IP Configuration
IPv4 Management and Interfaces
Cisco 350, 350X and 550X Series Managed Switches, Firmware Release 2.4, ver 0.4 293
16
 
The following Option 82 options are available on the device:
• DHCP Insertion - Add Option 82 information to packets that do not have foreign 
Option 82 information.
• DHCP Passthrough - Forward or reject DHCP packets that contain Option 82 
information from untrusted ports. On trusted ports, DHCP packets containing Option 
82 information are always forwarded.
The following table shows the packet flow through the DHCP Relay, DHCP Snooping, and 
Option 82 modules:
The following cases are possible:
• DHCP client and DHCP server are connected to the same VLAN. In this case, a 
regular bridging passes the DHCP messages between DHCP client and DHCP server.
• DHCP client and DHCP server are connected to different VLANs. In the case, only 
DHCP Relay can and does broadcast DHCP messages between DHCP client and 
DHCP server. Unicast DHCP messages are passed by regular routers and therefore if 
DHCP Relay is enabled on a VLAN without an IP address, an external router is 
needed. 
DHCP Relay and only DHCP Relay relays DHCP messages to a DHCP server 
Interactions Between DHCPv4 Snooping, DHCPv4 Relay and Option 82
The following tables describe how the device behaves with various combinations of DHCP 
Snooping, DHCP Relay and Option 82. 
The following describes how DHCP request packets are handled when DHCP Snooping is not 
enabled and DHCP Relay is enabled. 
DHCP Relay
VLAN with IP Address
DHCP Relay
VLAN without IP Address
Packet arrives 
without Option 82
Packet arrives 
with Option 82
Packet arrives 
without Option 
82
Packet arrives 
with Option 82
Option 82 
Insertion 
Disabled
Packet is sent 
without Option 82
Packet is sent 
with the original 
Option 82
Relay – inserts 
Option 82
Bridge – no 
Option 82 is 
inserted
Relay – discards 
the packet
Bridge – Packet 
is sent with the 
original Option 
82