Patent ID: 7756976

Claim:
A method of controlling dynamic host control protocol (DHCP) communication on a network comprising a plurality of DHCP servers, the method comprising: configuring each of the plurality of DHCP servers to hold in memory all DHCP offers made by the DHCP server and lacking a response from a network switch, wherein the network switch includes at least one physical port designated as a port authorized to send DHCP offer frames and at least one physical port designated as a port unauthorized to send DHCP offer frames; receiving a data frame at a physical port on the network switch; if the data frame is a DHCP offer frame, determining whether the physical port of the network switch receiving the data frame is an authorized physical port to send DHCP offer frames based on whether the physical port comprises the at least one physical port designated as a port authorized to send DHCP offer frames; in response to determining that the physical port is an authorized physical port to send DHCP offer frames, forwarding the received DHCP offer frame; and in response to determining that the physical port is not an authorized physical port to send DHCP offer frames, dropping the received DHCP offer frame.