# No DHCP offers were received



## balanga (Feb 16, 2020)

I have been using pfSense as my DHCP server until, but would like to get net/isc-dhcp44-server working.

Having checked *31.8.2. Configuring the DHCP Server* (https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/network-diskless.html) I created this /usr/local/etc/dhcpd.conf:-

```
# dhcpd.conf

default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;


subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
   range 192.168.1.2 192.168.1.3 ;
   option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0 ;
   option routers 192.168.1.1 ;
   option broadcast-address 192.168.1.255 ;
   option domain-name-servers 192.168.1.1 ;
   option domain-name "example.com";

   # IP address of TFTP server
   next-server 192.168.1.20 ;

   # path of boot loader obtained via tftp
   filename "FreeBSD/install/boot/pxeboot" ;

   # pxeboot boot loader will try to NFS mount this directory for root FS
   option root-path "192.168.1.20:/tftpboot/" ;

}
```

After disabling the DHCP server in pfSense (as well the DNS resolver which I needed to do)  I tried remote booting a workstation but got this message when attempting to boot:-


> No DHCP offers were received



Any idea about what is missing or set incorrectly?


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## LVLouisCyphre (Feb 16, 2020)

We've gone over this before and it's part of the FAQ on this site. You're not running FreeBSD but a FreeBSD based appliance. Take this to the pfSense forum or run pure FreeBSD and not an appliance. Once you run an appliance it doesn't belong here. If I was a mod here and I've modded forums before and still do you'd be ban hammered.

It's not our responsibility here to debug OPN/pfSense or FreeNAS for you because your problem is probably not FreeBSD related but related to the GUI abstraction layer the appliance provides.  I'm willing to bet that all of your posts here are to debug issues with running a FreeBSD based appliance and not pure FreeBSD itself.  The only reason I'm dinking with FreeNAS and OPN/pfSense now is to set them up for clients and friends who are CLI, kernel config, shell script and vi challenged.

Everything from the CLI or shell prompt pretty much has a debugging option.  It's not our fsck(8)ing job to RTFM to you.

What I do thank you for is pointing out in the previous thread tftp on how much crap appliances add and create problems which is why I've delegated one of my HP Microserver G7s to run pure FreeBSD and _*not*_ FreeNAS.


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## balanga (Feb 16, 2020)

LVLouisCyphre said:


> We've gone over this before and it's part of the FAQ on this site.  You're not running FreeBSD but a FreeBSD based appliance.  Take this to the pfSense forum or run pure FreeBSD  and not an appliance.  Once you run an appliance it doesn't belong here.


I'm trying to get a dhcp server running on a straight FreeBSD system. I have no problem using the DHCP service on pfSense. All that needs to be done is marking a checkbox to enable  the DHCP service! With pfSense you do not install pkgs (well it it isn't recommended).

Maybe someone else, who is actually familiar with setting up a DHCP server service, could suggest what is wrongly set or missing.


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## LVLouisCyphre (Feb 16, 2020)

In the future I suggest you don't mention appliances as you have a track history (with me) of seeking appliance support here which is IMO is a bannable offense.

Did you enable dhcpd?  Did you run it run it as a foreground process for debugging?  That requires a bit more than a checkbox or a couple of swipes on a touch screen.

And yes, I'm very familar with DHCP; probably just as familiar with it as Ted Lemon.  I've done CERT duty squashing renegade DHCP servers and clients for my former employer.


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## balanga (Feb 16, 2020)

LVLouisCyphre said:


> Did you enable dhcpd?  Did you run it run it as a foreground process for debugging?  That requires a bit more than a checkbox or a couple of swipes on a touch screen.
> 
> And yes, I'm very familar with DHCP; probably just as familiar with it as Ted Lemon.  I've done CERT duty squashing renegade DHCP servers and clients for my former employer.



I ran it in foreground and this what it showed:-


```
root@Server:/var/db# dhcpd -f
Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Server 4.4.1
Copyright 2004-2018 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit https://www.isc.org/software/dhcp/
Config file: /usr/local/etc/dhcpd.conf
Database file: /var/db/dhcpd.leases
PID file: /var/run/dhcpd.pid
Wrote 2 leases to leases file.
Listening on BPF/re0/50:af:73:1e:a8:7d/192.168.1.0/24
Sending on   BPF/re0/50:af:73:1e:a8:7d/192.168.1.0/24
Sending on   Socket/fallback/fallback-net
```

The client gets no response from the server.

Not sure what Ted Lemon has to do with DHCP.... Maybe I need a glass of wine whilst trying to make this work


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## acheron (Feb 17, 2020)

Can you run tcpdump or wireshark on your server and capture a trace? The "range" is a bit short, can you extend it a bit?


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## VladiBG (Feb 17, 2020)

check the /var/log/dhcpd.log


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## LVLouisCyphre (Feb 17, 2020)

VladiBG said:


> check the /var/log/dhcpd.log


Exactly; /var/log/messages and /var/log/dhcpd.log are your friends.  This is _*very basic*_ Unix troubleshooting 101 which is very well documented in the fabulous manuals.  Check your /var/log/messages and relevant /var/log files.  Unix is very talkative and most services have verbose debugging options if they're not normally talkative.


acheron said:


> Can you run tcpdump or wireshark on your server and capture a trace? The "range" is a bit short, can you extend it a bit?


(*FACEPALM*)  I doubt it.  If he can't check his messages and /var/log/dhcpd.log file, I certainly don't expect the OP to be able to install and run Wireshark or tcpdump.  DHCP and TFTP are one of those things that's very difficult to screw up.  A trained monkey can set it up.


balanga said:


> Not sure what Ted Lemon has to do with DHCP.... Maybe I need a glass of wine whilst trying to make this work


He wrote DHCP.  When you've troubleshot as many BOOTP/DHCP issues as I have for a large enterprise, you become very intimately familiar with how it works.

I need a couple of shots of bourbon trying to figure out WTF?  How can this be screwed up?

Give the DHCP client a static for testing purposes.  Can you ping the DHCP server?  If you can't ping with a static you're pissing in the wind trying to get DHCP to work.


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