Cannot Obtain Lease with DHCP Scopes Using Multicast Addresses

When you have a computer running Windows NT 4.0 Server using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), computers on your network may not be able to obtain a lease.

In addition, computers configured as DHCP clients that have already obtained a lease may not function properly.

This behavior occurs when you create a DHCP scope using DHCP Manager, and specify a class D TCP/IP address (multicast group address). DHCP scopes cannot contain class D TCP/IP multicast addresses.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5.

In the TCP/IP address space, class D addresses are reserved for multicast groups. The address range is 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. Class D addresses are not segregated into network and host units. Some class D multicast groups are reserved.

For additional information about DHCP, scopes, and multicasting, please refer to the following Request for Comment (RFC) documents: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.