Quick Start
This section describes the basic steps needed to get Kea up and running.
For further details, full customizations, and troubleshooting, see the
respective chapters in the Kea guide.
Quick Start Guide for DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 Services
Install required run-time and build dependencies. See for details.
Download Kea source tarball from ISC.org downloads page or ISC ftp server.
Extract the tarball. For example:
$ tar xvzf kea-&keaversion;.tar.gzGo into the source directory and run the configure script:
$ cd kea-&keaversion;
$ ./configure [your extra parameters]Build it:
$ makeInstall it (by default it will be placed in
/usr/local/,
so it is likely that you will need root privileges for this step):
# make installEdit the Kea configuration files which by default are installed in
the [kea-install-dir]/etc/kea/ directory. These are:
kea-dhcp4.conf, kea-dhcp6.conf,
kea-dhcp-ddns.conf and
kea-ctrl-agent.conf, for DHCPv4 server, DHCPv6 server,
D2 and Control Agent respectively.
In order to start the DHCPv4 server in background, run the
following command (as root):
# keactrl start -s dhcp4
Or run the following command to start DHCPv6 server instead:
# keactrl start -s dhcp6
Note that it is also possible to start all servers simultaneously:
$ keactrl startVerify that Kea server(s) are running:
# keactrl status
A server status of "inactive" may indicate a configuration
error. Please check the log file (by default named
[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-dhcp4.log,
[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-dhcp6.log,
[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-ddns.log or
[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-ctrl-agent.log)
for the details of the error.
If the server has been started successfully, test that it is
responding to DHCP queries and that the client
receives a configuration from the server; for example, use
the ISC DHCP client.
Stop running the server(s):
# keactrl stop
For instructions specific to your system, please read the
system specific notes,
available in the Kea section of ISC's Knowledgebase.
The details of keactrl script usage can be found
in .Running the Kea Servers DirectlyThe Kea servers can be started directly, without the need to use the
keactrl. To start the DHCPv4 server run the following
command:
# kea-dhcp4 -c /path/to/your/kea4/config/file.json
Similarly, to start the DHCPv6 server run the following command:
# kea-dhcp6 -c /path/to/your/kea6/config/file.json