Method and system for optimizing performance and availability of a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) service

A method for monitoring and optimizing performance and availability of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service provided by one or a plurality of DHCP servers in an Internet Protocol (IP) network comprising one or a plurality of IP subnetworks, said method comprising in a DHCP service monitoring system the steps of:

• retrieving from the one or a plurality of DHCP servers, information related to resources, in particular IP addresses, allocated within each DHCP server to groups of subnetworks, each group of subnetworks comprising one or a plurality of subnetworks;
• aggregating said information for each group of subnetworks;
• monitoring and optimizing performance and availability of the DHCP service based on the information aggregated for each group of subnetworks;
• and
• recording said one or plurality of DHCP servers in a list,
• wherein the retrieved information comprises for each DHCP server a total number of IP addresses presently allocated to each group of subnetworks, the total number of IP addresses of a group of subnetworks in a DHCP server being equal to the sum of IP addresses presently allocated to each subnetwork defined within said group of subnetworks,
• wherein the retrieved information comprises for each DHCP server a total number of IP addresses that can be potentially allocated to each group of subnetworks, the total number of IP addresses of a group of subnetworks in a DHCP server being equal to the sum of IP addresses that can be potentially allocated to each subnetwork defined within said group of subnetworks,
• wherein the step of aggregating said information for each group of subnetworks comprises the further steps of:
• building a list of groups of subnetworks using information retrieved from DHCP servers,
• wherein the step of aggregating said information for a group of subnetworks comprises the further step of:
• determining a total number of IP addresses presently allocated to said group of subnetworks on all DHCP servers, the total number of IP addresses being equal to the sum of IP addresses presently allocated to said group of subnetworks in each DHCP server,
• wherein the step of aggregating said information for a group of subnetworks comprises the further step of:
• determining a total number of IP addresses that can be potentially allocated to said group of subnetworks on all DHCP servers, the total number of IP addresses being equal to the sum of IP addresses that can be potentially allocated to said group of subnetworks in each DHCP server, and
• wherein the step of aggregating said information for a group of subnetworks comprises the further step of:
• dividing the total number of IP addresses presently allocated to said group of subnetworks on all DHCP servers by the total number of IP addresses that can be potentially allocated to said group of subnetworks on all DHCP servers;
• comparing the results of the division with a predetermined threshold;
• and
• triggering a corrective action when this threshold is reached for a group of subnetworks.