[Dnsmasq-discuss] Feature Request: Support for RFC 2855 (DHCP for IEEE1394)

[Simon Kelley]

Karl Svec wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> It would be nice to see support for RFC 2855 (DHCP for IEEE1394)
> implemented in dnsmasq's DHCP server. Information about the protocol
> can be found here:
> 
> http://rfc.net/rfc2855.html
> 
> The main advantage I can see to adding this feature is that it would
> allow for connection sharing options under Linux/*BSD/etc that is on
> par with Mac OS X and Windows. One could also share an internet
> connection with, for example, a firewire-enabled Windows or Mac OS X
> laptop.
> 
> I also have a personal interest in seeing this implemented, as I'm
> trying to build a Linux audio cluster using firewire ethernet, and am
> currently only able to use static IP addresses.
> 
> RFC 2855 support is in the works for dhcpcd, so this paired with
> dnsmasq's dhcp server could open up some easily configurable,
> interesting possibilities (think: firewire-based video/audio
> renderfarms, a fast network layer for small clusters, etc.).
> 
> Is this feasible? Let me know what you think!

It looks very feasible, RFC2855 seems to boil down to

"Thou shalt work when hlen is zero, as long as a client-id is provided"

A quick trawl through the most recent code reveals only one place where 
this is obviously not true, and even that is not show-stopping. Have you 
tried dnsmasq with firewire? It may well just work.

The main problem I have is lack of kit for testing. I have exacly one 
machine with firewire, which is really one too few! If you can do 
testing, there shouldn't be any major problem.

Cheers,

Simon,