DHCP and Roaming

Large networks often use multiple DHCP servers to establish a redundant method of providing IP addresses in case a single server fails.

If two or more DHCP servers are running on a network, they typically employ some form of conflict detection to determine if an IP address is already in use before offering it to a new client. This conflict detection introduces additional latency by increasing the time required for a client to receive an IP address.

If your network does not require multiple DHCP servers, ensure that the conflict detection mechanism is turned off to minimize latency. For example, if you are using the Microsoft DHCP server, set the Conflict Detection Attempts property to 0.

An IPv4 DHCP client starts with B3000n bootup and waits for instructions from the badge application. The default DHCP retransmission timeout value is 100 ms. The DHCP time out value can be configured through badge property settings using the value DhcpcTimeoutMS. This customization is made to achieve fast DHCP assignment when badge roams on call.

If your network does use multiple DHCP servers, experiment with other techniques to minimize latency. For example, consider assigning each DHCP server a pool of addresses that does not overlap with the other servers so that conflict detection can be disabled.