How to Easily Renew Your DHCP IP Address on Debian 11: Step-by-Step Guide

Debian Update DHCP IP Procedure: What is DHCP?

How does Debian update the DHCP IP? DHCP, or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, is used to automatically assign random IP addresses to devices. When using a server or router with a DHCP server, the client does not have to manually set its IP address. They need to request it from DHCP. The IP address provided by DHCP is called a dynamic IP address, while the IP address that is set manually is called a static IP address.

Update the IP address on Debian 11 with DHCP (all network cards):

How do I update my DHCP IP on Debian 11? The dhclient tool is the primary Linux method to handle DHCP or dynamic IP addresses. When our system boots up, dhclient tries to configure a dynamic IP address for each network device in our system. However, the user can update the interface IP address at any time by calling dhclient. In the first example of this tutorial, we will do dhclient followed by the -r flag to free the current IP address. It is important to note that when a network device is not specified, the dhclient command will release all IP addresses. Note: After running this command, you will lose your network connection. You’ll follow the next steps in this tutorial to recover it:

sudo dhclient -r

Now, your system has released its IP address, and your internet connection is gone. How does Debian update the DHCP IP? You can also implement the -v (verbose) option to get the entire publishing IP process as detailed in the output, as shown in the following example:

sudo dhclient -v -r

How does Debian update the DHCP IP?

Debian update DHCP IP steps: Once your IP address is freed, you can use the dhclient command to request a new one without additional parameters, as shown in the screenshot below:

sudo dhclient

You can also implement the -v flag to get verbose output, as shown in the following example:

sudo dhclient -v

As you can see, the IP address 192.168.1.103 is assigned to the wlp3s0 device.

Update the IP address on Debian 11 using DHCP (Specific Network Interface):

How do I update my DHCP IP on Debian 11? As mentioned earlier, if you don’t specify a device when you run the dhclient command, it will affect all NIC IP addresses. Specifying a network card when running dhclient is very simple. Just add the NIC name at the end of the command. The following is an example of releasing the IP address of a wlp3s0 Wi-Fi card. As mentioned in the first step of this tutorial, the -v option was added just to get a verbose output. You can skip it.

sudo dhclient -v -r wlp3s0

How does Debian update the DHCP IP?

Then, to get a new dynamic IP address specifically for the wlp3s0 Wi-Fi card, run the following command:

sudo dhclient -v wlp3s0

As you can see, the IP address is correctly assigned to the wlp3s0 network device.

How does DHCP work?

When you run the dhclient command or start the computer, the dhclient sends a broadcast message to the subnet (DHCP Discover) to discover the available DHCP servers. The DHCP Discover packet contains the physical computer MAC address of the client to be identified by the server. THE DHCP SERVER SENDS A RESPONSE (DHCP OFFER) PROVIDING THE SENDING IP ADDRESS. The client replies with a request packet or accepts the proposed DHCP request. The DHCP server then assigns an IP address to the client, integrating it into the network. This process is called DHCP negotiation. IN TERMS OF PACKETS, WE CAN SUMMARIZE THE PROCESS AS DHCPDISCOVER>DHCPOFFER>DHCPREQUEST>DHCPACK, where: DHCPDISCOVER: The packet is sent from the client to the subnet, looking for an available DHCP server to get the IP address. DHCPOFFER: When the DHCP server receives a packet, the server sends a DHCPOFFER message back to the client identified by its MAC address, and then provides it with an idle or unused IP address. DHCPREQUEST: The client sends a packet to the DHCP server and accepts the offer. If more than one DHCP server provides an IP address, the client will accept the first one received, and the other DHCP servers will receive a notification that the initial request has been fulfilled. DHCPACK: Finally, after the DHCP server receives the final request packet from the client. It will reply with a DHCPACK packet to complete the IP allocation.

How do I check my DHCP rental history?

In some cases, you may want to view dynamic IP address history. This can be done by checking the syslog located at /var/log/syslog. The following command allows you to view all the negotiation processes involving the dhclient command:

sudo grep dhclient /var/log/syslog

As you can see, we can see the entire negotiation process and the IP addresses that were previously assigned. Note: If you are interested in this article, you may want to read Advanced Linux Networking Commands.

Debian update DHCP IP procedure summary

How do I update my DHCP IP on Debian 11? As you can see, updating the IP address on Debian 11 using DHCP is very simple. Understanding how DHCP servers and clients work is a basic thing that any Linux user must know to know how many devices get their IP addresses. While dynamic IP addresses don’t make sense in a planned network, they’re a great way to manage public IP addresses, as two devices can’t have the same address. How does Debian update the DHCP IP? As you can see, any Linux user level can request a dynamic IP address from a Linux device if there is privileged access. In many cases, when you’re connected to a public network but don’t have access to the Internet, you may want to try to request a dynamic IP address using the methods described. This has been very helpful to me in some cases. For more information about the dhclient command, you can visit the man page located at https://linux.die.net/man/8/dhclient. Thank you for reading this tutorial, which explains how to update a DHCP IP address on Debian 11. Stay tuned to Linux Hint for additional Linux tips and tutorials.