Software-only DDI
Replace Windows DHCP and the spreadsheet.
If you’re still juggling MMC scopes and a spreadsheet of what’s actually in use, that’s two systems pretending to be one. Lattice is one catalog: the reservation you save is the next Offer, helpdesk search lands on the lease, and Discover on one node with Ack on another is still the same pool. Ubuntu tarball. No appliance. Names follow the grant into the DNS you already run.
A Tuesday
Same Tuesday, one console
Helpdesk and neteng share one search bar and the Work queues (Why NAK, Relays, stale reservations) — not a log dump first. Occupancy History is every remaining lease row as-of a day, CSV.
Example
Helpdesk pastes 28:10:01 or Cisco 0028.1001. Search lands on the lease. Neteng is not the lookup API.
Other normal asks on the same map: reserve the printer on .10 forever; open Work when a laptop won’t get an address (often Relays / leftover Windows scope — there is no “primary” to restart); ask who held an IP last Tuesday without a ping scan.
The operator console · Who had this IP last Tuesday? · History · Helpdesk playbook
One catalog
The plan and the leases are one catalog.
Windows and ISC keep a plan in one place and leases in another. Lattice has one catalog, so Work can name the failure. Names follow the grant into AD or BIND.
- prefix
- subnet
- pool
- reservation
- assignment
- exclude
- lease
- Work
Today
The plan usually lives in a sheet (or phpIPAM). Offers still come from Windows, ISC, or Kea. You keep those stories aligned yourself.
Lattice
Prefixes, pools, reservations, and leases are one catalog. dhcpd serves those rows; the console writes them. There is no second copy to sync. A/PTR follow the grant into the DNS you already run — Ack does not wait on a nameserver.
| Windows DHCP | ISC / Kea | Lattice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan and leases | Scope + spreadsheet | conf + lease file | One catalog |
| Operate | MMC, per server | conf, or Stork extra | Browser console |
| Scale-out DHCP | Limited HA · hashed pair | Limited HA · hashed pair | Same pool on every node |
| DNS | Microsoft DNS | Scripts / BYO | A/PTR into the DNS you run |
| Find a MAC | MMC or export | grep the lease file | Console search |
| Who held this IP | Current lease or an export | grep dhcpd.leases / Stork | Occupancy history — every hold, as-of a day, switch port, CSV |
| Deploy | Windows Server | Linux package | Tarball, no phone-home |
| Meter | Per server | You operate it | Managed IPs |
Same pool on every node
Identical dhcpd processes share the lease store. Discover on one node and Ack on another is the same lease. Add a node without splitting scopes.
Keep the DNS you already run
Ack never waits on a nameserver. A worker writes A/PTR into AD, BIND, or Unbound after the grant. Option 6 stays pointed at the resolver your laptops already use.
What you install
Same tarball. The license file sets the cap.
The install with no license file is Community (1,000 managed IPs, one node). A 30-day Starter trial in the portal tests extra dhcpd and three-node VIP before you buy. Upload a paid file on that cluster when you pay — no reinstall.
Community and paid
Meter is live addresses, not prefix size.
Managed IPs = leased + reserved + quarantined + assigned. A /16 with 200 live addresses is 200. Existing leases keep renewing if you hit the cap.
- Community
- Perpetual free SKU: 1,000 IPs, one node. No license file. A 30-day Starter trial in the portal tests HA.
- Paid
- Starter 5k · Professional 10k · Team 25k. List prices on Pricing. Create an account, then buy from the portal. Community runs on one node. A paid file lets you add dhcpd nodes and run three-node HA behind a VIP. No license file. A 30-day Starter trial is in the portal if you want HA before you buy.
Create a Community account first — same product, 1,000 IPs. Buy in portal Billing after you create an account.