Portable DHCP and DNS with Dual Server
Recently I needed at quick DHCP server for some testing and didn’t want to build a full DHCP server. So I went to the Internet and found this handy tool that was both a DHCP and DNS server in one. It was called Dual Server and it did everything I needed and more. Here is a list of features:
- Either DHCP or DNS or Both Services can be used.
- DHCP hosts automatically added to DNS, If both services used
- DHCP Supports 125 ranges, all options, range specific options
- DNS Supports Zone Transfer and Zone Replication
- DHCP Supports BOOTP Relay Agents, PXE Boot, BOOTP
- Dynamically Detects Listening Interfaces, can listen on 125 interfaces
- HTTP Interface for Lease Status
- Filtering of Ranges by Mac Range, Vendor Class and User Class
- Very easy configuration, no Zone files required
- Allows Replicated operations for DHCP and DNS
- Very Low Memory and CPU use
- Can be installed and used by person not having DNS/DHCP Concepts
- Designed to run as Replicated Load sharing Duplex Operation
I extracted the files and ran it from a flash drive which makes this portable and handy for a quick DHCP server on the fly. It has pretty straight forward configuration using a INI file and a HTML file to monitor the leases that have been handed out. It can be ran as a service or from a command terminal. Here is a few pic of the interface.
I am sure you can use this on a more permanent basis but I only used it for a short while. So I don’t know how well it performs for a full network of devices. However it performed well for my use and I added it to my tool bag for future use. To get it up and running just run the EXE file which will extract the files. Then open the DualServer.ini file and put in your range and machine IP address to listen on. There is a ton of other options that can be configured such as the domain your on, replication to other DNS servers, and the level of logging you want. These are just a few things you can do. The INI file is loaded and I am sure it can be configured to fit your need.
So if you need a quick DHCP server or you don’t have a server OS and need a simple to use option look into Dual Server. It can be found at the following link. http://sourceforge.net/projects/dhcp-dns-server/ The Dual Server website is at the following link: http://dhcp-dns-server.sourceforge.net/
I used this as a temp fix for a problem I was having. To make it integrate with Windows DNS you will have to do some playing around with the DualServer.ini file. There you can add a conditional forwarder. Now to have the Windows and Dual Server DNS running on the same box will not work. You will have to pick one. If you decide to use the Dual Server DNS you will want to disable the Windows DNS server. Now this may not give you all the functionality you are looking for, but test it and find out. Now are you sure your problem is the DNS server? I had a Windows 2008 R2 server that the DHCP server would lock up for no reason and I would have to reboot the server to fix it. It turned out Microsoft knew about it and made a patch. I installed it and had no more problems. So good luck, do some testing, and let me know if you need anything else.
Great post! I’m looking to use this to replace Server 2016 DNS. It doesn’t say if I have to delete the DNS setup used in Windows, uninstall or disable the service. Can you help explain how to integrate it into a server that already has DNS running? Server 2016 DNS has been very problematic with workstation timeouts and Apple devices being blocked from the Internet. Thanks!
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