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I need to serve slightly different DHCP information to clients based on the MAC address prefix. MAC addresses from a particular vendor need to have PXE assigned to a certain host, while all other devices need to receive PXE information for another host.

Is it possible to configure or script this to happen automatically? The DHCP server is Windows Server 2008 R2. I know this can be done in Linux/Unix by setting classes to match a substring in dhcp.conf, but I see no similar functionality in Windows.

Static reservations aren't practical for the size of the network.

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1 Answer

I think this is what you're looking for.

"To configure a new filter

Open the DHCP snap-in.

In the console tree, double-click the applicable DHCP server, double-click IPv4, double-click Filters, and then right-click Allow or Deny.

Click New Filter, and then type a MAC Address and Description. Description is an optional field.


"The MAC address can either be the full address or a MAC address pattern (wild card). Following are the valid MAC address wild cards:






EDIT: Source http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd759190.aspx

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A filter lets me allow or deny hosts, but it doesn't let me serve them different PXE information based on their MAC. All I can choose is whether or not to respond to their DHCP request based on their MAC. –  Shaun Jul 7 '11 at 17:38
I don't have it in front of me, but can the filters not be applied to different scopes? –  EagerToLearn Jul 7 '11 at 18:11
I know it is also possible through cisco devices to force certain mac addresses into a certain VLAN and then have PC's within that VLAN assigned the IP info you want. I'm not 100% sure if this works with mac address pre-fixes though. And this is all assuming you have cisco equipment. –  EagerToLearn Jul 7 '11 at 18:42
According to this post on ServerFault, it is not possible. serverfault.com/questions/268358/… –  EagerToLearn Jul 7 '11 at 18:50
Yeah, Windows only lets you apply filters to the entire server, not to specific scopes. This is a rather silly limitation, and somewhat of an oversight IMO. Looks like it's not possible. Thanks. –  Shaun Jul 8 '11 at 16:13
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