Using the DHCP Split-Scope Wizard on Server 2008 R2

Problem

You want to provide some fault tolerance for DHCP, so you plan to add another DHCP server to your network.

You used to have to set up the scopes and exclusions manually, but now you can use the Split-Scope wizard using Server 2008 R2.

Solution

  1. Navigate to Server Manager > DHCP Server > Servername > IPv4.
  2. Right-click Scope > Advanced > Split-Scope:
  3. Read the intro and click Next:
  4.  Select another server with the DHCP role installed:
  5. Select the percentage split for the exclusion ranges:
  6.  Enter a delay for the Added DHCP Server (1000ms is the maximum):
  7. Confirm the details and click Finish to complete the wizard:

You may get Error 0x00004E2A when completing the wizard:

This occurs if you have set up custom Predefined Options on your DHCP server.

To stop the error from occurring, you need to recreate the Predefined Options on the other DHCP server(s) before running the Split-Scope wizard.

Here was the Address Pool on the original server:

Here’s the original server after the Split-Scope wizard completed:

And finally, here is the added DHCP server after the Split-Scope wizard completed:

Please note that the new scope on the added DHCP server still needs to be activated manually.