Why does the DHCP server keep losing authorization?

Question

We have a dual-NIC device serving a private network. We've authorized the DHCP server multiple times, and every time it gets authorized, the authorization disappears within a few days.

The DHCP service claims it needs to be authorized, and the admin in charge of our domain controllers insists that it is. However, within 48 hours, the authorization disappears from the service, though not from the DC.

This is possibly related to the fact that the LOGONSERVER environment variable points to itself, not a corporate domain controller.

Is this why it keeps losing authorization? Can it be forced to log in to a specific DC rather than itself?

Answer 1

Hello,

LOGONSERVER pointing to itself rather than a domain controller could indeed be an issue

The LOGONSERVER environment variable indicates which server authenticated the current user session. If it points to itself rather than a dc, it suggests that the server either thinks it's the dc or is attempting to authenticate users locally instead of referring them to the actual domain controller.

In the context of DHCP server authorization, this can be problematic because often, DHCP servers in a domain environment need to communicate with the DC for various tasks, such as registering DHCP leases in DNS, handling security groups.

If the DHCP server is not properly connected to or authenticating against the domain controller, it may fail to maintain its authorization status.

To direct the DHCP server to prefer a specific dc, you may configure the DHCP server to use the correct dc as its primary and secondary DNS servers. This ensures that name resolution and authentication requests go to the intended DCs.

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