Using DHCP with Printers and Other Devices Without Needing to Create MAC Address Reservations

My company grew rapidly last year, and one network server that's become cumbersome to manage is a DHCP server. Because of the growth, we're continually adding printers, for which we need to either add exclusions or create media access control (MAC) address reservations in DHCP. How can I use DHCP with printers and other devices without needing to create MAC address reservations?

This problem has a much simpler solution. Create a unique host name through the console on your printer (I've never seen a printer that didn't support this functionality), and leave the TCP/IP settings on the printer set to DHCP. Look at the address leases on your DHCP scope to confirm that the host name is correctly identified when the printer is assigned an address. Assuming the host name is correctly identified, you can use the printer host name instead of the IP address when you define the TCP/IP port name on your Windows Server 2003 print server.

—Bob Chronister