6": [ {
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1:1::/64",
"interface": "eno33554984",
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1:1::1:0/112" } ]
} ],
"dhcp4o6-port": 6767,
"option-data": [ {
"name": "dhcp4o6-server-addr",
"code": 88,
"space": "dhcp6",
"csv-format": true,
"data": "2001:db8:1:1::1"
} ],
"loggers": [ {
"name": "kea-dhcp6",
"output-options": [ {
"output": "/tmp/kea-dhcp6.log"
} ],
"severity": "DEBUG",
"debuglevel": 0
} ]
}
}
Note
Relayed DHCPv4-QUERY DHCPv6 messages are not supported.
9.2.27. Sanity Checks in DHCPv6
An important aspect of a well-running DHCP system is an assurance that the data remains consistent; however, in some cases it may be convenient to tolerate certain inconsistent data. For example, a network administrator who temporarily removes a subnet from a configuration would not want all the leases associated with it to disappear from the lease database. Kea has a mechanism to implement sanity checks for situations like this.
Kea supports a configuration scope called sanity-checks.
A parameter, called lease-checks,
governs the verification carried out when a new lease is loaded from a
lease file. This mechanism permits Kea to attempt to correct inconsistent data.
Every subnet has a subnet-id value; this is how Kea internally
identifies subnets. Each lease has a subnet-id parameter as well, which
identifies the subnet it belongs to. However, if the configuration has
changed, it is possible that a lease could exist with a subnet-id but
without any subnet that matches it. Also, it is possible that the
subnet's configuration has changed and the subnet-id now belongs to a
subnet that does not match the lease.
Kea's corrective algorithm first
checks to see if there is a subnet with the subnet-id specified by the
lease. If there is, it verifies whether the lease belongs to that
subnet. If not, depending on the lease-checks setting, the lease is
discarded, a warning is displayed, or a new subnet is selected for the
lease that matches it topologically.
Since delegated prefixes do not have to belong to a subnet in which they are offered, there is no way to implement such a mechanism for IPv6 prefixes. As such, the mechanism works for IPv6 addresses only.
There are five levels which are supported:
none- do no special checks; accept the lease as is.warn- if problems are detected display a warning, but accept the lease data anyway. This is the default value.fix- if a data inconsistency is discovered, try to correct it. If the correction is not successful, insert the incorrect data anyway.fix-del- if a data inconsistency is discovered, try to correct it. If the correction is not successful, reject the lease. This setting ensures the data's correctness, but some incorrect data may be lost. Use with care.del- if any inconsistency is detected, reject the lease. This is the strictest mode; use with care.
This feature is currently implemented for the memfile backend. The sanity check applies to the lease database in memory, not to the lease file, i.e. inconsistent leases will stay in the lease file.
An example configuration that sets this parameter looks as follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"sanity-checks": {
"lease-checks": "fix-del"
},
...
}
9.2.28. Storing Extended Lease Information
To support such features as DHCPv6 Reconfigure
(RFC 3315) and Leasequery
(RFC 5007),
additional information must be stored with each lease. Because the amount
of information stored for each lease has ramifications in terms of
performance and system resource consumption, storage of this additional
information is configurable through the store-extended-info parameter.
It defaults to false and may be set at the global, shared-network, and
subnet levels.
"Dhcp6": {
"store-extended-info": true,
...
}
When set to true, information relevant to the DHCPv6 query (e.g. REQUEST, RENEW,
or REBIND) asking for the lease is added into the lease's user-context as a
map element labeled "ISC". Currently, the information contained in the map
is a list of relays, one for each relay message layer that encloses the
client query. The lease's
user-context for a two-hop query might look something like this (shown
pretty-printed for clarity):
{
"ISC": {
"relay-info": [
{
"hop": 3,
"link": "2001:db8::1",
"peer": "2001:db8::2"
},
{
"hop": 2,
"link": "2001:db8::3",
"options": "0x00C800080102030405060708",
"peer": "2001:db8::4"
},
{
"hop": 1,
"link": "2001:db8::5",
"options": "0x00250006010203040506003500086464646464646464",
"remote-id": "010203040506",
"relay-id": "6464646464646464"
}
]
}
}
Note
Prior to Kea version 2.3.2, this entry was named relays; remote and relay
identifier options were not decoded.
Note
It is possible that other hook libraries are already using
user-context. Enabling store-extended-info should not interfere with
any other user-context content, as long as it does not also use an element
labeled "ISC". In other words, user-context is intended to be a flexible
container serving multiple purposes. As long as no other purpose also
writes an "ISC" element to user-context there should not be a conflict.
Extended lease information is also subject to configurable sanity checking.
The parameter in the sanity-checks scope is named extended-info-checks
and supports these levels:
none- do no check nor upgrade. This level should be used only when extended info is not used at all or when no badly formatted extended info, including using the old format, is expected.fix- fix some common inconsistencies and upgrade extended info using the old format to the new one. It is the default level and is convenient when the Leasequery hook library is not loaded.strict- fix all inconsistencies which have an impact on the (Bulk) Leasequery hook library.pedantic- enforce full conformance to the format produced by the Kea code; for instance, no extra entries are allowed with the exception ofcomment.
Note
This feature is currently implemented only for the memfile backend. The sanity check applies to the lease database in memory, not to the lease file, i.e. inconsistent leases stay in the lease file.
9.2.29. Multi-Threading Settings
The Kea server can be configured to process packets in parallel using multiple
threads. These settings can be found under the multi-threading structure and are
represented by:
enable-multi-threading- use multiple threads to process packets in parallel. The default istrue.thread-pool-size- specify the number of threads to process packets in parallel. It may be set to0(auto-detect), or any positive number that explicitly sets the thread count. The default is0.packet-queue-size- specify the size of the queue used by the thread pool to process packets. It may be set to0(unlimited), or any positive number that explicitly sets the queue size. The default is64.
An example configuration that sets these parameters looks as follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"multi-threading": {
"enable-multi-threading": true,
"thread-pool-size": 4,
"packet-queue-size": 16
},
...
}
9.2.30. Multi-Threading Settings With Different Database Backends
The Kea DHCPv6 server is benchmarked by ISC to determine which settings give the best performance. Although this section describes our results, they are merely recommendations and are very dependent on the particular hardware used for benchmarking. We strongly advise that administrators run their own performance benchmarks.
A full report of performance results for the latest stable Kea version can be found here. This includes hardware and benchmark scenario descriptions, as well as current results.
After enabling multi-threading, the number of threads is set by the thread-pool-size
parameter. Results from our experiments show that the best settings for
kea-dhcp6 are:
thread-pool-size: 4 when usingmemfilefor storing leases.thread-pool-size: 12 or more when usingmysqlfor storing leases.thread-pool-size: 6 when usingpostgresql.
Another very important parameter is packet-queue-size; in our benchmarks we
used it as a multiplier of thread-pool-size. The actual setting strongly depends
on thread-pool-size.
We saw the best results in our benchmarks with the following settings:
packet-queue-size: 150 *thread-pool-sizewhen usingmemfilefor storing leases; in our case it was 150 * 4 = 600. This means that at any given time, up to 600 packets could be queued.packet-queue-size: 200 *thread-pool-sizewhen usingmysqlfor storing leases; in our case it was 200 * 12 = 2400. This means that up to 2400 packets could be queued.packet-queue-size: 11 *thread-pool-sizewhen usingpostgresqlfor storing leases; in our case it was 11 * 6 = 66.
9.2.31. Lease Caching
Clients that attempt multiple renewals in a short period can cause the server to update and write to the database frequently, resulting in a performance impact on the server. The cache parameters instruct the DHCP server to avoid updating leases too frequently, thus avoiding this behavior. Instead, the server assigns the same lease (i.e. reuses it) with no modifications except for CLTT (Client Last Transmission Time), which does not require disk operations.
The two parameters are the cache-threshold double and the
cache-max-age integer; they have no default setting, i.e. the lease caching
feature must be explicitly enabled. These parameters can be configured
at the global, shared-network, and subnet levels. The subnet level has
the precedence over the shared-network level, while the global level is used
as a last resort. For example:
{
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1:1::/64",
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1:1::1:0/112" } ],
"cache-threshold": .25,
"cache-max-age": 600,
"valid-lifetime": 2000,
...
}
],
...
}
When an already-assigned lease can fulfill a client query:
any important change, e.g. for DDNS parameter, hostname, or preferred or valid lifetime reduction, makes the lease not reusable.
lease age, i.e. the difference between the creation or last modification time and the current time, is computed (elapsed duration).
if
cache-max-ageis explicitly configured, it is compared with the lease age; leases that are too old are not reusable. This means that the value 0 forcache-max-agedisables the lease cache feature.if
cache-thresholdis explicitly configured and is between 0.0 and 1.0, it expresses the percentage of the lease valid lifetime which is allowed for the lease age. Values below and including 0.0 and values greater than 1.0 disable the lease cache feature.
In our example, a lease with a valid lifetime of 2000 seconds can be reused if it was committed less than 500 seconds ago. With a lifetime of 3000 seconds, a maximum age of 600 seconds applies.
In outbound client responses (e.g. DHCPV6_REPLY messages), the used preferred and valid lifetimes are the reusable values, i.e. the expiration dates do not change.
9.3. Host Reservations in DHCPv6
There are many cases where it is useful to provide a configuration on a per-host basis. The most obvious one is to reserve a specific, static IPv6 address or/and prefix for exclusive use by a given client (host); the returning client receives the same address and/or prefix every time, and other clients will never get that address. Host reservations are also convenient when a host has specific requirements, e.g. a printer that needs additional DHCP options or a cable modem that needs specific parameters. Yet another possible use case is to define unique names for hosts.
There may be cases when a new reservation has been made for a client for an address or prefix currently in use by another client. We call this situation a "conflict." These conflicts get resolved automatically over time, as described in subsequent sections. Once a conflict is resolved, the correct client will receive the reserved configuration when it renews.
Host reservations are defined as parameters for each subnet. Each host
must be identified by either DUID or its hardware/MAC address; see
MAC/Hardware Addresses in DHCPv6 for details. There
is an optional reservations array in the subnet6 structure; each
element in that array is a structure that holds information about reservations for a
single host. In particular, the structure has an identifier that
uniquely identifies a host. In the DHCPv6 context, the identifier is
usually a DUID, but it can also be a hardware or MAC address. One or more
addresses or prefixes may also be specified, and it is possible to
specify a hostname and DHCPv6 options for a given host.
Note
The reserved address must be within the subnet. This does not apply to reserved prefixes.
The following example shows how to reserve addresses and prefixes for specific hosts:
{
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::/80" } ],
"pd-pools": [
{
"prefix": "2001:db8:1:8000::",
"prefix-len": 56,
"delegated-len": 64
}
],
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8:1::100" ]
},
{
"hw-address": "00:01:02:03:04:05",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8:1::101", "2001:db8:1::102" ]
},
{
"duid": "01:02:03:04:05:06:07:08:09:0A",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8:1::103" ],
"prefixes": [ "2001:db8:2:abcd::/64" ],
"hostname": "foo.example.com"
}
]
}
],
...
}
This example includes reservations for three different clients. The first reservation is for the address 2001:db8:1::100, for a client using DUID 01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E. The second reservation is for two addresses, 2001:db8:1::101 and 2001:db8:1::102, for a client using MAC address 00:01:02:03:04:05. Lastly, address 2001:db8:1::103 and prefix 2001:db8:2:abcd::/64 are reserved for a client using DUID 01:02:03:04:05:06:07:08:09:0A. The last reservation also assigns a hostname to this client.
DHCPv6 allows a single client to lease multiple addresses and
multiple prefixes at the same time. Therefore ip-addresses and
prefixes are plural and are actually arrays. When the client sends
multiple IA options (IA_NA or IA_PD), each reserved address or prefix is
assigned to an individual IA of the appropriate type. If the number of
IAs of a specific type is lower than the number of reservations of that
type, the number of reserved addresses or prefixes assigned to the
client is equal to the number of IA_NAs or IA_PDs sent by the client;
that is, some reserved addresses or prefixes are not assigned. However,
they still remain reserved for this client and the server will not
assign them to any other client. If the number of IAs of a specific type
sent by the client is greater than the number of reserved addresses or
prefixes, the server will try to assign all reserved addresses or
prefixes to the individual IAs and dynamically allocate addresses or
prefixes to the remaining IAs. If the server cannot assign a reserved
address or prefix because it is in use, the server will select the next
reserved address or prefix and try to assign it to the client. If the
server subsequently finds that there are no more reservations that can
be assigned to the client at that moment, the server will try to assign
leases dynamically.
Making a reservation for a mobile host that may visit multiple subnets requires a separate host definition in each subnet that host is expected to visit. It is not possible to define multiple host definitions with the same hardware address in a single subnet. Multiple host definitions with the same hardware address are valid if each is in a different subnet. The reservation for a given host should include only one identifier, either DUID or hardware address; defining both for the same host is considered a configuration error.
Adding host reservations incurs a performance penalty. In principle, when a server that does not support host reservation responds to a query, it needs to check whether there is a lease for a given address being considered for allocation or renewal. The server that does support host reservation has to perform additional checks: not only whether the address is currently used (i.e., if there is a lease for it), but also whether the address could be used by someone else (i.e., if there is a reservation for it). That additional check incurs extra overhead.
9.3.1. Address/Prefix Reservation Types
In a typical Kea scenario there is an IPv6 subnet defined, with a certain part of it dedicated for dynamic address allocation by the DHCPv6 server. There may be an additional address space defined for prefix delegation. Those dynamic parts are referred to as dynamic pools, address and prefix pools, or simply pools. In principle, a host reservation can reserve any address or prefix that belongs to the subnet. The reservations that specify addresses that belong to configured pools are called "in-pool reservations." In contrast, those that do not belong to dynamic pools are called "out-of-pool reservations." There is no formal difference in the reservation syntax and both reservation types are handled uniformly.
Kea supports global host reservations. These are reservations that are specified at the global level within the configuration and that do not belong to any specific subnet. Kea still matches inbound client packets to a subnet as before, but when the subnet's reservation mode is set to "global", Kea looks for host reservations only among the global reservations defined. Typically, such reservations would be used to reserve hostnames for clients which may move from one subnet to another.
Note
Global reservations, while useful in certain circumstances, have aspects that must be given due consideration when using them. Please see Conflicts in DHCPv6 Reservations for more details.
Note
Since Kea 1.9.1, reservation mode has been replaced by three
boolean flags, reservations-global, reservations-in-subnet
and reservations-out-of-pool, which allow the configuration of
host reservations both globally and in a subnet. In such cases a subnet
host reservation has preference over a global reservation
when both exist for the same client.
Note
Beginning with Kea 2.7.3, the host reservation syntax supports
a new entry, excluded-prefixes. It can be used to specify
prefixes the client should exclude from delegated prefixes.
When present it must have the same number of elements as the
prefixes entry. Both entries contain strings representing IPv6
prefixes. Each element of the excluded-prefixes must be either
an empty string or match the prefix at the same position in
prefixes. An empty excluded-prefixes list or a list with
only empty strings can be omitted. An example which excludes
2001:db8:0:1::/64 from 2001:db8::/48 is shown below:
{
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "01:02:03:04:05:06:07:08:09:0A",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8:1::103" ],
"prefixes": [ "2001:db8::/48" ],
"excluded-prefixes": [ "2001:db8:0:1::/64" ],
"hostname": "foo.example.com"
}
],
...
}
Note
Since host reservations have precedence over prefix pools, a reserved prefix without an excluded prefix will not add a pd-exclude option to the prefix option even if the delegated prefix is in a configured prefix pool that does specify an excluded prefix (different from previous behavior).
9.3.2. Conflicts in DHCPv6 Reservations
As reservations and lease information are stored separately, conflicts may arise. Consider the following series of events: the server has configured the dynamic pool of addresses from the range of 2001:db8::10 to 2001:db8::20. Host A requests an address and gets 2001:db8::10. Now the system administrator decides to reserve address 2001:db8::10 for Host B. In general, reserving an address that is currently assigned to someone else is not recommended, but there are valid use cases where such an operation is warranted.
The server now has a conflict to resolve. If Host B boots up and requests an address, the server cannot immediately assign the reserved address 2001:db8::10. A naive approach would to be immediately remove the lease for Host A and create a new one for Host B. That would not solve the problem, though, because as soon as Host B gets the address, it will detect that the address is already in use (by Host A) and will send a DHCPDECLINE message. Therefore, in this situation, the server has to temporarily assign a different address from the dynamic pool (not matching what has been reserved) to Host B.
When Host A renews its address, the server will discover that the address being renewed is now reserved for someone else - Host B. The server will remove the lease for 2001:db8::10, select a new address, and create a new lease for it. It will send two addresses in its response: the old address, with the lifetime set to 0 to explicitly indicate that it is no longer valid; and the new address, with a non-zero lifetime. When Host B tries to renew its temporarily assigned address, the server will detect that the existing lease does not match the reservation, so it will release the current address Host B has and will create a new lease matching the reservation. As before, the server will send two addresses: the temporarily assigned one with a zero lifetime, and the new one that matches the reservation with the proper lifetime set.
This recovery will succeed, even if other hosts attempt to get the reserved address. If Host C requests the address 2001:db8::10 after the reservation is made, the server will propose a different address.
This recovery mechanism allows the server to fully recover from a case
where reservations conflict with existing leases; however, this procedure
takes roughly as long as the value set for renew-timer. The
best way to avoid such a recovery is not to define new reservations that
conflict with existing leases. Another recommendation is to use
out-of-pool reservations; if the reserved address does not belong to a
pool, there is no way that other clients can get it.
Note
The conflict-resolution mechanism does not work for global reservations. Although the global address reservations feature may be useful in certain settings, it is generally recommended not to use global reservations for addresses. Administrators who do choose to use global reservations must manually ensure that the reserved addresses are not in dynamic pools.
9.3.3. Reserving a Hostname
When the reservation for a client includes the hostname, the server
assigns this hostname to the client and sends it back in the Client
FQDN option, if the client included the Client FQDN option in its message
to the server. The reserved hostname always takes precedence over the
hostname supplied by the client (via the FQDN option) or the autogenerated
(from the IPv6 address) hostname.
The server qualifies the reserved hostname with the value of the
ddns-qualifying-suffix parameter. For example, the following subnet
configuration:
{
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::/80" } ],
"ddns-qualifying-suffix": "example.isc.org.",
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8:1::100" ],
"hostname": "alice-laptop"
}
]
}
],
"dhcp-ddns": {
"enable-updates": true
},
...
}
will result the "alice-laptop.example.isc.org." hostname being assigned to
the client using the DUID "01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E". If the
ddns-qualifying-suffix is not specified, the default (empty) value will
be used, and in this case the value specified as a hostname will be
treated as a fully qualified name. Thus, by leaving the
ddns-qualifying-suffix empty it is possible to qualify hostnames for
different clients with different domain names:
{
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::/80" } ],
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8:1::100" ],
"hostname": "mark-desktop.example.org."
}
]
}
],
"dhcp-ddns": {
"enable-updates": true
}
}
The above example results in the assignment of the "mark-desktop.example.org." hostname to the client using the DUID "01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E".
9.3.4. Including Specific DHCPv6 Options in Reservations
Kea offers the ability to specify options on a per-host basis. These options follow the same rules as any other options. These can be standard options (see Standard DHCPv6 Options), custom options (see Custom DHCPv6 Options), or vendor-specific options (see DHCPv6 Vendor-Specific Options). The following example demonstrates how standard options can be defined.
{
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "01:02:03:05:06:07:08",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8:1::2" ],
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "3000:1::234"
},
{
"name": "nis-servers",
"data": "3000:1::234"
},
...
],
...
},
...
],
...
}
Vendor-specific options can be reserved in a similar manner:
{
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
"ip-addresses": [ "2001:db8::1" ],
"option-data": [
{
"name": "vendor-opts",
"data": 4491
},
{
"name": "tftp-servers",
"space": "vendor-4491",
"data": "3000:1::234"
},
...
],
...
},
...
],
...
}
Options defined at the host level have the highest priority. In other words, if there are options defined with the same type on global, subnet, class, and host levels, the host-specific values are used.
9.3.5. Reserving Client Classes in DHCPv6
Using Expressions in Classification explains how to configure
the server to assign classes to a client, based on the content of the
options that this client sends to the server. Host reservation
mechanisms also allow for the static assignment of classes to clients.
The definitions of these classes are placed in the Kea configuration file or
a database. The following configuration snippet shows how to specify that
a client belongs to the classes reserved-class1 and reserved-class2. Those
classes are associated with specific options sent to the clients which belong
to them.
{
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "reserved-class1",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8:1::50"
}
]
},
{
"name": "reserved-class2",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "nis-servers",
"data": "2001:db8:1::100"
}
]
}
],
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::/64" } ],
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "01:02:03:04:05:06:07:08",
"client-classes": [ "reserved-class1", "reserved-class2" ]
}
]
} ]
}
In some cases the host reservations can be used in conjunction with client classes specified within the Kea configuration. In particular, when a host reservation exists for a client within a given subnet, the "KNOWN" built-in class is assigned to the client. Conversely, when there is no static assignment for the client, the "UNKNOWN" class is assigned to the client. Class expressions within the Kea configuration file can refer to "KNOWN" or "UNKNOWN" classes using the "member" operator. For example:
{
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "dependent-class",
"test": "member('KNOWN')",
"only-in-additional-list": true
}
]
}
The only-in-additional-list parameter is needed here to force evaluation
of the class after the lease has been allocated and thus the reserved
class has been also assigned.
Note
The classes specified in non-global host reservations
are assigned to the processed packet after all classes with the
only-in-additional-list parameter set to false have been evaluated.
This means that these classes must not depend on the
statically assigned classes from the host reservations. If
such a dependency is needed, the only-in-additional-list parameter must
be set to true for the dependent classes. Such classes are
evaluated after the static classes have been assigned to the packet.
This, however, imposes additional configuration overhead, because
all classes marked as only-in-additional-list must be listed in the
evaluate-additional-classes list for every subnet where they are used.
Note
Client classes specified within the Kea configuration file may
depend on the classes specified within the global host reservations.
In such a case the only-in-additional-list parameter is not needed.
Refer to the Pool Selection with Client Class Reservations and
Subnet Selection with Client Class Reservations
for specific use cases.
9.3.6. Storing Host Reservations in MySQL or PostgreSQL
Kea can store host reservations in MySQL or PostgreSQL. See Hosts Storage for information on how to configure Kea to use reservations stored in MySQL or PostgreSQL. Kea provides a dedicated hook for managing reservations in a database; section libdhcp_host_cmds.so: Host Commands provides detailed information. The Kea wiki provides some examples of how to conduct common host reservation operations.
Note
In Kea, the maximum length of an option specified per-host is arbitrarily set to 4096 bytes.
9.3.7. Fine-Tuning DHCPv6 Host Reservation
The host reservation capability introduces additional restrictions for the allocation engine (the component of Kea that selects an address for a client) during lease selection and renewal. In particular, three major checks are necessary. First, when selecting a new lease, it is not sufficient for a candidate lease to simply not be in use by another DHCP client; it also must not be reserved for another client. Similarly, when renewing a lease, an additional check must be performed to see whether the address being renewed is reserved for another client. Finally, when a host renews an address or a prefix, the server must check whether there is a reservation for this host, which would mean the existing (dynamically allocated) address should be revoked and the reserved one be used instead.
Some of those checks may be unnecessary in certain deployments, and not
performing them may improve performance. The Kea server provides the
reservations-global, reservations-in-subnet and
reservations-out-of-pool configuration parameters to select the types of
reservations allowed for a particular subnet. Each reservation type has
different constraints for the checks to be performed by the server when
allocating or renewing a lease for the client.
Configuration flags are:
reservations-in-subnet- when set totrue, it enables in-pool host reservation types. This setting is the default value, and is the safest and most flexible. However, as all checks are conducted, it is also the slowest. It does not check against global reservations. This flag defaults totrue.reservations-out-of-pool- when set totrue, it allows only out-of-pool host reservations. In this case the server assumes that all host reservations are for addresses that do not belong to the dynamic pool. Therefore, it can skip the reservation checks when dealing with in-pool addresses, thus improving performance. Do not use this mode if any reservations use in-pool addresses. Caution is advised when using this setting; Kea does not sanity-check the reservations againstreservations-out-of-pooland misconfiguration may cause problems. This flag defaults tofalse.reservations-global- allows global host reservations. With this setting in place, the server searches for reservations for a client among the defined global reservations. If an address is specified, the server skips the reservation checks carried out in other modes, thus improving performance. Caution is advised when using this setting; Kea does not sanity-check the reservations whenreservations-globalis set totrue, and misconfiguration may cause problems. This flag defaults tofalse.
- Note: setting all flags to
falsedisables host reservation support. As there are no reservations, the server skips all checks. Any reservations defined are completely ignored. As checks are skipped, the server may operate faster in this mode.
Since Kea 1.9.1 the reservations-global, reservations-in-subnet and
reservations-out-of-pool flags are suported.
The reservations-global, reservations-in-subnet and
reservations-out-of-pool parameters can be specified at:
global level:
.Dhcp6["reservations-global"](lowest priority: gets overridden by all others)subnet level:
.Dhcp6.subnet6[]["reservations-in-subnet"](low priority)shared-network level:
.Dhcp6["shared-networks"][]["reservations-out-of-pool"](high priority)shared-network subnet-level:
.Dhcp6["shared-networks"][].subnet6[]["reservations-out-of-pool"](highest priority: overrides all others)
To decide which flags to use, the following decision diagram may be useful:
O
|
v
+-----------------------------+------------------------------+
| Is per-host configuration needed, such as |
| reserving specific addresses, |
| assigning specific options or |
| assigning packets to specific classes on per-device basis? |
+-+-----------------+----------------------------------------+
| |
no| yes|
| | +--------------------------------------+
| | | For all given hosts, |
+--> "disabled" +-->+ can the reserved resources |
| be used in all configured subnets? |
+--------+---------------------------+-+
| |
+----------------------------+ |no |yes
| Is | | |
| at least one reservation +<--+ "global" <--+
| used to reserve addresses |
| or prefixes? |
+-+------------------------+-+
| |
no| yes| +---------------------------+
| | | Is high leases-per-second |
+--> "out-of-pool" +-->+ performance or efficient |
^ | resource usage |
| | (CPU ticks, RAM usage, |
| | database roundtrips) |
| | important to your setup? |
| +-+----------------+--------+
| | |
| yes| no|
| | |
| +-------------+ |
| | |
| | +----------------------+ |
| | | Can it be guaranteed | |
| +-->+ that the reserved | |
| | addresses/prefixes | |
| | aren't part of the | |
| | pools configured | |
| | in the respective | |
| | subnet? | |
| +-+------------------+-+ |
| | | |
| yes| no| |
| | | V
+----------------+ +--> "in-subnet"
An example configuration that disables reservations looks as follows:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::-2001:db8:1::100"
}
],
"reservations-global": false,
"reservations-in-subnet": false,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64"
}
]
}
}
An example configuration using global reservations is shown below:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations-global": true,
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "00:03:00:01:11:22:33:44:55:66",
"hostname": "host-one"
},
{
"duid": "00:03:00:01:99:88:77:66:55:44",
"hostname": "host-two"
}
],
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::-2001:db8:1::100"
}
],
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64"
}
]
}
}
The meaning of the reservation flags are:
reservations-global: fetch global reservations.reservations-in-subnet: fetch subnet reservations. For a shared network this includes all subnet members of the shared network.reservations-out-of-pool: this makes sense only when thereservations-in-subnetflag istrue. Whenreservations-out-of-poolistrue, the server assumes that all host reservations are for addresses that do not belong to the dynamic pool. Therefore, it can skip the reservation checks when dealing with in-pool addresses, thus improving performance. The server will not assign reserved addresses that are inside the dynamic pools to the respective clients. This also means that the addresses matching the respective reservations from inside the dynamic pools (if any) can be dynamically assigned to any client.
The disabled configuration corresponds to:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations-global": false,
"reservations-in-subnet": false
}
}
The global``configuration using ``reservations-global corresponds to:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations-global": true,
"reservations-in-subnet": false
}
}
The out-of-pool configuration using reservations-out-of-pool corresponds to:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations-global": false,
"reservations-in-subnet": true,
"reservations-out-of-pool": true
}
}
And the in-subnet configuration using reservations-in-subnet corresponds to:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations-global": false,
"reservations-in-subnet": true,
"reservations-out-of-pool": false
}
}
To activate both global and in-subnet, the following combination can be used:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations-global": true,
"reservations-in-subnet": true,
"reservations-out-of-pool": false
}
}
To activate both global and out-of-pool, the following combination can
be used:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations-global": true,
"reservations-in-subnet": true,
"reservations-out-of-pool": true
}
}
Enabling out-of-pool and disabling in-subnet at the same time
is not recommended because out-of-pool applies to host reservations in a
subnet, which are fetched only when the in-subnet flag is true.
The parameter can be specified at the global, subnet, and shared-network levels.
An example configuration that disables reservations looks as follows:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"reservations-global": false,
"reservations-in-subnet": false,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"id": 1
}
]
}
}
An example configuration using global reservations is shown below:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"reservations": [
{
"duid": "00:03:00:01:11:22:33:44:55:66",
"hostname": "host-one"
},
{
"duid": "00:03:00:01:99:88:77:66:55:44",
"hostname": "host-two"
}
],
"reservations-global": true,
"reservations-in-subnet": false,
"subnet6": [
{
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::-2001:db8:1::100"
}
],
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"id": 1
}
]
}
}
For more details regarding global reservations, see Global Reservations in DHCPv6.
Another aspect of host reservations is the different types of identifiers. Kea currently supports two types of identifiers in DHCPv6: hardware address and DUID. This is beneficial from a usability perspective; however, there is one drawback. For each incoming packet Kea has to extract each identifier type and then query the database to see if there is a reservation by this particular identifier. If nothing is found, the next identifier is extracted and the next query is issued. This process continues until either a reservation is found or all identifier types have been checked. Over time, with an increasing number of supported identifier types, Kea would become slower and slower.
To address this problem, a parameter called
host-reservation-identifiers is available. It takes a list of
identifier types as a parameter. Kea checks only those identifier
types enumerated in host-reservation-identifiers. From a performance
perspective, the number of identifier types should be kept to a minimum,
ideally one. If the deployment uses several reservation types, please
enumerate them from most- to least-frequently used, as this increases
the chances of Kea finding the reservation using the fewest queries. An
example of a host-reservation-identifiers configuration looks as follows:
{
"host-reservation-identifiers": [ "duid", "hw-address" ],
"subnet6": [
{
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
...
}
],
...
}
If not specified, the default value is:
"host-reservation-identifiers": [ "hw-address", "duid" ]
Note
As soon as a host reservation is found, the search is stopped;
when a client has two host reservations using different enabled
identifier types, the first is always returned and the second
ignored. This is usually a configuration error.
In those rare cases when having two reservations for the same host makes sense,
the one to be used can be specified by ordering the list of
identifier types in host-reservation-identifiers.
9.3.8. Global Reservations in DHCPv6
In some deployments, such as mobile networks, clients can roam within the network and certain parameters must be specified regardless of the client's current location. To meet such a need, Kea offers a global reservation mechanism. The idea behind it is that regular host reservations are tied to specific subnets, by using a specific subnet ID. Kea can specify a global reservation that can be used in every subnet that has global reservations enabled.
This feature can be used to assign certain parameters, such as hostname or other dedicated, host-specific options. It can also be used to assign addresses or prefixes.
An address assigned via global host reservation must be feasible for the subnet the server selects for the client. In other words, the address must lie within the subnet; otherwise, it is ignored and the server will attempt to dynamically allocate an address. If the selected subnet belongs to a shared network, the server checks for feasibility against the subnet's siblings, selecting the first in-range subnet. If no such subnet exists, the server falls back to dynamically allocating the address. This does not apply to globally reserved prefixes.
Note
Prior to release 2.3.5, the server did not perform feasibility checks on globally reserved addresses, which allowed the server to be configured to hand out nonsensical leases for arbitrary address values. Later versions of Kea perform these checks.
To use global host reservations, a configuration similar to the following can be used:
"Dhcp6": {
# This specifies global reservations.
# They will apply to all subnets that
# have global reservations enabled.
"reservations": [
{
"hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",
"hostname": "hw-host-dynamic"
},
{
"hw-address": "01:02:03:04:05:06",
"hostname": "hw-host-fixed",
# Use of IP addresses in global reservations is risky.
# If used outside of matching subnet, such as 3001::/64,
# it will result in a broken configuration being handed
# to the client.
"ip-address": "2001:db8:ff::77"
},
{
"duid": "01:02:03:04:05",
"hostname": "duid-host"
}
],
"valid-lifetime": 600,
"subnet4": [ {
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
# Specify if the server should look up global reservations.
"reservations-global": true,
# Specify if the server should look up in-subnet reservations.
"reservations-in-subnet": false,
# Specify if the server can assume that all reserved addresses
# are out-of-pool. It can be ignored because "reservations-in-subnet"
# is false.
# "reservations-out-of-pool": false,
"pools": [ { "pool": "2001:db8:1::-2001:db8:1::100" } ]
} ]
}
When using database backends, the global host reservations are
distinguished from regular reservations by using a subnet-id value of
0.
9.3.9. Pool Selection with Client Class Reservations
Client classes can be specified both in the Kea configuration file and/or
via host reservations. The classes specified in the Kea configuration file are
evaluated immediately after receiving the DHCP packet and therefore can be
used to influence subnet selection using the client-class parameter
specified in the subnet scope. The classes specified within the host
reservations are fetched and assigned to the packet after the server has
already selected a subnet for the client. This means that the client
class specified within a host reservation cannot be used to influence
subnet assignment for this client, unless the subnet belongs to a
shared network. If the subnet belongs to a shared network, the server may
dynamically change the subnet assignment while trying to allocate a lease.
If the subnet does not belong to a shared network, once selected, the subnet
is not changed once selected.
If the subnet does not belong to a shared network, it is possible to use host reservation-based client classification to select an address pool within the subnet as follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "reserved_class"
},
{
"name": "unreserved_class",
"test": "not member('reserved_class')"
}
],
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"reservations": [
{
"hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:fe",
"client-classes": [ "reserved_class" ]
}
],
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::10-2001:db8:1::20",
"client-class": "reserved_class"
},
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::30-2001:db8:1::40",
"client-class": "unreserved_class"
}
]
}
]
}
The reserved_class is declared without the test parameter because
it may be only assigned to the client via host reservation mechanism. The
second class, unreserved_class, is assigned to clients which do not
belong to the reserved_class. The first pool within the subnet is only
used for clients having a reservation for the reserved_class. The
second pool is used for clients not having such a reservation. The
configuration snippet includes one host reservation which causes the client
with the MAC address aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:fe to be assigned to the
reserved_class. Thus, this client will be given an IP address from the
first address pool.
9.3.10. Subnet Selection with Client Class Reservations
There is one specific use case when subnet selection may be influenced by client classes specified within host reservations: when the client belongs to a shared network. In such a case it is possible to use classification to select a subnet within this shared network. Consider the following example:
"Dhcp6": {
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "reserved_class"
},
{
"name": "unreserved_class",
"test": "not member('reserved_class')"
}
],
"reservations": [
{
"hw-address": "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:fe",
"client-classes": [ "reserved_class" ]
}
],
# It is replaced by the "reservations-global",
# "reservations-in-subnet", and "reservations-out-of-pool" parameters.
# Specify if the server should look up global reservations.
"reservations-global": true,
# Specify if the server should look up in-subnet reservations.
"reservations-in-subnet": false,
# Specify if the server can assume that all reserved addresses
# are out-of-pool. It can be ignored because "reservations-in-subnet"
# is false, but if specified, it is inherited by "shared-networks"
# and "subnet6" levels.
# "reservations-out-of-pool": false,
"shared-networks": [
{
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::10-2001:db8:1::20",
"client-class": "reserved_class"
}
]
},
{
"id": 2,
"subnet": "2001:db8:2::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:2::10-2001:db8:2::20",
"client-class": "unreserved_class"
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
This is similar to the example described in the
Pool Selection with Client Class Reservations. This time, however, there
are two subnets, each of which has a pool associated with a different
class. The clients that do not have a reservation for the reserved_class
are assigned an address from the subnet 2001:db8:2::/64. Clients with
a reservation for the reserved_class are assigned an address from
the subnet 2001:db8:1::/64. The subnets must belong to the same shared network.
In addition, the reservation for the client class must be specified at the
global scope (global reservation) and reservations-global must be
set to true.
In the example above, the client-class could also be specified at the
subnet level rather than the pool level, and would yield the same effect.
9.3.11. Multiple Reservations for the Same IP
Host reservations were designed to preclude the creation of multiple
reservations for the same IP address or delegated prefix within a
particular subnet, to avoid having two different clients
compete for the same lease. When using the default settings, the server
returns a configuration error when it finds two or more reservations for
the same lease within a subnet in the Kea configuration file.
libdhcp_host_cmds.so returns an error in response to the
reservation-add command when it detects that the reservation exists
in the database for the lease for which the new reservation is being added.
Similar to DHCPv4 (see Multiple Reservations for the Same IP), the DHCPv6
server can also be configured to allow the creation of multiple reservations
for the same IPv6 address and/or delegated prefix in a given subnet. This
is supported since Kea release 1.9.1 as an optional mode of operation
enabled with the ip-reservations-unique global parameter.
ip-reservations-unique is a boolean parameter that defaults to
true, which forbids the specification of more than one reservation
for the same lease in a given subnet. Setting this parameter to false
allows such reservations to be created both in the Kea configuration
file and in the host database backend, via libdhcp_host_cmds.so.
Setting ip-reservations-unique to false when using memfile, MySQL, or PostgreSQL is supported.
This setting is not supported when using Host Cache (see libdhcp_host_cache.so: Host Cache Reservations for Improved Performance) or the RADIUS backend
(see libdhcp_radius.so: RADIUS Server Support). These reservation backends do not support multiple reservations for the
same IP; if either of these hooks is loaded and ip-reservations-unique is set to false, then a
configuration error is emitted and the server fails to start.
Note
When ip-reservations-unique is set to true (the default value),
the server ensures that IP reservations are unique for a subnet within
a single host backend and/or Kea configuration file. It does not
guarantee that the reservations are unique across multiple backends.
On server startup, only IP reservations defined in the Kea configuration
file are checked for uniqueness.
The following is an example configuration with two reservations for the same IPv6 address but different MAC addresses:
"Dhcp6": {
"ip-reservations-unique": false,
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"reservations": [
{
"hw-address": "1a:1b:1c:1d:1e:1f",
"ip-address": "2001:db8:1::11"
},
{
"hw-address": "2a:2b:2c:2d:2e:2f",
"ip-address": "2001:db8:1::11"
}
]
}
]
}
It is possible to control the ip-reservations-unique parameter via the
Configuration Backend in DHCPv6. If the new setting of this parameter conflicts with
the currently used backends (i.e. backends do not support the new setting),
the new setting is ignored and a warning log message is generated.
The backends continue to use the default setting, expecting that
IP reservations are unique within each subnet. To allow the
creation of non-unique IP reservations, the administrator must remove
the backends which lack support for them from the configuration file.
Administrators must be careful when they have been using multiple reservations for the same IP address and/or delegated prefix and later decide to return to the default mode in which this is no longer allowed. They must make sure that at most one reservation for a given IP address or delegated prefix exists within a subnet, prior to switching back to the default mode. If such duplicates are left in the configuration file, the server reports a configuration error. Leaving such reservations in the host databases does not cause configuration errors but may lead to lease allocation errors during the server's operation, when it unexpectedly finds multiple reservations for the same IP address or delegated prefix.
Note
Currently, the Kea server does not verify whether multiple reservations for
the same IP address and/or delegated prefix exist in
MySQL and/or PostgreSQL) host databases when ip-reservations-unique
is updated from false to true. This may cause issues with
lease allocations. The administrator must ensure that there is at
most one reservation for each IP address and/or delegated prefix
within each subnet, prior to the configuration update.
reservations-lookup-first is a boolean parameter which controls whether
host reservations lookup should be performed before lease lookup. This parameter
has effect only when multi-threading is disabled. When multi-threading is
enabled, host reservations lookup is always performed first to avoid lease-lookup
resource locking. The reservations-lookup-first parameter defaults to false
when multi-threading is disabled.
9.3.12. Host Reservations as Basic Access Control
It is possible to define a host reservation that contains just an identifier, without any address, options, or values. In some deployments this is useful, as the hosts that have a reservation belong to the KNOWN class while others do not. This can be used as a basic access control mechanism.
The following example demonstrates this concept. It indicates a single IPv6 subnet and all clients will get an address from it. However, only known clients (those that have reservations) will get their default DNS server configured. Empty reservations, i.e. reservations that only have the identification criterion, can be useful as a way of making the clients known.
"Dhcp6": {
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "KNOWN",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::1"
}
]
}
],
"reservations": [
// Clients on this list will be added to the KNOWN class.
{ "duid": "01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E" },
{ "duid": "02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E:0F" }
],
"reservations-in-subnet": true,
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1:1::/64"
}
]
}
]
}
This concept can be extended further. A good real-life scenario might be a situation where some customers of an ISP have not paid their bills. A new class can be defined to use an alternative default DNS server that, instead of giving access to the Internet, redirects those customers to a captive portal urging them to bring their accounts up to date.
"Dhcp6": {
"client-classes": [
{
"name": "blocked",
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::2"
}
]
}
],
"reservations": [
// Clients on this list will be added to the KNOWN class. Some
// will also be added to the blocked class.
{ "duid": "01:02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E",
"client-classes": [ "blocked" ] },
{ "duid": "02:03:04:05:0A:0B:0C:0D:0E:0F" }
],
"reservations-in-subnet": true,
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/48",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1:1::/64"
}
],
"option-data": [
{
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::1"
}
]
}
]
}
9.5. Server Identifier in DHCPv6
The DHCPv6 protocol uses a "server identifier" (also known as a DUID) to allow clients to discriminate between several servers present on the same link. RFC 8415 currently defines four DUID types: DUID-LLT, DUID-EN, DUID-LL, and DUID-UUID.
The Kea DHCPv6 server generates a server identifier once, upon the first startup, and stores it in a file. This identifier is not modified across restarts of the server and so is a stable identifier.
Kea follows the recommendation from RFC 8415 to use DUID-LLT as the default server identifier. However, ISC has received reports that some deployments require different DUID types, and that there is a need to administratively select both the DUID type and/or its contents.
The server identifier can be configured using parameters within the
server-id map element in the global scope of the Kea configuration
file. The following example demonstrates how to select DUID-EN as a
server identifier:
"Dhcp6": {
"server-id": {
"type": "EN"
},
...
}
Currently supported values for the type parameter are: "LLT", "EN", and
"LL", for DUID-LLT, DUID-EN, and DUID-LL respectively.
When a new DUID type is selected, the server generates its value and replaces any existing DUID in the file. The server then uses the new server identifier in all future interactions with clients.
Note
If the new server identifier is created after some clients have obtained their leases, the clients using the old identifier are not able to renew their leases; the server will ignore messages containing the old server identifier. Clients will continue sending RENEW until they transition to the rebinding state. In this state, they will start sending REBIND messages to the multicast address without a server identifier. The server will respond to the REBIND messages with a new server identifier, and the clients will associate the new server identifier with their leases. Although the clients will be able to keep their leases and will eventually learn the new server identifier, this will be at the cost of an increased number of renewals and multicast traffic due to a need to rebind. Therefore, it is recommended that modification of the server-identifier type and value be avoided if the server has already assigned leases and these leases are still valid.
There are cases when an administrator needs to explicitly specify a DUID value rather than allow the server to generate it. The following example demonstrates how to explicitly set all components of a DUID-LLT.
"Dhcp6": {
"server-id": {
"type": "LLT",
"htype": 8,
"identifier": "A65DC7410F05",
"time": 2518920166
},
...
}
where:
htypeis a 16-bit unsigned value specifying hardware type,identifieris a link-layer address, specified as a string of hexadecimal digits, andtimeis a 32-bit unsigned time value.
The hexadecimal representation of the DUID generated as a result of the configuration specified above is:
00:01:00:08:96:23:AB:E6:A6:5D:C7:41:0F:05
|type |htype| time | identifier |
A special value of "0" for htype and time is allowed, which indicates
that the server should use ANY value for these components. If the server
already uses a DUID-LLT, it will use the values from this DUID; if the
server uses a DUID of a different type or does not yet use any DUID, it
will generate these values. Similarly, if the identifier is assigned
an empty string, the value of the identifier will be generated. Omitting
any of these parameters is equivalent to setting them to those special
values.
For example, the following configuration:
"Dhcp6": {
"server-id": {
"type": "LLT",
"htype": 0,
"identifier": "",
"time": 2518920166
},
...
}
indicates that the server should use ANY link-layer address and hardware type. If the server is already using DUID-LLT, it will use the link-layer address and hardware type from the existing DUID. If the server is not yet using any DUID, it will use the link-layer address and hardware type from one of the available network interfaces. The server will use an explicit value of time; if it is different than a time value present in the currently used DUID, that value will be replaced, effectively modifying the current server identifier.
The following example demonstrates an explicit configuration of a DUID-EN:
"Dhcp6": {
"server-id": {
"type": "EN",
"enterprise-id": 2495,
"identifier": "87ABEF7A5BB545"
},
...
}
where:
enterprise-idis a 32-bit unsigned value holding an enterprise number, andidentifieris a variable- length identifier within DUID-EN.
The hexadecimal representation of the DUID-EN created according to the configuration above is:
00:02:00:00:09:BF:87:AB:EF:7A:5B:B5:45
|type | ent-id | identifier |
As in the case of the DUID-LLT, special values can be used for the
configuration of the DUID-EN. If the enterprise-id is "0", the server
will use a value from the existing DUID-EN. If the server is not using
any DUID or the existing DUID has a different type, the ISC enterprise
ID will be used. When an empty string is entered for identifier, the
identifier from the existing DUID-EN will be used. If the server is not
using any DUID-EN, a new 6-byte-long identifier will be generated.
DUID-LL is configured in the same way as DUID-LLT except that the
time parameter has no effect for DUID-LL, because this DUID type
only comprises a hardware type and link-layer address. The following
example demonstrates how to configure DUID-LL:
"Dhcp6": {
"server-id": {
"type": "LL",
"htype": 8,
"identifier": "A65DC7410F05"
},
...
}
which will result in the following server identifier:
00:03:00:08:A6:5D:C7:41:0F:05
|type |htype| identifier |
The server stores the generated server identifier in the following
location: [kea-install-dir]/var/lib/kea/kea-dhcp6-serverid.
In some uncommon deployments where no stable storage is available, the
server should be configured not to try to store the server identifier.
This choice is controlled by the value of the persist boolean
parameter:
"Dhcp6": {
"server-id": {
"type": "EN",
"enterprise-id": 2495,
"identifier": "87ABEF7A5BB545",
"persist": false
},
...
}
The default value of the persist parameter is true, which
configures the server to store the server identifier on a disk.
In the example above, the server is configured not to store the generated server identifier on a disk. But if the server identifier is not modified in the configuration, the same value is used after server restart, because the entire server identifier is explicitly specified in the configuration.
9.6. DHCPv6 Data Directory
The Kea DHCPv6 server puts the server identifier file and the default
memory lease file into its data directory. By default this directory is
prefix/var/lib/kea but this location can be changed using the
data-directory global parameter, as in:
"Dhcp6": {
"data-directory": "/var/tmp/kea-server6",
...
}
9.7. Stateless DHCPv6 (INFORMATION-REQUEST Message)
Typically DHCPv6 is used to assign both addresses and options. These assignments (leases) have a state that changes over time, hence their description as "stateful." DHCPv6 also supports a "stateless" mode, where clients request only configuration options. This mode is considered lightweight from the server perspective, as it does not require any state tracking.
The Kea server supports stateless mode. When clients send INFORMATION-REQUEST messages, the server sends back answers with the requested options, if they are available in the server configuration. The server attempts to use per-subnet options first; if that fails, it then tries to provide options defined in the global scope.
Stateless and stateful mode can be used together. No special configuration directives are required to handle this; simply use the configuration for stateful clients and the stateless clients will get only the options they requested.
It is possible to run a server that provides only options and no addresses or prefixes. If the options have the same value in each subnet, the configuration can define the required options in the global scope and skip subnet definitions altogether. Here's a simple example of such a configuration:
"Dhcp6": {
"interfaces-config": {
"interfaces": [ "ethX" ]
},
"option-data": [ {
"name": "dns-servers",
"data": "2001:db8::1, 2001:db8::2"
} ],
"lease-database": {
"type": "memfile"
}
}
This very simple configuration provides DNS server information to all clients in the network, regardless of their location. The memfile lease database must be specified, as Kea requires a lease database to be specified even if it is not used.
9.8. Support for RFC 7550 (now part of RFC 8415)
RFC 7550 introduced some changes to the previous DHCPv6 specifications, RFC 3315 and RFC 3633, to resolve issues with the coexistence of multiple stateful options in the messages sent between clients and servers. Those changes were later included in the most recent DHCPv6 protocol specification, RFC 8415, which obsoleted RFC 7550. Kea supports RFC 8415 along with these protocol changes, which are briefly described below.
When a client, such as a requesting router, requests an allocation of both addresses and prefixes during the 4-way (SARR) exchange with the server, and the server is not configured to allocate any prefixes but can allocate some addresses, it will respond with the IA_NA(s) containing allocated addresses and the IA_PD(s) containing the NoPrefixAvail status code. According to the updated specifications, if the client can operate without prefixes it should accept allocated addresses and transition to the "bound" state. When the client subsequently sends RENEW/REBIND messages to the server to extend the lifetimes of the allocated addresses, according to the T1 and T2 times, and if the client is still interested in obtaining prefixes from the server, it may also include an IA_PD in the RENEW/REBIND to request allocation of the prefixes. If the server still cannot allocate the prefixes, it will respond with the IA_PD(s) containing the NoPrefixAvail status code. However, if the server can allocate the prefixes, it allocates and sends them in the IA_PD(s) to the client. A similar situation occurs when the server is unable to allocate addresses for the client but can delegate prefixes: the client may request allocation of the addresses while renewing the delegated prefixes. Allocating leases for other IA types while renewing existing leases is by default supported by the Kea DHCPv6 server, and the server provides no configuration mechanisms to disable this behavior.
The following are the other behaviors first introduced in RFC 7550 (now part of RFC 8415) and supported by the Kea DHCPv6 server:
Set T1/T2 timers to the same value for all stateful (IA_NA and IA_PD) options to facilitate renewal of all of a client's leases at the same time (in a single message exchange).
Place NoAddrsAvail and NoPrefixAvail status codes in the IA_NA and IA_PD options in the ADVERTISE message, rather than as the top-level options.
9.9. Using a Specific Relay Agent for a Subnet
The DHCPv6 server follows the same principles as the DHCPv4 server to select a subnet for the client, with noticeable differences mainly for relays.
Note
When the selected subnet is a member of a shared network, the whole shared network is selected.
A relay must have an interface connected to the link on which the
clients are being configured. Typically the relay has a global IPv6
address configured on that interface, which belongs to the subnet from
which the server assigns addresses. Normally, the server is able to
use the IPv6 address inserted by the relay (in the link-addr field in
the RELAY-FORW message) to select the appropriate subnet.
However, that is not always the case; the relay address may not match
the subnet in certain deployments. This usually means that there is more
than one subnet allocated for a given link. The two most common examples
of this are long-lasting network renumbering (where both the
old and new address spaces are still being used) and a cable network. In a
cable network, both cable modems and the devices behind them are
physically connected to the same link, yet they use distinct addressing.
In such a case, the DHCPv6 server needs additional information (the
value of the interface-id option or the IPv6 address inserted in the
link-addr field in the RELAY-FORW message) to properly select an
appropriate subnet.
The following example assumes that there is a subnet 2001:db8:1::/64 that is accessible via a relay that uses 3000::1 as its IPv6 address. The server is able to select this subnet for any incoming packets that come from a relay that has an address in the 2001:db8:1::/64 subnet. It also selects that subnet for a relay with address 3000::1.
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff"
}
],
"relay": {
"ip-addresses": [ "3000::1" ]
}
}
]
}
If relay is specified, the ip-addresses parameter within it is
mandatory. The ip-addresses parameter supports specifying a list of addresses.
9.10. Segregating IPv6 Clients in a Cable Network
In certain cases, it is useful to mix relay address information (introduced in Using a Specific Relay Agent for a Subnet) with client classification (explained in Client Classification). One specific example is in a cable network, where modems typically get addresses from a different subnet than all the devices connected behind them.
Let us assume that there is one Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) with one CM MAC (a physical link that modems are connected to). We want the modems to get addresses from the 3000::/64 subnet, while everything connected behind the modems should get addresses from the 2001:db8:1::/64 subnet. The CMTS that acts as a relay uses address 3000::1. The following configuration can serve that situation:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "3000::/64",
"pools": [
{ "pool": "3000::2 - 3000::ffff" }
],
"client-class": "VENDOR_CLASS_docsis3.0",
"relay": {
"ip-addresses": [ "3000::1" ]
}
},
{
"id": 2,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pools": [
{
"pool": "2001:db8:1::1-2001:db8:1::ffff"
}
],
"relay": {
"ip-addresses": [ "3000::1" ]
}
}
]
}
9.11. MAC/Hardware Addresses in DHCPv6
MAC/hardware addresses are available in DHCPv4 messages from clients, and administrators frequently use that information to perform certain tasks like per-host configuration and address reservation for specific MAC addresses. Unfortunately, the DHCPv6 protocol does not provide any completely reliable way to retrieve that information. To mitigate that issue, a number of mechanisms have been implemented in Kea. Each of these mechanisms works in certain cases, but may not in others. Whether the mechanism works in a particular deployment is somewhat dependent on the network topology and the technologies used.
Kea allows specification of which of the supported methods should be
used and in what order, via the mac-sources parameter. This configuration
may be considered a fine
tuning of the DHCP deployment.
Here is an example:
"Dhcp6": {
"mac-sources": [
"method1",
"method2",
"method3",
...
],
"subnet6": [
{
...
},
...
],
...
}
When not specified, a value of "any" is used, which instructs the server to attempt to try all the methods in sequence and use the value returned by the first one that succeeds. In a typical deployment the default value of "any" is sufficient and there is no need to select specific methods. Changing the value of this parameter is most useful in cases when an administrator wants to disable certain methods; for example, if the administrator trusts the network infrastructure more than the information provided by the clients themselves, they may prefer information provided by the relays over that provided by clients.
If specified, mac-sources must have at least one value.
Supported methods are:
any- this is not an actual method, just a keyword that instructs Kea to try all other methods and use the first one that succeeds. This is the default operation if nomac-sourcesare defined.raw- in principle, a DHCPv6 server could use raw sockets to receive incoming traffic and extract MAC/hardware address information. This is currently not implemented for DHCPv6 and this value has no effect.duid- DHCPv6 uses DUID identifiers instead of MAC addresses. There are currently four DUID types defined, and two of them (DUID-LLT, which is the default, and DUID-LL) convey MAC address information. Although RFC 8415 forbids it, it is possible to parse those DUIDs and extract necessary information from them. This method is not completely reliable, as clients may use other DUID types, namely DUID-EN or DUID-UUID.ipv6-link-local- another possible acquisition method comes from the source IPv6 address. In typical usage, clients are sending their packets from IPv6 link-local addresses. There is a good chance that those addresses are based on EUI-64, which contains a MAC address. This method is not completely reliable, as clients may use other link-local address types. In particular, privacy extensions, defined in RFC 4941, do not use MAC addresses. Also note that successful extraction requires that the address's u-bit must be set to "1" and its g-bit set to "0", indicating that it is an interface identifier as per RFC 2373, section 2.5.1.client-link-addr-option- one extension defined to alleviate missing MAC issues is the client link-layer address option, defined in RFC 6939. This is an option that is inserted by a relay and contains information about a client's MAC address. This method requires a relay agent that supports the option and is configured to insert it. This method is useless for directly connected clients. The valuerfc6939is an alias forclient-link-addr-option.remote-id- RFC 4649 defines aremote-idoption that is inserted by a relay agent. Depending on the relay agent configuration, the inserted option may convey the client's MAC address information. The valuerfc4649is an alias forremote-id.subscriber-id- Defined in RFC 4580,subscriber-idis somewhat similar toremote-id; it is also inserted by a relay agent. The valuerfc4580is an alias forsubscriber-id. This method is currently not implemented.docsis-cmts- Yet another possible source of MAC address information are the DOCSIS options inserted by a CMTS that acts as a DHCPv6 relay agent in cable networks. This method attempts to extract MAC address information from sub-option 1026 (cm mac) of the vendor-specific option withvendor-id=4491. This vendor option is extracted from the Relay-forward message, not the original client's message.docsis-modem- The final possible source of MAC address information are the DOCSIS options inserted by the cable modem itself. This method attempts to extract MAC address information from sub-option 36 (device-id) of the vendor-specific option withvendor-id=4491. This vendor option is extracted from the original client's message, not from any relay options.
An empty mac-sources parameter is not allowed. Administrators who do not want to specify it
should either simply omit the mac-sources definition or specify it with the
"any" value, which is the default.
9.12. Duplicate Addresses (DHCPDECLINE Support)
The DHCPv6 server is configured with a certain pool of addresses that it is expected to hand out to DHCPv6 clients. It is assumed that the server is authoritative and has complete jurisdiction over those addresses. However, for various reasons such as misconfiguration or a faulty client implementation that retains its address beyond the valid lifetime, there may be devices connected that use those addresses without the server's approval or knowledge.
Such an unwelcome event can be detected by legitimate clients (using Duplicate Address Detection) and reported to the DHCPv6 server using a DHCPDECLINE message. The server does a sanity check (to see whether the client declining an address really was supposed to use it), then conducts a clean-up operation, and confirms the DHCPDECLINE by sending back a REPLY message. Any DNS entries related to that address are removed, the event is logged, and hooks are triggered. After that is complete, the address is marked as declined (which indicates that it is used by an unknown entity and thus not available for assignment) and a probation time is set on it. Unless otherwise configured, the probation period lasts 24 hours; after that time, the server will recover the lease (i.e. put it back into the available state) and the address will be available for assignment again. It should be noted that if the underlying issue of a misconfigured device is not resolved, the duplicate-address scenario will repeat. If reconfigured correctly, this mechanism provides an opportunity to recover from such an event automatically, without any system administrator intervention.
To configure the decline probation period to a value other than the default, the following syntax can be used:
"Dhcp6": {
"decline-probation-period": 3600,
"subnet6": [
{
...
},
...
],
...
}
The parameter is expressed in seconds, so the example above instructs the server to recycle declined leases after one hour.
There are several statistics and hook points associated with the decline
handling procedure. The lease6_decline hook point is triggered after the
incoming DHCPDECLINE message has been sanitized and the server is about
to decline the lease. The declined-addresses statistic is increased
after the hook returns (both the global and subnet-specific variants). (See
Statistics in the DHCPv6 Server and Hook Libraries
for more details on DHCPv6 statistics and Kea hook points.)
Once the probation time elapses, the declined lease is recovered using
the standard expired-lease reclamation procedure, with several
additional steps. In particular, both declined-addresses statistics
(global and subnet-specific) are decreased. At the same time,
reclaimed-declined-addresses statistics (again in two variants, global
and subnet-specific) are increased.
A note about statistics: The Kea server does not decrease the
assigned-nas statistics when a DHCPDECLINE message is received and
processed successfully. While technically a declined address is no
longer assigned, the primary usage of the assigned-nas statistic
is to monitor pool utilization. Most people would forget to include
declined-addresses in the calculation, and would simply use
assigned-nas/total-nas. This would cause a bias towards
under-representing pool utilization. As this has a potential to cause serious
confusion, ISC decided not to decrease assigned-nas immediately after
receiving DHCPDECLINE, but to do it later when Kea recovers the address
back to the available pool.
9.13. Statistics in the DHCPv6 Server
The DHCPv6 server supports the following statistics:
Statistic |
Data Type |
Description |
|---|---|---|
pkt6-received |
integer |
Number of DHCPv6 packets received. This includes all packets: valid, bogus, corrupted, rejected, etc. This statistic is expected to grow rapidly. |
pkt6-receive-drop |
integer |
Number of incoming packets that were dropped. The exact reason for dropping packets is logged, but the most common reasons may be that an unacceptable or not-supported packet type is received, direct responses are forbidden, the server ID sent by the client does not match the server's server ID, or the packet is malformed. |
pkt6-parse-failed |
integer |
Number of incoming packets that could not be parsed. A non-zero value of this statistic indicates that the server received a malformed or truncated packet. This may indicate problems in the network, faulty clients, faulty relay agents, or a bug in the server. |
pkt6-solicit-received |
integer |
Number of SOLICIT packets received. This statistic is expected to grow; its increase means that clients that just booted started their configuration process and their initial packets reached the Kea server. |
pkt6-advertise-received |
integer |
Number of ADVERTISE packets received. ADVERTISE packets are sent by the server and the server is never expected to receive them; a non-zero value of this statistic indicates an error occurring in the network. One likely cause would be a misbehaving relay agent that incorrectly forwards ADVERTISE messages towards the server, rather than back to the clients. |
pkt6-request-received |
integer |
Number of DHCPREQUEST packets received. This statistic is expected to grow. Its increase means that clients that just booted received the server's response (DHCPADVERTISE) and accepted it, and are now requesting an address (DHCPREQUEST). |
pkt6-reply-received |
integer |
Number of REPLY packets received. This statistic is expected to remain zero at all times, as REPLY packets are sent by the server and the server is never expected to receive them. A non-zero value indicates an error. One likely cause would be a misbehaving relay agent that incorrectly forwards REPLY messages towards the server, rather than back to the clients. |
pkt6-renew-received |
integer |
Number of RENEW packets received. This statistic is expected to grow; its increase means that clients received their addresses and prefixes and are trying to renew them. |
pkt6-rebind-received |
integer |
Number of REBIND packets received. A non-zero value indicates that clients did not receive responses to their RENEW messages (through the regular lease-renewal mechanism) and are attempting to find any server that is able to take over their leases. It may mean that some servers' REPLY messages never reached the clients. |
pkt6-release-received |
integer |
Number of RELEASE packets received. This statistic is expected to grow when a device is being shut down in the network; it indicates that the address or prefix assigned is reported as no longer needed. Note that many devices, especially wireless, do not send RELEASE packets either because of design choices or due to the client moving out of range. |
pkt6-decline-received |
integer |
Number of DECLINE packets received. This statistic is expected to remain close to zero. Its increase means that a client leased an address, but discovered that the address is currently used by an unknown device in the network. If this statistic is growing, it may indicate a misconfigured server or devices that have statically assigned conflicting addresses. |
pkt6-infrequest-received |
integer |
Number of INFORMATION-REQUEST packets received. This statistic is expected to grow if there are devices that are using stateless DHCPv6. INFORMATION-REQUEST messages are used by clients that request stateless configuration, i.e. options and parameters other than addresses or prefixes. |
pkt6-dhcpv4-query-received |
integer |
Number of DHCPv4-QUERY packets received. This statistic is expected to grow if there are devices that are using DHCPv4-over-DHCPv6. DHCPv4-QUERY messages are used by DHCPv4 clients on an IPv6-only line which encapsulates the requests over DHCPv6. |
pkt6-dhcpv4-response-received |
integer |
Number of DHCPv4-RESPONSE packets received. This statistic is expected to remain zero at all times, as DHCPv4-RESPONSE packets are sent by the server and the server is never expected to receive them. A non-zero value indicates an error. One likely cause would be a misbehaving relay agent that incorrectly forwards DHCPv4-RESPONSE message towards the server rather than back to the clients. |
pkt6-unknown-received |
integer |
Number of packets received of an unknown type. A non-zero value of this statistic indicates that the server received a packet that it was unable to recognize; either it had an unsupported type or was possibly malformed. |
pkt6-sent |
integer |
Number of DHCPv6 packets sent.
This statistic is expected to grow
every time the server transmits a
packet. In general, it should
roughly match |
pkt6-advertise-sent |
integer |
Number of ADVERTISE packets sent.
This statistic is expected to grow
in most cases after a SOLICIT is
processed. There are certain
uncommon but valid cases where
incoming SOLICIT packets are
dropped, but in general this
statistic is expected to be close
to |
pkt6-reply-sent |
integer |
Number of REPLY packets sent. This statistic is expected to grow in most cases after a SOLICIT (with rapid-commit), REQUEST, RENEW, REBIND, RELEASE, DECLINE, or INFORMATION-REQUEST is processed. There are certain cases where there is no response. |
pkt6-dhcpv4-response-sent |
integer |
Number of DHCPv4-RESPONSE packets sent. This statistic is expected to grow in most cases after a DHCPv4-QUERY is processed. There are certain cases where there is no response. |
subnet[id].total-nas |
big integer |
Total number of NA addresses available for DHCPv6 management for a given subnet; in other words, this is the count of all addresses in all configured pools. This statistic changes only during configuration changes. It does not take into account any addresses that may be reserved due to host reservation. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].pool[pid].total-nas |
big integer |
Total number of NA addresses available for DHCPv6 management for a given subnet pool; in other words, this is the count of all addresses in configured subnet pool. This statistic changes only during configuration changes. It does not take into account any addresses that may be reserved due to host reservation. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of a given pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
cumulative-assigned-nas |
integer |
Cumulative number of NA addresses that have been assigned since server startup. It is incremented each time a NA address is assigned and is not reset when the server is reconfigured. |
subnet[id].cumulative-assigned-nas |
integer |
Cumulative number of NA addresses in a given subnet that were assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is never decreased. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].pool[pid].cumulative-assigned-nas |
integer |
Cumulative number of NA addresses in a given subnet pool that were assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is never decreased. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of a given pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].assigned-nas |
integer |
Number of NA addresses in a given subnet that are assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is decreased every time a lease is released (a RELEASE message is received) or expires. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].pool[pid].assigned-nas |
integer |
Number of NA addresses in a given subnet pool that are assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is decreased every time a lease is released (a RELEASE message is received) or expires. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of the pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].total-pds |
big integer |
Total number of PD prefixes available for DHCPv6 management for a given subnet; in other words, this is the count of all prefixes in all configured pools. This statistic changes only during configuration changes. Note that it does not take into account any prefixes that may be reserved due to host reservation. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].pd-pool[pid].total-pds |
big integer |
Total number of PD prefixes available for DHCPv6 management for a given subnet pool; in other words, this is the count of all prefixes in a configured subnet PD pool. This statistic changes only during configuration changes. It does not take into account any prefixes that may be reserved due to host reservation. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of a given pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet PD pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
cumulative-assigned-pds |
integer |
Cumulative number of PD prefixes that have been assigned since server startup. It is incremented each time a PD prefix is assigned and is not reset when the server is reconfigured. |
subnet[id].cumulative-assigned-pds |
integer |
Cumulative number of PD prefixes in a given subnet that were assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is never decreased. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].pd-pool[pid].cumulative-assigned-pds |
integer |
Cumulative number of PD prefixes in a given subnet PD pool that were assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is never decreased. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of a given PD pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet PD pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].assigned-pds |
integer |
Number of PD prefixes in a given subnet that are assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is decreased every time a lease is released (a RELEASE message is received) or expires. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].pd-pool[pid].assigned-pds |
integer |
Number of PD prefixes in a given subnet pd-pool that are assigned. It increases every time a new lease is allocated (as a result of receiving a REQUEST message) and is decreased every time a lease is released (a RELEASE message is received) or expires. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of the PD pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet PD pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
reclaimed-leases |
integer |
Number of expired leases that have been reclaimed since server startup. It is incremented each time an expired lease is reclaimed (counting both NA and PD reclamations). This statistic never decreases. It can be used as a long-term indicator of how many actual leases have been reclaimed. This is a global statistic that covers all subnets. |
subnet[id].reclaimed-leases |
integer |
Number of expired leases associated with a given subnet that have been reclaimed since server startup. It is incremented each time an expired lease is reclaimed (counting both NA and PD reclamations). The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately. |
subnet[id].pool[pid].reclaimed-leases |
integer |
Number of expired NA addresses associated with a given subnet pool that have been reclaimed since server startup. It is incremented each time an expired lease is reclaimed. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of the pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
subnet[id].pd-pool[pid].reclaimed-leases |
integer |
Number of expired PD prefixes associated with a given subnet PD pool that have been reclaimed since server startup. It is incremented each time an expired lease is reclaimed. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of the PD pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet PD pool separately, and is reset during a reconfiguration event. |
declined-addresses |
integer |
Number of IPv6 addresses that are currently declined; a count of the number of leases currently unavailable. Once a lease is recovered, this statistic is decreased; ideally, this statistic should be zero. If this statistic is non-zero or increasing, a network administrator should investigate whether there is a misbehaving device in the network. This is a global statistic that covers all subnets. |
subnet[id].declined-addresses |
integer |
Number of IPv6 addresses that are currently declined in a given subnet; a count of the number of leases currently unavailable. Once a lease is recovered, this statistic is decreased; ideally, this statistic should be zero. If this statistic is non-zero or increasing, a network administrator should investigate whether there is a misbehaving device in the network. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately. |
subnet[id].pool[pid].declined-addresses |
integer |
Number of IPv6 addresses that are currently declined in a given subnet pool; a count of the number of leases currently unavailable. Once a lease is recovered, this statistic is decreased; ideally, this statistic should be zero. If this statistic is non-zero or increasing, a network administrator should investigate whether there is a misbehaving device in the network. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. The pid is the pool ID of the pool. This statistic is exposed for each subnet pool separately. |
reclaimed-declined-addresses |
integer |
Number of IPv6 addresses that were
declined, but have now been
recovered. Unlike
|
subnet[id].reclaimed-declined-addresses |
integer |
Number of IPv6 addresses that were
declined, but have now been
recovered. Unlike
|
subnet[id].pool[pid].reclaimed-declined-addresses |
integer |
Number of IPv6 addresses that were
declined, but have now been
recovered. Unlike
|
v6-allocation-fail |
integer |
Number of total address allocation failures for a particular client. This consists of the number of lease allocation attempts that the server made before giving up, if it was unable to use any of the address pools. This is a global statistic that covers all subnets. |
subnet[id].v6-allocation-fail |
integer |
Number of total address allocation failures for a particular client. This consists of the number of lease allocation attempts that the server made before giving up, if it was unable to use any of the address pools. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately. |
v6-allocation-fail-shared-network |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures for a particular client connected to a shared network. This is a global statistic that covers all subnets. |
subnet[id].v6-allocation-fail-shared-network |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures for a particular client connected to a shared network. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately. |
v6-allocation-fail-subnet |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures for a particular client connected to a subnet that does not belong to a shared network. This is a global statistic that covers all subnets. |
subnet[id].v6-allocation-fail-subnet |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures for a particular client connected to a subnet that does not belong to a shared network. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately. |
v6-allocation-fail-no-pools |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures because the server could not use any configured pools for a particular client. It is also possible that all of the subnets from which the server attempted to assign an address lack address pools. In this case, it should be considered misconfiguration if an operator expects that some clients should be assigned dynamic addresses. This is a global statistic that covers all subnets. |
subnet[id].v6-allocation-fail-no-pools |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures because the server could not use any configured pools for a particular client. It is also possible that all of the subnets from which the server attempted to assign an address lack address pools. In this case, it should be considered misconfiguration if an operator expects that some clients should be assigned dynamic addresses. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately. |
v6-allocation-fail-classes |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures when the client's packet belongs to one or more classes. There may be several reasons why a lease was not assigned: for example, if all pools require packets to belong to certain classes and the incoming packet does not belong to any. Another case where this information may be useful is to indicate that the pool reserved for a given class has run out of addresses. This is a global statistic that covers all subnets. |
subnet[id].v6-allocation-fail-classes |
integer |
Number of address allocation failures when the client's packet belongs to one or more classes. There may be several reasons why a lease was not assigned: for example, if all pools require packets to belong to certain classes and the incoming packet does not belong to any Another case where this information may be useful is to indicate that the pool reserved for a given class has run out of addresses. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. This statistic is exposed for each subnet separately. |
v6-ia-na-lease-reuses |
integer |
Number of times an IA_NA lease had its CLTT increased in memory and its expiration time left unchanged in persistent storage, as part of the lease caching feature. This is referred to as a lease reuse. This statistic is global. |
subnet[id].v6-ia-na-lease-reuses |
integer |
Number of times an IA_NA lease had its CLTT increased in memory and its expiration time left unchanged in persistent storage, as part of the lease caching feature. This is referred to as a lease reuse. This statistic is on a per-subnet basis. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. |
v6-ia-pd-lease-reuses |
integer |
Number of times an IA_PD lease had its CLTT increased in memory and its expiration time left unchanged in persistent storage, as part of the lease caching feature. This is referred to as a lease reuse. This statistic is global. |
subnet[id].v6-ia-pd-lease-reuses |
integer |
Number of times an IA_PD lease had its CLTT increased in memory and its expiration time left unchanged in persistent storage, as part of the lease caching feature. This is referred to as a lease reuse. This statistic is on a per-subnet basis. The id is the subnet ID of a given subnet. |
Note
The pool ID can be configured on each pool by explicitly setting the pool-id
parameter in the pool parameter map. If not configured, pool-id defaults to 0.
The statistics related to pool ID 0 refer to all the statistics of all the pools
that have an unconfigured pool-id.
The pool ID does not need to be unique within the subnet or across subnets.
The statistics regarding a specific pool ID within a subnet are combined with the
other statistics of all other pools with the same pool ID in the respective subnet.
Note
This section describes DHCPv6-specific statistics. For a general overview and usage of statistics, see Statistics.
The DHCPv6 server provides two global parameters to control the default sample limits of statistics:
statistic-default-sample-count- determines the default maximum number of samples to be kept. The special value of 0 indicates that a default maximum age should be used.statistic-default-sample-age- determines the default maximum age, in seconds, of samples to be kept.
For instance, to reduce the statistic-keeping overhead, set the default maximum sample count to 1 so only one sample is kept:
"Dhcp6": {
"statistic-default-sample-count": 1,
"subnet6": [
{
...
},
...
],
...
}
Statistics can be retrieved periodically to gain more insight into Kea operations. One tool that leverages that capability is ISC Stork. See Monitoring Kea With Stork for details.
9.14. Management API for the DHCPv6 Server
The management API allows the issuing of specific management commands, such as statistics retrieval, reconfiguration, or shutdown. For more details, see Management API. By default there are no sockets open; to instruct Kea to open a socket, the following entry in the configuration file can be used:
"Dhcp6": {
"control-sockets": [
{
"socket-type": "unix",
"socket-name": "/path/to/the/unix/socket"
}
],
"subnet6": [
{
...
},
...
],
...
}
9.14.1. UNIX Control Socket
Until Kea server 2.7.2 the only supported communication channel type was
the UNIX stream socket with socket-type set to unix and
socket-name to the file path of the UNIX/LOCAL socket.
The length of the path specified by the socket-name parameter is
restricted by the maximum length for the UNIX socket name on the administrator's
operating system, i.e. the size of the sun_path field in the
sockaddr_un structure, decreased by 1. This value varies on
different operating systems, between 91 and 107 characters. Typical
values are 107 on Linux and 103 on FreeBSD.
Communication over the control channel is conducted using JSON structures. See the Control Channel section in the Kea Developer's Guide for more details.
The DHCPv6 server supports the following operational commands:
as described in Commands Supported by Both the DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 Servers. In addition, it supports the following statistics-related commands:
statistic-get-allstatistic-reset-allstatistic-remove-all
as described in Commands for Manipulating Statistics.
9.14.2. HTTP/HTTPS Control Socket
The socket-type must be http or https (when the type is https
TLS is required). The socket-address (default ::1) and
socket-port (default 8000) specify an IP address and port to which
the HTTP service will be bound.
The trust-anchor, cert-file, key-file, and cert-required
parameters specify the TLS setup for HTTP, i.e. HTTPS. If these parameters
are not specified, HTTP is used. The TLS/HTTPS support in Kea is
described in TLS/HTTPS Support.
Basic HTTP authentication protects against unauthorized uses of the control agent by local users. For protection against remote attackers, HTTPS and reverse proxy of Secure Connections provide stronger security.
The authentication is described in the authentication block
with the mandatory type parameter, which selects the authentication.
Currently only the basic HTTP authentication (type basic) is supported.
The realm authentication parameter (default kea-dhcpv6-server
is used for error messages when the basic HTTP authentication is required
but the client is not authorized.
When the clients authentication list is configured and not empty,
basic HTTP authentication is required. Each element of the list
specifies a user ID and a password. The user ID is mandatory, must
not be empty, and must not contain the colon (:) character. The
password is optional; when it is not specified an empty password
is used.
Note
The basic HTTP authentication user ID and password are encoded in UTF-8, but the current Kea JSON syntax only supports the Latin-1 (i.e. 0x00..0xff) Unicode subset.
To avoid exposing the user ID and/or the associated password, these values can be read from files. The syntax is extended by:
The
directoryauthentication parameter, which handles the common part of file paths. The default value is the empty string.The
password-fileclient parameter, which, alongside thedirectoryparameter, specifies the path of a file that can contain the password, or when no user ID is given, the whole basic HTTP authentication secret.The
user-fileclient parameter, which, with thedirectoryparameter, specifies the path of a file where the user ID can be read.
When files are used, they are read when the configuration is loaded, to detect configuration errors as soon as possible.
"Dhcp6": {
"control-sockets": [
{
"socket-type": "https",
"socket-address": "2010:30:40::50",
"socket-port": 8005,
"trust-anchor": "/path/to/the/ca-cert.pem",
"cert-file": "/path/to/the/agent-cert.pem",
"key-file": "/path/to/the/agent-key.pem",
"cert-required": true,
"authentication": {
"type": "basic",
"realm": "kea-control-agent",
"clients": [
{
"user": "admin",
"password": "1234"
} ]
}
}
],
"subnet6": [
{
...
},
...
],
...
}
9.15. User Contexts in IPv6
Kea allows the loading of hook libraries that can sometimes benefit from additional parameters. If such a parameter is specific to the whole library, it is typically defined as a parameter for the hook library. However, sometimes there is a need to specify parameters that are different for each pool.
See Comments and User Context for additional background regarding the user-context idea. See User Contexts in Hooks for a discussion from the hooks perspective.
User contexts can be specified at global scope; at the shared-network, subnet, pool, client-class, option-data, or definition level; and via host reservation. One other useful feature is the ability to store comments or descriptions.
Let's consider an example deployment of lightweight 4over6, an IPv6 transition technology that allows mapping IPv6 prefixes into full or partial IPv4 addresses. In the DHCP context, these are specific parameters that are supposed to be delivered to clients in the form of additional options. Values of these options are correlated to delegated prefixes, so it is reasonable to keep these parameters together with the prefix delegation (PD) pool. On the other hand, lightweight 4over6 is not a commonly used feature, so it is not a part of the base Kea code. The solution to this problem is to specify a user context. For each PD pool that is expected to be used for lightweight 4over6, a user context with extra parameters is defined. Those extra parameters will be used by a hook library and loaded only when dynamic calculation of the lightweight 4over6 option is actually needed. An example configuration looks as follows:
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [ {
"pd-pools": [
{
"prefix": "2001:db8::",
"prefix-len": 56,
"delegated-len": 64,
# This is a pool-specific context.
"user-context": {
"threshold-percent": 85,
"v4-network": "192.168.0.0/16",
"v4-overflow": "10.0.0.0/16",
"lw4over6-sharing-ratio": 64,
"lw4over6-v4-pool": "192.0.2.0/24",
"lw4over6-sysports-exclude": true,
"lw4over6-bind-prefix-len": 56
}
} ],
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8::/32",
# This is a subnet-specific context. Any type of
# information can be entered here as long as it is valid JSON.
"user-context": {
"comment": "Those v4-v6 migration technologies are tricky.",
"experimental": true,
"billing-department": 42,
"contacts": [ "Alice", "Bob" ]
}
} ]
}
Kea does not interpret or use the user-context information; it simply
stores it and makes it available to the hook libraries. It is up to each
hook library to extract that information and use it. The parser
translates a comment entry into a user context with the entry, which
allows a comment to be attached inside the configuration itself.
9.16. Supported DHCPv6 Standards
The following standards are currently supported in Kea:
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6, RFC 3315: Supported messages are SOLICIT, ADVERTISE, REQUEST, RELEASE, RENEW, REBIND, INFORMATION-REQUEST, CONFIRM, DECLINE and REPLY. The only unsupported message is RECONFIGURE. Almost all options are supported, except AUTHENTICATION and RECONFIGURE-ACCEPT.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCPv6) Options for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Servers, RFC 3319: All defined options are supported.
IPv6 Prefix Options for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) version 6, RFC 3633: Supported options are IA_PD and IA_PREFIX. Also supported is the status code NoPrefixAvail.
DNS Configuration options for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6), RFC 3646: All defined options are supported.
Stateless Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Service for IPv6, RFC 3736: Server operation in stateless mode is supported. Kea is currently server-only, so the client side is not implemented.
Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) Configuration Option for DHCPv6, RFC 4075: The SNTP option is supported.
Renumbering Requirements for Stateless Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6), RFC 4076: The server supports all the stateless renumbering requirements.
Information Refresh Time Option for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6), RFC 4242: The sole defined option (
information-refresh-time) is supported.Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Options for Broadcast and Multicast Control Servers, RFC 4280: The DHCPv6 options are supported.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) Relay Agent Subscriber-ID Option, RFC 4580: The subscribed-id option is supported and can be used in any expression.
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) Relay Agent Remote-ID Option, RFC 4649: The Remote-ID option is supported.
A DNS Resource Record (RR) for Encoding Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Information (DHCID RR), RFC 4701: The DHCPv6 server supports DHCID records. The DHCP-DDNS server must be running to add, update, and/or delete DHCID records.
Resolution of Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) Conflicts among Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Clients, RFC 4703: The DHCPv6 server uses the DHCP-DDNS server to resolve conflicts.
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) Client Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) Option, RFC 4704: The supported option is CLIENT_FQDN.
Timezone Options for DHCP: RFC 4833: Both DHCPv6 options are supported.
DHCPv6 Leasequery: RFC 5007: The server functionality (message types, options) is supported. This requires the leasequery hook. See libdhcp_lease_query.so: Leasequery Support for details.
DHCP Options for Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network Access (PANA) Authentication Agents: RFC 5192: The PANA option is supported.
Discovering Location-to-Service Translation (LoST) Servers Using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP): RFC 5223: The LOST option is supported.
Control And Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) Access Controller DHCP Option: RFC 5417: The CAPWAP for IPv6 option is supported.
DHCPv6 Bulk Leasequery: RFC 5460: The server functionality (TCP connection, new message types and options, new query types) is supported. This requires the leasequery hook. See libdhcp_lease_query.so: Leasequery Support for details.
Network Time Protocol (NTP) Server Option for DHCPv6: RFC 5908: The NTP server option and its suboptions are supported. See NTP Server Suboptions for details.
DHCPv6 Options for Network Boot: RFC 5970: The network boot options are supported.
Lightweight DHCPv6 Relay Agent, RFC 6221: Kea can handle lightweight relay messages and use other methods than link address to perform subnet selection.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) Option for Dual-Stack Lite, RFC 6334: The AFTR-Name DHCPv6 Option is supported.
Relay-Supplied DHCP Options, RFC 6422: The full functionality is supported, including OPTION_RSOO; the ability of the server to echo back the options; verification of whether an option is RSOO-enabled; and the ability to mark additional options as RSOO-enabled.
The EAP Re-authentication Protocol (ERP) Local Domain Name DHCPv6 Option, RFC 6440: The option is supported.
Prefix Exclude Option for DHCPv6-based Prefix Delegation, RFC 6603: The Prefix Exclude option is supported.
Client Link-Layer Address Option in DHCPv6, RFC 6939: The supported option is the client link-layer address option.
Modification to Default values of SOL_MAX_RT and INF_MAX_RT, RFC 7083: The new options are supported.
Issues and Recommendations with Multiple Stateful DHCPv6 Options, RFC 7550: All recommendations related to the DHCPv6 server operation are supported.
DHCPv6 Options for Configuration of Softwire Address and Port-Mapped Clients, RFC 7598: All options indicated in this specification are supported by the DHCPv6 server.
Generalized UDP Source Port for DHCP Relay, RFC 8357: The Kea server is able to handle the Relay Source Port option in a received Relay-forward message, remembers the UDP port, and sends back Relay-reply with a copy of the option to the relay agent using this UDP port.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6), RFC 8415: This new DHCPv6 protocol specification obsoletes RFC 3315, RFC 3633, RFC 3736, RFC 4242, RFC 7083, RFC 7283, and RFC 7550. All features, with the exception of the RECONFIGURE mechanism and the now-deprecated temporary addresses (IA_TA) mechanism, are supported.
Captive-Portal Identification in DHCP and Router Advertisements (RAs), RFC 8910: The Kea server can configure both v4 and v6 versions of the captive portal options.
DHCP and Router Advertisement Options for the Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers (DNR), RFC 9463. The Kea server supports the DNR option.
9.17. DHCPv6 Server Limitations
These are the current known limitations of the Kea DHCPv6 server software. Most of them are reflections of the current stage of development and should be treated as “not yet implemented,” rather than actual limitations.
The server allocates, renews, or rebinds a maximum of one lease for a particular IA option (IA_NA or IA_PD) sent by a client. RFC 8415 allows for multiple addresses or prefixes to be allocated for a single IA.
Temporary addresses are not supported. There is no intention to ever implement this feature, as it is deprecated in RFC 8415.
Client reconfiguration (RECONFIGURE) is not yet supported.
9.18. Kea DHCPv6 Server Examples
A collection of simple-to-use examples for the DHCPv6 component of Kea
is available with the source files, located in the doc/examples/kea6
directory.
9.19. Configuration Backend in DHCPv6
In the Kea Configuration Backend section we have described the Configuration Backend (CB) feature, its applicability, and its limitations. This section focuses on the usage of the CB with the DHCPv6 server. It lists the supported parameters, describes limitations, and gives examples of DHCPv6 server configurations to take advantage of the CB. Please also refer to the corresponding section Configuration Backend in DHCPv4 for DHCPv4-specific usage of the CB.
9.19.1. Supported Parameters
The ultimate goal for the CB is to serve as a central configuration repository for one or multiple Kea servers connected to a database. In currently supported Kea versions, only a subset of the DHCPv6 server parameters can be configured in the database. All other parameters must be specified in the JSON configuration file, if required.
All supported parameters can be configured via libdhcp_cb_cmds.so.
The general rule is that
scalar global parameters are set using
remote-global-parameter6-set; shared-network-specific parameters
are set using remote-network6-set; and subnet-level and pool-level
parameters are set using remote-subnet6-set. Whenever
there is an exception to this general rule, it is highlighted in the
table. Non-scalar global parameters have dedicated commands; for example,
the global DHCPv6 options (option-data) are modified using
remote-option6-global-set. Client classes, together with class-specific
option definitions and DHCPv6 options, are configured using the
remote-class6-set command.
The Configuration Sharing and Server Tags section explains the concept of shareable
and non-shareable configuration elements and the limitations for
sharing them between multiple servers. In the DHCP configuration (both DHCPv4
and DHCPv6), the shareable configuration elements are subnets and shared
networks. Thus, they can be explicitly associated with multiple server tags.
The global parameters, option definitions, and global options are non-shareable
and can be associated with only one server tag. This rule does not apply
to the configuration elements associated with all servers. Any configuration
element associated with all servers (using the all keyword as a server tag) is
used by all servers connecting to the configuration database.
The following table lists DHCPv6-specific parameters supported by the configuration backend, with an indication of the level of the hierarchy at which it is currently supported.
Parameter |
Global |
Client Class |
Shared Network |
Subnet |
Pool |
Prefix Delegation Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
allocator |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
cache-max-age |
yes |
n/a |
no |
no |
n/a |
n/a |
cache-threshold |
yes |
n/a |
no |
no |
n/a |
n/a |
calculate-tee-times |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
client-class |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
ddns-send-update |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
ddns-override-no-update |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
ddns-override-client-update |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
ddns-replace-client-name |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
ddns-generated-prefix |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
ddns-qualifying-suffix |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
decline-probation-period |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
delegated-len |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
dhcp4o6-port |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
excluded-prefix |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
excluded-prefix-len |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
hostname-char-set |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
hostname-char-replacement |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
interface |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
interface-id |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
max-preferred-lifetime |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
max-valid-lifetime |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
min-preferred-lifetime |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
min-valid-lifetime |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
option-data |
yes (via remote-option6-global-set) |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
option-def |
yes (via remote-option-def6-set) |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
pd-allocator |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
preferred-lifetime |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
prefix |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
prefix-len |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
rapid-commit |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
rebind-timer |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
relay |
n/a |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
renew-timer |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
require-client-classes |
no |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
evaluate-additional-classes |
no |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
reservations-global |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
reservations-in-subnet |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
reservations-out-of-pool |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
t1-percent |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
t2-percent |
yes |
n/a |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
valid-lifetime |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
n/a |
n/a |
yes- indicates that the parameter is supported at the given level of the hierarchy and can be configured via the configuration backend.no- indicates that a parameter is supported at the given level of the hierarchy but cannot be configured via the configuration backend.n/a- indicates that a given parameter is not applicable at the particular level of the hierarchy or that the server does not support the parameter at that level.
Some scalar parameters contained by top level global maps are supported by the configuration backend.
Parameter name (flat naming format) |
Global map |
Parameter name |
|---|---|---|
compatibility.lenient-option-parsing |
compatibility |
lenient-option-parsing |
dhcp-ddns.enable-updates |
dhcp-ddns |
enable-updates |
dhcp-ddns.max-queue-size |
dhcp-ddns |
max-queue-size |
dhcp-ddns.ncr-format |
dhcp-ddns |
ncr-format |
dhcp-ddns.ncr-protocol |
dhcp-ddns |
ncr-protocol |
dhcp-ddns.sender-ip |
dhcp-ddns |
sender-ip |
dhcp-ddns.sender-port |
dhcp-ddns |
sender-port |
dhcp-ddns.server-ip |
dhcp-ddns |
server-ip |
dhcp-ddns.server-port |
dhcp-ddns |
server-port |
expired-leases-processing.flush-reclaimed-timer-wait-time |
expired-leases-processing |
flush-reclaimed-timer-wait-time |
expired-leases-processing.hold-reclaimed-time |
expired-leases-processing |
hold-reclaimed-time |
expired-leases-processing.max-reclaim-leases |
expired-leases-processing |
max-reclaim-leases |
expired-leases-processing.max-reclaim-time |
expired-leases-processing |
max-reclaim-time |
expired-leases-processing.reclaim-timer-wait-time |
expired-leases-processing |
reclaim-timer-wait-time |
expired-leases-processing.unwarned-reclaim-cycles |
expired-leases-processing |
unwarned-reclaim-cycles |
multi-threading.enable-multi-threading |
multi-threading |
enable-multi-threading |
multi-threading.thread-pool-size |
multi-threading |
thread-pool-size |
multi-threading.packet-queue-size |
multi-threading |
packet-queue-size |
sanity-checks.lease-checks |
sanity-checks |
lease-checks |
sanity-checks.extended-info-checks |
sanity-checks |
extended-info-checks |
server-id.type |
server-id |
type |
server-id.enterprise-id |
server-id |
enterprise-id |
server-id.identifier |
server-id |
identifier |
server-id.persist |
server-id |
persist |
dhcp-queue-control.enable-queue |
dhcp-queue-control |
enable-queue |
dhcp-queue-control.queue-type |
dhcp-queue-control |
queue-type |
dhcp-queue-control.capacity |
dhcp-queue-control |
capacity |
9.19.2. Enabling the Configuration Backend
Consider the following configuration snippet, which uses a MySQL configuration database:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"server-tag": "my DHCPv6 server",
"config-control": {
"config-databases": [
{
"type": "mysql",
"name": "kea",
"user": "kea",
"password": "kea",
"host": "2001:db8:1::1",
"port": 3302
}
],
"config-fetch-wait-time": 20
},
"hooks-libraries": [
{
"library": "/usr/local/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_mysql.so"
},
{
"library": "/usr/local/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_cb_cmds.so"
}
]
}
}
The following snippet illustrates the use of a PostgreSQL database:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"server-tag": "my DHCPv6 server",
"config-control": {
"config-databases": [
{
"type": "postgresql",
"name": "kea",
"user": "kea",
"password": "kea",
"host": "2001:db8:1::1",
"port": 3302
}
],
"config-fetch-wait-time": 20
},
"hooks-libraries": [
{
"library": "/usr/local/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_pgsql.so"
},
{
"library": "/usr/local/lib/kea/hooks/libdhcp_cb_cmds.so"
}
]
}
}
The configuration structure is almost identical to that of the DHCPv4 server (see Enabling the Configuration Backend for the detailed description).
9.20. Kea DHCPv6 Compatibility Configuration Parameters
ISC's intention is for Kea to follow the RFC documents to promote better standards compliance. However, many buggy DHCP implementations already exist that cannot be easily fixed or upgraded. Therefore, Kea provides an easy-to-use compatibility mode for broken or non-compliant clients. For that purpose, the compatibility option must be enabled to permit uncommon practices:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"compatibility": {
}
}
}
9.20.1. Lenient Option Parsing
By default, DHCPv6 option 16's vendor-class-data field is parsed as a set of
length-value pairs; the same is true for tuple fields defined in custom options.
With "lenient-option-parsing": true, if a length ever exceeds the rest of
the option's buffer, previous versions of Kea returned a log message unable to
parse the opaque data tuple, the buffer length is x, but the tuple length is y
with x < y; this no longer occurs. Instead, the value is considered to be the rest of the buffer,
or in terms of the log message above, the tuple length y becomes x.
Enabling this flag is expected to improve compatibility with devices such as RAD MiNID.
{
"Dhcp6": {
"compatibility": {
"lenient-option-parsing": true
}
}
}
Starting with Kea version 2.5.8, this parsing is extended to silently ignore client-fqdn (39) options with some invalid domain names.
9.21. Allocation Strategies in DHCPv6
A DHCP server follows a complicated algorithm to select a DHCPv6 lease for a client. It prefers assigning specific addresses or delegated prefixes requested by the client and the ones for which the client has reservations.
When the client requests a specific delegated prefix,
kea-dhcp6 follows a series of steps to try to satisfy the request, in this
order:
It searches for a lease that matches the requested prefix and prefix length.
It searches for a lease that matches the prefix length.
It searches for a lease with a larger address space (smaller prefix length).
It searches for a lease with a smaller address space (larger prefix length).
If the client requests no particular lease and has no reservations, or other clients are already using any requested leases, the server must find another available lease within the configured pools. A server function called an "allocator" is responsible in Kea for finding an available lease in such a case.
The Kea DHCPv6 server provides configuration parameters to select different allocators at the global, shared-network, and subnet levels. It also allows different allocation strategies to be selected for address assignments and prefix delegation.
Consider the following example:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"allocator": "iterative",
"pd-allocator": "random",
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"allocator": "random"
},
{
"id": 2,
"subnet": "2001:db8:2::/64",
"pd-allocator": "iterative"
}
]
}
}
The iterative allocator is globally selected for address assignments, while the random allocator is globally selected for prefix delegation. These settings are selectively overridden at the subnet level.
The following sections describe the supported allocators and their recommended uses.
9.21.1. Allocators Comparison
In the table below, we briefly compare the supported allocators, all of which are described in detail in later sections.
Allocator |
Low Utilization Performance |
High Utilization Performance |
Lease Randomization |
Startup/Configuration |
Memory Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Iterative |
very high |
low |
no |
very fast |
low |
Random |
high |
low |
yes |
very fast |
high (varying) |
Free Lease Queue |
high |
high |
yes |
slow (depends on pool sizes) |
high (varying) |
9.21.2. Iterative Allocator
This is the default allocator used by the Kea DHCPv6 server. It remembers the
last offered lease and offers the following sequential lease to the next client.
For example, it may offer addresses in this order: 2001:db8:1::10,
2001:db8:1::11, 2001:db8:1::12, and so on. Similarly, it offers the
next sequential delegated prefix after the previous one to the next client. The time to
find and offer the next lease or delegated prefix is very short; thus, this is the most performant
allocator when pool utilization is low and there is a high probability
that the next selected lease is available.
The iterative allocation underperforms when multiple DHCP servers share a lease database or are connected to a cluster. The servers tend to offer and allocate the same blocks of addresses to different clients independently, which causes many allocation conflicts between the servers and retransmissions by clients. A random allocation addresses this issue by dispersing the allocation order.
9.21.3. Random Allocator
The random allocator uses a uniform randomization function to select offered addresses and delegated prefixes from subnet pools. It is suitable in deployments where multiple servers are connected to a shared database or a database cluster. By dispersing the offered leases, the servers minimize the risk of allocating the same lease to two different clients at the same or nearly the same time. In addition, it improves the server's resilience against attacks based on allocation predictability.
The random allocator is, however, slightly slower than the iterative allocator. Moreover, it increases the server's memory consumption because it must remember randomized leases to avoid offering them repeatedly. Memory consumption grows with the number of offered leases; in other words, larger pools and more clients increase memory consumption by random allocation.
9.21.4. Free Lease Queue Allocator (Prefix Delegation Only)
This is a sophisticated allocator whose use should be considered in subnets with highly utilized delegated prefix pools. In such cases, it can take a considerable amount of time for the iterative or random allocator to find an available prefix, because they must repeatedly check whether there is a valid lease for a prefix they will offer. The number of checks can be as high as the number of delegated prefixes in the subnet when the subnet pools are exhausted, which can have a direct negative impact on the DHCP response time for each request.
The Free Lease Queue (FLQ) allocator tracks lease allocations and de-allocations and maintains a running list of available delegated prefixes for each pool. It allows an available lease to be selected within a constant time, regardless of the subnet pools' utilization. The allocator continuously updates the list of free leases by removing any allocated leases and adding released or reclaimed ones.
The following configuration snippet shows how to select the FLQ allocator for prefix delegation in a subnet:
{
"Dhcp6": {
"subnet6": [
{
"id": 1,
"subnet": "2001:db8:1::/64",
"pd-allocator": "flq"
}
]
}
}
Note
The Free Lease Queue allocator can only be used for DHCPv6 prefix delegation.
An attempt to use this allocator for address assignment (with the allocator
parameter) will cause a configuration error. DHCPv6 address pools are
typically very large and their utilization is low; in this situation, the benefits
of using the FLQ allocator diminish. The amount of time required for the
allocator to populate the free lease queue would cause the server to freeze
upon startup.
There are several considerations that the administrator should take into account
before using this allocator for prefix delegation. The FLQ allocator can heavily
impact the server's startup and reconfiguration time, because the allocator
has to populate the list of free leases for each subnet where it is used.
These delays can be observed both during the configuration reload and when
the subnets are created using libdhcp_subnet_cmds.so. This allocator
increases memory consumption to hold the list of free leases,
proportional to the total size of the pools for which this allocator is used.
Finally, lease reclamation must be enabled with a low value of the
reclaim-timer-wait-time parameter, to ensure that the server frequently
collects expired leases and makes them available for allocation via the
free lease queue. Expired leases are not considered free by
the allocator until they are reclaimed by the server. See
Lease Reclamation for more details about the lease reclamation process.
We recommend that the FLQ allocator be selected only after careful consideration. The server puts no restrictions on the delegated-prefix pool sizes used with the FLQ allocator, so we advise users to test how long it takes for the server to load the pools before deploying the configuration using the FLQ allocator in production. We also recommend specifying another allocator type in the global configuration settings and overriding this selection at the subnet or shared-network level, to use the FLQ allocator only for selected subnets. That way, when a new subnet is added without an allocator specification, the global setting is used, thus avoiding unnecessary impact on the server's startup time.
Like the random allocator, the FLQ allocator offers leases in random order, which makes it suitable for use with a shared lease database.