A16. What Is Bootp/Dhcp - ZyXEL Communications ZYWALL SSL 10 Support Notes

Integrated ssl-vpn appliance

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1. Check if the 'MAC address' is valid

2. Check if the 'Host Name' is valid, e.g., @home

If you are not able to get the Internet IP from the ISP, check which authentication method

your ISP uses and troubleshoot the problem as described below.

1. Your ISP checks the 'MAC address'

Some ISPs only provide an IP address to the user with an authorized MAC address. This

authorized MAC can be the PC's MAC which is used by the ISP for the authentication. So,

if a new network card is used or the ZyWALL is attached to the cable modem directly, the

ISP will reject the DHCP discovery from this MAC, thus no IP is assigned by the ISP.

The ZyWALL supports to clone the MAC from the first PC the ISP installed to be its WAN

MAC. To clone the MAC from the PC you need to enter that PC's IP in WAN menu of the

ZyWALL web configurator.

2. Your ISP checks the 'Host Name'

Some ISPs take advantage of the 'host name' message in a DHCP packet such as @home to

do the authentication. When first installing, the ISP's tech people configure the host name as

the 'Computer Name' of the PC in the 'Networking' settings. When the ZyWALL is attached

to the cable modem to connect to the ISP, we should configure this host name in the

ZyWALL's system (menu 1).

A16. What is BOOTP/DHCP?

BOOTP stands for Bootstrap Protocol. DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration

Protocol. Both are mechanisms to dynamically assign an IP address for a TCP/IP client by

the server. In this case, the ZyWALL Internet Access Sharing Router is a BOOTP/DHCP

server. WinXP/2000 and WinNT clients use DHCP to request an internal IP address, while

WFW and WinSock clients use BOOTP. TCP/IP clients may specify their own IP or utilize

BOOTP/DHCP to request an IP address.

ZyWALL SSL 10 Support Notes

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