Patent ID: 7418488

Claim:
A method implemented by a network address assignment server, comprising: receiving an instruction to update a set of configuration information that is used by the server in assigning network addresses, wherein the set of configuration information comprises a set of network addresses that the server can assign to network devices; receiving update information indicating one or more updates to be made to the set of configuration information, wherein the update information comprises one or more changes to be made to the set of network addresses that the server can assign; updating the set of configuration information in accordance with the update information to derive a set of updated configuration information, wherein updating the set of configuration information comprises deriving an updated set of network addresses that the server can assign, and wherein the updated set of network addresses is part of the set of updated configuration information; receiving, from a network device, a request for a network address that the network device can use to receive communications on a network; determining, based at least partially upon the set of updated configuration information, a particular network address to assign to the network device; and assigning the particular network address to the network device; wherein the server does not need to be restarted between the updating operation and the determining operation.