[quote=phoudoin]
It’s not fine, it’s contrary to DHCP client expected behavior per RFC, which state clearly that when a DHCP offer don’t provide a parameter, some implementation default or user-defined value should be used, but when this parameter is part of the offer, this MUST be the value used by the client. Default domain provided in DHCP offer should override user-defined one.[/quote]
That’s fully crazy, and nobody does that. To my reading RFC 2131 doesn’t even say they SHOULD, not least because clients are not even required to understand all the myriad possible DHCP configuration parameters (e.g. does Haiku implement the option of automatically assuming the local network MTU applies to subnets for IPv6?). DHCP manages just one finite resource, addresses, and DHCP implementations have to either accept an address lease or reject it, but they aren’t obliged to accept random other parameters provided by a possibly malconfigured device. They aren’t even required to have enough RAM to process those parameters and check they decode correctly.
[quote]
Sure, and we already support that (switch to static IP configuration, and change it in /boot/common/settings/network/resolv.conf if you want to). But it’s not because you can that it make sense. I can set my hostname to “www” and my default domain name to “google.com”, but my FQN won’t be valid anytime soon.
If a DHCP server provides the wrong default domain name, it’s there that it should be reconfigured, not on (every!) DHCP clients he serves.[/quote]
The domain name hierarchy does not parallel the address allocation hierarchy. So it does not always make sense for the DHCP server to know any of: the client’s FQDN, the preferred machine name, or the preferred DNS search path.
Although many ISPs provide default forward and reverse these days, I’m not sure it’s worth switching provider over such a thing. And who wants 4-5-2-9.dsl.myisp.example as a machine name? In my case I have a co-operative ISP who have configured their reverse (PTR) to match my (externally supplied) forward (A) for some addresses in my range. But not everyone can expect such service. So long as a matching forward and reverse actually exist (some services like IRC check), there’s no reason to use that unfriendly name if you have a nicer one.
[quote]
That a feature I plan to fix, BTW.[/quote]
While you’re there I suggest: Fixing the UI to not show options that will in fact be ignored or overriden; Improving labels and/or adding tooltips so that it’s obvious what they actually do (did this setting change the hostname? the FQDN? the machine name? the DNS search path? several or all of the above?); making it obvious if things can be ignored/ left blank; accepting or preferring modern configuration (address and network size rather than netmask, default to n+1 gateway using the network size); Your dual objectives should be to make easy things easy (most home PCs should set up in one click) and hard things possible (PCs on esoteric networks should be able to be configured, but it need not be so easy)
