dhcp server make my server slow in wide ranges

[sthaug at nethelp.no]

> i traced dhcp code and found when server starts, it assign a lease
> structure for every available ip address in range therefore it uses a huge
> amount of memory (i hope i understand correctly). this behavior is not good
> at all for me because it makes my server so slowly.
> 
> my question is, first of all, do i understand the behavior of server
> correctly? if yes, how can i change it to have better performance? if i
> want to change the code in order to correct it- for example assign a lease
> to each ip when it is assigned to a client-, is it possible or not (better
> to say is it simple or not?:))

I believe you have understood the behavior.

How can you change it to have better performance? By restricting your
range to something smaller than a /8. You have been told so repeatedly
on the FreeBSD lists.

If you want to ignore this good advice you should should probably
expect to rewrite the code yourself - or find a different DHCP server
implementation (free or commercial) that works with a /8. Expect any
commercial solution to expensive...

Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug at nethelp.no