Authorize a DHCP server in Active Directory

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To authorize a DHCP server in Active Directory

Open DHCP.
In the console tree, click DHCP.
On the Action menu, click Manage authorized servers.

The Manage Authorized Servers dialog box appears.
Click Authorize.
When prompted, type the name or IP address of the DHCP server to be authorized, and then click OK.

Notes

For a DHCP server to be authorized in an Active Directory domain environment, you must first be logged on as a member of the Enterprise Admins group for the enterprise where the server is being added.
To open DHCP, click Start, click Settings, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click DHCP.
This procedure is usually only needed if you are running a DHCP server on a member server. In most cases, if you are installing a DHCP server on a computer also running as a domain controller, the server is automatically authorized the first time you add the server to the DHCP console.
The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the DHCP server cannot exceed 64 characters. If the FQDN of the DHCP server exceeds 64 characters, the attempt to authorize the server fails with the error message, "A constraint violation has occurred." If your DHCP server FQDN exceeds 64 characters, authorize the server using the IP address of the server instead of its FQDN.
DHCP servers running Windows 2000 cannot be authorized using the Windows Server 2003 administrative tools (the DHCP console and the Netsh commands for DHCP) unless Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 2 is installed.

Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.