DHCP automatically assigns IP addresses and other properties such as IP address of DNS servers and routers. In some cases, you might want to retrieve special IP settings based on the type of hardware used or other criteria. For example, you might want Windows 2000 Professional notebook computers to have shorter lease durations than desktop systems since the notebooks leave the network more often. You can achieve this type of assignment through user classes.
You define user classes at the DHCP server and assign custom settings for that particular user class through the DHCP console. You then use the IPCONFIG command to assign a user class property to the local computer.
Assuming your network administrator has created a user class called NOTEBOOK, for example, you’d use the following command from a console prompt to assign that user class on your computer:
IPCONFIG /SETCLASSID <adapter> NOTEBOOK
where <adapter> is the network interface on which the class ID should apply. Use wildcards for the <adapter> definition to apply it to more than one adapter. After setting the user class, release the address and obtain a new lease with the following command:
IPCONFIG /RENEW <adapter>
Omit the <adapter> option to renew all interfaces.
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