What could be causing our users to get a different subnet address?

We sometimes encounter cases where users get a different subnet address, and they cannot login to the domain. What's causing this? What I can conclude for now is it seems there a PC out there acting as DHCP server, aside from the one we actually have.

What can I do to prevent the network from being affected like this?

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Well, you cannot rule out the possibility of another DHCP server running with wrong configuration parameters. The other thing you can check for is the Server services like SAMBA, as they can also cause this problem. You may also want to check and see if there is another server sitting out there with the different subnet still, say, if your PDC is a different box or even your WINS could do it.

Problems like these happen due to uncontrolled installation on the network. Create a network policy and have everyone follow that. Regular network audits will prove to be a great help.

This was first published in December 2003

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