Error when configuring a failover DHCP: “The following scopes already exist on the partner server”

Question

_{Friday, July 17, 2015 11:36 PM}

Server 2012 R2

I get that error message when clicking next in the Failover Wizard after specifying the partner server, but I don't understand it.

In trying to research how to setup a failover DHCP the one thing I didn't understand or find was the name and range of the scopes between the primary and failover DHCP server.

The range on my primary DHCP server is 192.168.3.100 to 192.168.3.199.  That assigns a Scope ID of "Scope [192.168.3.0] xxxx".  If I configure a different range on what will be the failover DHCP with a different 'xxxx' name, it comes back with the same Scope ID of "Scope [192.168.3.0] yyyy" and regardless of the name I've given, I get the error.

It seems like the failover should be handing out addresses on the same subnet as the primary, but it doesn't look like I can set that up.

I figure I must be missing something basic here.  Can someone try to help me?  Thanks.

All replies (3)

_{Saturday, July 18, 2015 3:13 PM ✅Answered}

Hi

 So you configure failover cluster (for scopes),that's the way,when you configure failover on scope,it will add another copy of scope on another node of DHCP failover.(so the configuration have to be te same each other,ip's,reservations,scope names,etc...)

Please check this detailed information about Understand and Deploy DHCP Failover;

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn338978.aspx

Check this step-by-step guide also,

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831385.aspx

_{Monday, July 20, 2015 7:23 PM ✅Answered}

Confirming my suspicion above, I was executing the Configure Failover Wizard on the wrong DHCP server. As soon as I ran the wizard on the 'primary' DHCP server, it worked just fine.

_{Sunday, July 19, 2015 3:00 AM}

Hi Burak,

Thank you for the links.  I had already seen and read through the second link and it didn't help me see my problem.  However, I had not seen the first link you provided.  I will study it.

In the meantime, just from my initial quick scan of that first link I'm beginning to think I've had a simple misunderstanding.  Perhaps you might confirm if this is so.

I thought I was supposed to run the Configure Failover Wizard on the 2nd DHCP server that would be the failover server.  I'm now thinking I had this backwards; that instead I should be running the Configure Failover Wizard on the 1st (and primary) DHCP server, and this operation will configure the 2nd DHCP server as the failover server for me.

I hope my explanation above makes sense and that you can confirm if you think my problem may have been that simple.

Thanks.