It is advisable to leave the parameter “lease time” in 10 minutes for deploying a DHCP server on a guest network, but it is acceptable to set this parameter to a longer time (example: 1 day) for deploying a DHCP server in an office, but consider reserving addresses IPs for users who require maintaining the same IP; This is done in the “Leases” tab of the “Leases” settings.DHCP Server & Hosting" on the menu /ip dhcp-server

Setting a DHCP lease time that is too short, such as 10 minutes, when clients or users are known to be online for longer periods, can be less efficient and potentially problematic for several reasons.

Although a short lease time will not necessarily “saturate” the network under normal conditions, it does have implications worth considering:

1. Increased DHCP Traffic

A short lease time will increase the amount of DHCP traffic on the network due to frequent renewals. Every time a lease is about to expire, the client initiates a renewal process with the DHCP server.

If you have many clients, this can result in a noticeable increase in DHCP packets circulating on your network.

2. Additional Load on the DHCP Server

Although modern DHCP servers are designed to handle a high volume of requests without difficulty, setting a lease time that is too short puts an unnecessary load on the server. This is especially true on large networks with many DHCP clients.

3. Potential for Connectivity Issues

On networks with high latency or performance issues, constant DHCP refresh could theoretically fail, possibly causing temporary interruptions in connectivity for some clients. Although this is rare in modern practice, it is an additional risk with no clear benefits.

4. IP Address Management

In very large and active networks, a very short lease time could, in theory, increase the likelihood of IP assignment problems if the range of available addresses is not adequately large or if the DHCP server is not able to reassign IP addresses appropriately. efficient.

Recommendations

For most networks, a lease time of several hours to days is generally recommended. This balances flexibility in IP address allocation (allowing for changes to the network and connected devices) with minimizing unnecessary network traffic and load on the DHCP server.

A 24-hour lease time is commonly used and considered good practice for many situations.

Exceptions

There are cases where a short lease time may be justifiable, such as in temporary networks (events, conferences), where devices change frequently and rapid reuse of IP addresses is needed.

However, for a network where users remain connected for extended periods, a longer lease time is generally preferable.

Conclusion

Configuring DHCP lease time requires considering the balance between IP address management flexibility and minimizing unnecessary load on the network and servers.

In most cases, especially on stable networks where devices are connected for long periods, a longer lease time is more appropriate.