Amahi Forums

Hi all, please forgive the newbie question. I need to move the DHCP function off of the Amahi server because of the way that my network UPS system is configured. The Amahi server cannot be on the UPS due to capacity limitations. Only a few network critical systems can "live there".

So what I would like to do is set up an Ubuntu server VM on the UPS protected system and move the Amahi Bind configuration to it. I realize this is not truly optimal, but it would be better than having no Amahi related DHCP at all.

I am new to this and need help. Can anyone offer me some suggestions on whether this can be done and if so where to start? Can I just set up an Ubuntu server with Bind on it and then copy the Amahi Bind files over to it? Is there a better way to do this like creating a "fail over" DHCP that would pick up if the Amahi sever is offline?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Not sure if what you are wanting to do is possible. Making another DHCP server outside Amahi will not make it function as it's Amahi.

If you cannot use the Amahi DHCP server, then why not just use the one on your router. You can point the router the Amahi DNS. That seems more practical than setting up a separate server to do the same thing.

Here is some guidance that might explain better what I am trying to suggest.
https://www.amahi.org/faq#can-i-disable ... -amahi-hda

Thanks for trying to understand my question. I think what you are recommending is a good idea, but I do not know how to set it up.

What I think you said is that I can have my router point to the Amahi box as a primary DNS. Then what I am unclear on is what happens if the Amahi box is down. Can I set up something like this:

Primary DNS = Amahi box = 192.168.10.2
Secondary DNS = router fallback = 192.168.10.1

If the DHCP is active on the Amahi box the all is well, but when it is down I guess the network would still work but without DHCP (only static IPs could connect). Is that right?

My need is to have some critical machines still be able to connect to the internet event with the Amahi box down.

What I think you said is that I can have my router point to the Amahi box as a primary DNS. Then what I am unclear on is what happens if the Amahi box is down. Can I set up something like this:

Primary DNS = Amahi box = 192.168.10.2
Secondary DNS = router fallback = 192.168.10.1

Well by setting a different primary and secondary DNS, you risk not hitting the right one all the time. What I mean is when the HDA is on, it might try to use the secondary and then you won't have access to apps.

If the DHCP is active on the Amahi box the all is well, but when it is down I guess the network would still work but without DHCP (only static IPs could connect). Is that right?

No, when the DHCP lease runs out, the machine would not get a new one.

If this is a just in case, then I would leave things as is. Chances are if you lose power, you are not going to have access to much of anything. Besides if you are worried about a power outage, chances are you will lose internet too.

It would make more sense to get another UPS and use it just for the HDA. They are not that expensive now days. I think the best thing is if you must have the HDA off, use your router for all. You cannot cover every scenario easily.

Remember the UPS is meant to give you time to gracefully shut down systems, not sustain them.