im setting up a DHCP server with windows 2003 and im tryign to figure out if there is a way to make it only give an IP address to a known MAC address?  i want to have a list of mac addresses that get IPs and anything else that gets pluged in will not have access to the network.  is there some way to do this?

edit:
i know i could use reservations, but i dont really care what IP the computers get. from what iv read it seems that using reservations is the only way to do this, is that corect?

thanks

Using a reservation is the only way that I know of. 

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Geek - a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)

This is best tackled at the switch level with a switch that supports Network Access Control. 

Rod

I agree with Rod, some Cisco switches, for example, allow you to use port security to manually set IP addresses on each port (or learn the first attached).  It can cause other problems down the line though; like people moving desks or plugging in other devices etc

It may be more trouble than it's worth.

There are programs that detect rogue devices so maybe something like that would be better.  We use AVD from McAfee for anti virus and there is a very basic version of this in EPO for example. 

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cheers
Andy

Rod and Andy are correct. The feature you can set up on the Cisco switch if the user always plugs into the same drop is called "sticky MAC" and is a relatively straightforward thing to configure. You can specify a specific MAC to be allowed a certain number of MACs to be allowed (for example, only 2) and the like. If you have Cisco switches and would like help with this, I can guide you through it. Otherwise if you want to have complete control over who is allowed access to the network that can be done with NAC appliances and NAC-supporting switches.

 Dave
 

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Certs: CCNA, Network+

djveer:

Rod and Andy are correct. The feature you can set up on the Cisco switch if the user always plugs into the same drop is called "sticky MAC" and is a relatively straightforward thing to configure. You can specify a specific MAC to be allowed a certain number of MACs to be allowed (for example, only 2) and the like. If you have Cisco switches and would like help with this, I can guide you through it. Otherwise if you want to have complete control over who is allowed access to the network that can be done with NAC appliances and NAC-supporting switches.

 Dave
 

 Ooooo I feel you should talk with Rod and perhaps do a Blog entry. I'm sure I could configure the switch, but for the benefit of my goldfish memory and others out there, I say this would be a good one to write up, if you have time, and Rod agrees :).