IPAM and DHCP are the same catalog

Prefixes, subnets, pools, reservations, assignments, and leases live in one place. dhcpd serves those rows; the console writes them. Names update after Ack into the DNS you already run — Ack does not wait on a nameserver.

  • prefix
  • subnet
  • pool
  • reservation
  • assignment
  • exclude
  • lease
  • Work

The plan usually lives in a sheet (or phpIPAM). Offers still come from Windows, ISC, or Kea. You keep those stories aligned yourself.

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.

Scopes, leases, and the IPs you used to track by hand — one view

Lattice keeps the DHCP scope (subnet, pool, reservations) and the live leases, and it keeps the addresses you used to put in a sheet. They show in Addresses together because they are the same catalog. There is no separate IPAM screen to reconcile with DHCP afterward.

Spreadsheet, DHCP scope, and lease file become one Addresses view
You keptAddresses shows
The spreadsheetAssignments and tracking-only subnets — static servers DHCP never serves.
The DHCP scopeSubnet, pool, reservations, excludes. dhcpd reads these rows.
The lease fileLeases in the same tree. Reality, not a file on one box.
vlan 120 is DHCP. vlan 130 is tracking-only — the old spreadsheet VLAN. Same tree.

vlan 120 is DHCP. vlan 130 is tracking-only — the old spreadsheet VLAN. Same tree.

Addresses tree with prefixes, a DHCP subnet on vlan 120, and a tracking-only subnet on vlan 130.
How it is laid out
relays / clientsany nodelattice-dhcpdone databasePostgresconsole / APIlattice-workerAD / BIND / UnboundAck is a SQL commit. Names update after. Keep the resolver you already run.

DDI is DNS, DHCP, and IPAM

phpIPAM and NetBox are IPAM. They hold a plan. They do not Offer. Windows DHCP Offers; the spreadsheet is still the used list. Lattice is DHCP and the addresses tool as one catalog. DNS stays the resolver you already run. What DDI is · phpIPAM vs DHCP · Infoblox alternative.

Windows DHCP, ISC, Lattice

Same operators. One catalog instead of a plan and a lease store. Many sites means Fleet, not a shared database.

Compare Windows DHCP, ISC, and Lattice
Windows DHCPISC / KeaLattice
Plan and leasesScope + spreadsheetconf + lease fileOne catalog
OperateMMC, per serverconf, or Stork extraBrowser console
Scale-out DHCPLimited HA · hashed pairLimited HA · hashed pairSame pool on every node
DNSMicrosoft DNSScripts / BYOA/PTR into the DNS you run
Find a MACMMC or exportgrep the lease fileConsole search
Who held this IPCurrent lease or an exportgrep dhcpd.leases / StorkOccupancy history — every hold, as-of a day, switch port, CSV
DeployWindows ServerLinux packageTarball, no phone-home
MeterPer serverYou operate itManaged IPs

How a grant happens

  1. 01

    IPAM writes intent

    Prefix (block on the drawing). Subnet (L3 network: DHCP or tracking-only). Pool, reservation, assignment, exclude — pick the object that matches what you mean.

  2. 02

    DHCP reads the same rows

    dhcpd has no conf of its own. Identical lattice-dhcpd processes serve the catalog. Discover on node A and Ack on node B is the same lease. Ack never waits on DNS. Health is HTTP /readyz.

  3. 03

    Names after the grant

    A worker writes A/PTR into AD, BIND, or PowerDNS after Ack. Keep option 6 on the resolver you already run. lattice-dns is only for zones Lattice owns.

  4. 04

    Many clusters, one login

    Each site keeps its own database. Fleet is a manager of managers — not a copy of the data. Open the live cluster console from one login. Two isolated DHCP networks are two clusters, not two tenants on one dhcpd.

Mark an address

Operators can create reservations and assignments. Admins create prefixes, subnets, pools, and excludes.

How to mark an address
You wantDo this
Printer / phone always gets this IP via DHCPAdd address → DHCP client. IP + MAC (or DUID / client-id).
Static server, no DHCPAdd address → Static server. IP + hostname. Counts on the license.
Whole VLAN is servers onlySubnet mode Tracking only. Then assignments. No pool.
Gateway, VIP, or a hole with no catalogAdd address → Don’t offer (exclude). Does not count as a managed IP.

Bring scopes over

Dump Microsoft / ISC / Kea, map to prefix → subnet → pool → reservation, POST /api/v1. Lattice does not parse dhcpd.conf, Microsoft XML, or live lease files. Devices that must keep an IP become reservations. Playbook: Migrate.

What you run

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.