wgmann03 <wgmann03.2wiz0j@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> hath wroth:

>Anybody got any insight?

Sorta. The Vista DHCP client was apparently (my guess) rescribbled
and looks broken in many areas. Have you tried the following Vista
tweaks? I've run into all of them at some point, but not necessarily
on a wireless network.

As I understand it, the DHCP server "local mode" is suppose to be used
to assign a temporary "token IP address" in order to contact a RADIUS
server for authentication. Got a RADIUS server running? My
guess(tm) is that something is convincing the Vista client that it
needs to authenticate with a RADIUS server. Probably another Vista
DHCP bug, but without a capture log from a sniffer, I can't be sure.

"Windows Vista cannot obtain an IP address from certain routers or
from certain non-Microsoft DHCP servers" (Translation: Broadcast flag
handling is broken).
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928233>

"The default gateway setting is lost when you wake a Windows
Vista-based computer from sleep" (Translation: IP stack parameters
are being tweaked when going in/out of sleep mode)
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933872>

"Windows Vista cannot connect to any off-link addresses when the
default gateway is configured to be the same as the client IP address"
(Translation: A commonly used method of preserving IP addresses is
broken).
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929824/en-us>

"When a DHCP server is unavailable on a Windows Vista-based computer,
Windows Vista uses an APIPA IP address much sooner than Windows XP
does under the same circumstances"
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931550/en-us>

"You cannot use a remote access server to apply DHCP options to a
Windows Vista-based computer" (Translation: Can't reliably get DHCP
leases through a VPN).
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933340/en-us>

There are a mess of other DHCP related "issues" (bugs) in the
knowledge pile at:
<http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?query=vista+dhcp>
but the above are the one's I've collected from dealing the customer
issues. I've also had Vista specific problems dealing with multiple
DHCP servers, DHCP relay problems, and some weirdness renewing leases
when the DHCP server is set to unusually short times (e.g. 30
minutes).

You also might find it interesting to play with a DHCP test utility.
Windoze:
<http://www.weirdsolutions.com/weirdSolutions/files/products/desktopSoftware/desktopQueryTool/querytool_free.exe>
Linux:
<http://www.weirdsolutions.com/weirdSolutions/files/products/desktopSoftware/desktopQueryTool/querytool.i586.rpm>
I use this more to troubleshoot DHCP server and relay problems, but it
might be interesting to see what the client is getting.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558