DacatDHCP vs Open DHCP Server

DacatDHCP combines an IPv4 DHCP service with a web interface for configuring address pools, viewing leases, and monitoring status. The lightweight single-file application bundles the service and management interface. Settings include network-interface selection, address ranges, gateway, DNS, and lease duration. The interface shows assigned addresses and client information, while version 1.0.0 adds fixed MAC-to-IP mappings with matching logs. The main release supports Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2016 or later on Windows amd64. Management works in Edge, Chrome, and other modern Chromium-based browsers; Internet Explorer 11 is not supported. The interface listens on 127.0.0.1, and write endpoints use CSRF and origin checks. Administrator privileges are required. DacatDHCP is permanently free and open source under Apache License 2.0. It is intended for labs, test environments, temporary LANs, small networks, troubleshooting, and isolated networks. Address pools must share the selected interface’s subnet. Leases remain in memory after startup and are not restored after restart; active IP-conflict detection is not provided.

Open DHCP Server is free, open-source software that provides Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol service on Linux and self-hosted, on-premises deployments. It assigns addresses through static hosts and dynamic DHCP ranges, supporting up to 125 ranges on one server. Multiple zones can run on a single server, with BOOTP and relay-agent support. DHCP options may be set globally, for a range, or for an individual client, using string, IP, hexadecimal-string, or byte-array values without defining option types. Ranges can be filtered by MAC ranges, vendor options, and user options. Replicated fail-safe operation supports continuity, while lease status appears on an auto-refreshing HTML page. The project describes low CPU use, small executable size, and very low memory requirements. It is released under the GNU General Public License, with a GPL-2.0 repository license. The project says it suits experts and small or home deployments, including people without DHCP protocol knowledge.