DHCP Superscopes

Permissions required:

  • To create and manage superscopes, you need administrative privileges on the DHCP service (DHCP Administrator). Specifically, you should have permission (access) to Add a scope.

Note

  • For DHCPv4, superscopes are supported by Microsoft DHCP (MS), Internet Systems Consortium DHCP (ISC), and Kea.

  • For DHCPv6, superscopes are only supported by the Kea service.

A superscope, known as a shared network for ISC and Kea, groups individual DHCP scopes to streamline network management, simplifying the handling of complex networks through logical organization.

Superscopes support network segmentation, assist with migration and transition processes, provide temporary IP address assignments, and enable redundancy and load balancing across DHCP servers. The use of superscopes results in more streamlined and proficient DHCP management.

Viewing Superscopes

The DHCP Superscopes tab on the IPAM page provides an overview of all superscopes. It displays information about each superscope, including its associated DHCP server and the number of scopes it contains. The sidebar allows you to filter the view for all superscopes, favorites, or specific DHCP servers. Additionally, the quick filter search box helps you to quickly find a particular superscope.

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  • The inspector panel on the right-hand side displays the scopes assicuated with the selected superscope. To view the scopes, click View in the inspector or select View scopes on the Action or the Row … menu. This will take you to the Networks tab, where the quick filter search box will is automatically populated with the selected superscope.

The Networks list includes a column that indicates whether a scope belongs to a superscope. The filtering sidebar provides an option to filter by a superscope. You can also use the quick filter search box to find a specific superscope.

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  • Superscopes that include scopes existing on multiple servers (split scopes) are indicated as <multiple values> if the superscope name is not the same on both servers. Although this configuration is valid, it is recommended to use the same superscope name across servers in a split scope setup.

If you have administrative privileges, you can view the defined superscopes on a DHCP server. Go to the Admin page and select the desired DHCP server. Then select View superscopes on the Action or the Row … menu.

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Creating Superscopes

To simplify scope management, you can group related scopes together in a superscope based on criteria such as geographic location, department, or subnet range. Creating a superscope allows for the assignment of IP addresses from various scopes to clients on the same network.

Each superscope is associated with a specific DHCP server and is implemented on a per-server basis. There can only be one unique superscope per network (IP range).

To create a superscope:

  1. On the DHCP Superscopes tab, click Create superscope.

  2. Enter an identifying name for the superscope and select the DHCP server where it will be hosted. The name cannot be changed once the superscope has been created. Optionally, add a description.

  3. Click Next to proceed.

  4. Select one or more scopes from the list. If you want to add scopes later, click Next without selecting anything.

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  • The list only shows scopes on the selected server that are not included in a superscope.

  • Use the quick filter search box to find and select the desired scopes.

  1. Review your entries in the Summary. Click Add to complete the creation of the superscope.

Note

If a superscope is created without any scopes assigned, it will not be activated on the server until at least one scope is added. Therefore, DHCP options cannot be configured for the superscope until it contains at least one scope.

Adding Scopes to a Superscope

Scopes can be added to a superscope during the creation of a new scope or by setting a superscope for an existing one. It is also possible to transfer scopes between superscopes.

Adding a Scope to a Superscope During Scope Creation

If a superscope exists on the DHCP server, you can add the new scope to it during scope creation.

  1. On the Networks tab, click Create ‣ DHCP Scope.

  2. Specify a network address, server, and address pool. For more details about creating scopes, see Creating Networks.

  3. Select the superscope to which you want to add the new scope.

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  1. Complete filling in the details and click Finish to create the scope.

Adding an Existing Scope to a Superscope

You can add existing scopes to superscopes or transfer to a different superscope on the DHCP server.

To add an existing scope to a superscope or move it to a different superscope:

  1. Go to the Networks tab and locate the scope(s) you want to add to the superscope.

  2. Select Set superscope on either the Action or the Row … menu.

  3. Select the desired superscope.

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  • The list shows the superscopes that are on the same server as the scope.

  • To remove a scope from a superscope, clear the Superscope field or select a different superscope if you want to transfer the scope to a another superscope.

  • For split-scope ranges, only the superscopes available on both servers are displayed. Selecting one will place both scopes in their respective superscopes on each server.

  1. Click Save when you’re done.

Removing Scopes from Superscopes

You can remove one or more scopes from a superscope to reorganize the scopes on the server. This action does not delete or disable the scope, and it can be added to a different superscope on the server if required.

To remove a scope from a superscope:

Do one of the following:

  • On the DHCP Superscopes tab, select the superscope containing the scope you want to remove. In the inspector panel, find the relevant scope and select Remove from superscope on the scope’s action … menu.

-OR-

  • On the Networks tab, locate the scope you want to remove. You can use the Superscopes filters in the filtering sidebar to find it. Click Set superscope on the Action or the Row … menu. Delete the scope from the Superscope field.

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Configuring DHCP Supersope Options

You can configure DHCP options for superscopes on ISC and Kea DHCP servers. Scopes within a superscope inherit the superscope’s options, while the superscope inherits the server’s options.

When a superscope is created without a scope assigned, it will not be created on the server until a scope is added. Therefore, DHCP options cannot be configured until a scope has been added first.

For Kea, it is possible to remove scopes from the superscope and still add options via the API, because the superscope still exists in the Kea configuration if a scope was added to it first.

For more details on how to edit scope options, see Editing DHCP Options.

Editing Superscopes

Superscope descriptions serve as a helpful tool for categorizing and easily locating scopes. You can edit this description.

To edit a superscope:

  1. On the DHCP Superscopes tab, locate the superscope and double-click it, or select Edit superscope on either the Action or the Row … menu.

  2. Make the desired changes to the description and click Save.

Note

You cannot change the name of a superscope after it is created.

Deleting Superscopes

When a superscope is deleted from Micetro, it will be removed from the database and the server. Individual scopes within the superscope are not deleted. If a Kea superscope is defined for both DHCPv4 and DHCPv6, deleting it will remove the superscope from both protocols.

To delete a superscope:

  1. On the Superscopes tab, select the superscope you want to delete.

  2. On either the Action or Row … menu, select Delete superscope. This will delete the superscope and remove all associated scopes from it.