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From: Owner-OS2News@teamos2.org

Subject: OS2News: Dynamic IP in OS/2 Warp Server

by Glenn Stump and Pratik Gupta

Network administrators face a host of challenges building and maintaining
their TCP/IP networks. Typically, they must assign IP (internet protocol)
addresses, host names, and other network information at individual computers.
This forces them to track changes every time a computer is either added,
removed or relocated in the network. Users or administrators must also
manually configure computers for network access. These tasks are
time-consuming, error prone, and can disrupt network operations. IBM has
addressed these challenges with a new networking technology called Dynamic IP.

IBM is introducing Dynamic IP in OS/2 Warp Server. Dynamic IP implements a
true TCP/IP "plug-and-go" network solution, greatly simplifying both IP
network access and IP network administration. Furthermore, Dynamic IP is
well-suited for networking mobile hosts and is fully compatible and
interoperable with existing IP network hosts and routers.

Dynamic IP is the integration of the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP) and Dynamic Domain Naming System (DDNS). Both DHCP and Dynamic DNS are
new features to OS/2 Warp, and Dynamic DNS is a first in the industry.

DHCP and DDNS are complementary open networking standards developed by the
IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). Each protocol implements half of the
TCP/IP "plug-and-go" network solution. The DHCP protocol centralizes and
automates the configuration of IP hosts, including IP addresses, while the
Dynamic DNS protocols automatically record the association between IP hosts
and their DHCP-assigned addresses.

Using DHCP and DDNS, a host automatically configures itself for network access
wherever it "plugs-in" to the IP network. That host can then be located and
accessed using its permanent, unique DNS host name. Mobile hosts, for example,
can therefore freely move about a network without knowledge of the local IP
network addresses or services and without end-user or administrator
intervention.

The OS/2 Warp Server software package includes a Dynamic IP client, a DHCP
server, and a Dynamic DNS Server. The Dynamic IP client consists of both a
DHCP and a Dynamic DNS client component. The DHCP client may be configured to
operate as a simple DHCP client or as a Dynamic IP client, integrating Dynamic
DNS client services with the DHCP client. The Dynamic DNS server is a superset
of the industry-standard "BIND" DNS server and may be configured to operate as
a traditional static DNS server or a new Dynamic DNS server, or both.

Dynamic IP takes Microsoft to school

IBM OS/2 Warp Dynamic IP will no doubt be compared to Microsoft's MS DHCP/WINS
(Windows Internet Naming Service) since both claim to implement "plug-and-go"
IP networking solutions. However, the two solutions are worlds apart in what
hosts they serve and how they scale to meet the needs of large, heterogeneous
IP networks.

Dynamic IP is designed to serve all IP hosts and to update a host's name and
IP address information in the universally-deployed Domain Name System (DNS).
Microsoft's DHCP/WINS system, on the other hand, is designed to serve
Microsoft clients using NETBIOS-over-IP protocols only, and to update a host's
NETBIOS name in a NETBIOS Name Server.

In other words, Dynamic IP is a general IP networking solution that has broad
application and that scales easily to an entire internet. The Microsoft
DHCP/WINS system is a limited networking system that is difficult to scale and
that is useful only in the context of NETBIOS-over-IP workgroup networks.

Finally, on the important topic of network security:  IBM uses fail-safe, RSA
digital signature technology to secure all updates to DNS servers to eliminate
the possibility of "spoofing", or impersonation, by unauthorized network
hosts. Microsoft's DHCP/WINS "security" technology is making sure that two
hosts with the same NETBIOS name aren't connected to the network at the same
time. (Perhaps calling this "security" is a bit misleading, but you get the
idea.)

IBM leadership in open networking standards

The introduction of OS/2 Warp Dynamic IP reaffirms IBM's leadership in
enterprise networking solutions as well as IBM's commitment to open networking
standards.

The new OS/2 Warp DHCP client and server implementations are more functional,
configurable, and customizable than any other in the industry. Also, the OS/2
Warp DHCP clients and servers will be the first in the industry to support
DHCP user classing, a new DHCP extension for administering groups of network
hosts with common configuration requirements (e.g., an accounting department),
independent of where the hosts in the network are located.

The IBM OS/2 Warp Dynamic DNS is the first product of its kind in the
industry. IBM is the first company to bring to market a product that
implements the emerging Dynamic DNS protocol standard as documented by IETF
DNS working committees (DNSIND and DNSSEC). Further, in recognition of the
importance of DDNS to IBM customers and to advance the state of the DDNS
standard, IBM has donated the source code for the DDNS client and server to
the Internet Software Consortium's public implementation of DNS.

The last word

IBM OS/2 Warp Dynamic IP will be a big hit with end-users and network
administrators alike. Dynamic IP's true TCP/IP "plug-and-go" networking
capabilities affirm OS/2 Warp's position as the premier PC operating system
for enterprise networks.

Dynamic IP exemplifies IBM's commitment to leadership in enterprise networking
solutions and open networking standards.

Glenn Stump is an Advisory Programmer in IBM's TCP/IP Product Strategy at
Research Triangle Park, NC. Glenn has a BS degree in Computer Science from
Penn State University, and is currently the lead designer and program leader
for IBM's Dynamic IP products. He has worked in IBM Networking Divisions since
joining IBM in '82, and has been a member of the IBM TCP/IP products team
since '89.

Pratik Gupta is a Staff Programmer in IBM TCP/IP Development at Research
Triangle Park, NC. Pratik has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and an MS
degree in Computer Science. He has worked in IBM Network Systems Division
since 1994. Prior to joining IBM, he has been Technical Group Leader for
designing & operating a distributed control system at the Continuous Electron
Beam Accelerator Facility, a US Dept. of Energy Research Lab., and Team Leader
for designing TREx a real-time, multiprocessor operating system for RISC
processors.