A Gateway DHCP server is attached to a tier-0 or tier-1 gateway, and it provides DHCP service to the networks (overlay segments), which are directly connected to the gateway and configured to use a Gateway DHCP server.

In this case, the DHCP server that is created on the tier-0 or tier-1 gateway will have an internal relay so that the connected segments can forward traffic to the DHCP servers, which you specified in the DHCP server profile.

The following figure shows a sample network topology with Gateway DHCP servers that are servicing networks, which are directly connected to the tier-0 and tier-1 gateway.


The topology in this diagram is explained in the surrounding text of this figure.
In this network topology, a Gateway DHCP server is configured on the following networks:
  • Network-1 is connected to the service interface of the tier-1 gateway.
  • Network-2 is connected to the downlink interface of the tier-1 gateway.
  • Network-3 is connected to the downlink or service interface of the tier-0 gateway.

Prerequisites

  • Add a DHCP Server Profile. For example, assume that the profile is named as My-Gateway-DHCP-Profile.
  • Ensure that you have specified the Gateway IP address of the IPv4 subnet in the segments that are directly connected to the tier-0 or tier-1 gateway.
  • Attach the DHCP server profile to the directly connected tier-0 or tier-1 gateway. For a detailed procedure, see Attach a DHCP Profile to a Tier-0 or Tier-1 Gateway.

Procedure

  1. From your browser, log in with admin privileges to an NSX Manager at https://nsx-manager-ip-address.
  2. Select Networking > Segments.
  3. Find the segment where you want to configure the DHCP service. Next to the segment name, click Actions menu, and then click Edit.
  4. Click Set DHCP Config.
  5. In the DHCP Type drop-down menu, observe that Gateway DHCP Server is autoselected.
    By default, segments that are connected to a tier-0 or a tier-1 gateway use Gateway DHCP server. Observe that My-Gateway-DHCP-Profile is displayed in DHCP Profile. Earlier, you had attached this DHCP profile to the directly connected gateway.
  6. Click the DHCP Config toggle button to enable DHCP configuration on the segment.
    Note: You can configure only Gateway DHCPv4 server on a segment. Gateway DHCPv6 server is not supported.
  7. Observe that the DHCP Server Address is fetched automatically from the DHCP profile and displayed on the IPv4 Server > Settings page.
  8. Configure the following DHCP settings:
    • DHCP Ranges
    • Optional: Lease Time
    • Optional: DNS Servers
    • Optional: DHCP Options

    For a detailed information about these DHCP configuration settings, see the reference documentation at DHCP Configuration Settings: Reference.

  9. Click Apply.
  10. (Optional) Bind a static IP address to the MAC address of each VM (DHCP client).
    For detailed instructions, see Configure DHCP Static Bindings on a Segment.