Don't Forget DHCP
When it comes to managing IP addresses, few of us would forget to track the IPs we assign manually to our WAN interfaces, servers, switches, and etc. However, once we decide to assign a DHCP scope to a subnet we tend to "set it and forget it". In many cases, this is a big mistake.
Vista OOBE Part 3: Networking Problem with Some Routers
Now that my sound function works, and I vented about the User Access Control, let's get to a serious problem: networking. If you've never heard the phrase “DHCP Broadcast Flag†before, you're in good company. DCHP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) is the rock-solid protocol that assigns IP addresses to devices as they connect to the network. I say rock-solid, but that's before Microsoft's bizarre configuration change turned DHPC into a source of incredible frustration. I've been fighting networks for over two decades and never, ever had to worry about DHCP before, but that was before Microsoft's incompetence with Vista.
Remotely obtain MAC addresses
In order to create a DHCP reservation, you need to know the MAC address of the computer. The MAC address is a unique link-layer address that identifies a network interface on a computer, and MAC addresses are generally hard-coded into network interfaces although they sometimes can be changed. Often when you purchase a computer the MAC address is displayed, either on a sticker on the system or in the computer's documentation. But not always.
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Vista OOBE Part 3: Networking Problem with Some Routers
Don't Forget DHCP
Remotely obtain MAC addresses