DHCP over PPP - or how to use sockets instead of BPF?

[sthaug at nethelp.no]

> AFAIU, BPF is used because of problems with BSD sockets when e.g. 
> sending to 255.255.255.255 broadcast address, sending direct without 
> issuing ARP, and sending when interface is not configured (has address 
> 0.0.0.0) etc. Could using BSD sockets get around the need to implement 
> encap/decap for PPP but still get by without running into too much 
> trouble with the BSD sockets?

With suitable patches, which have been posted to the list,

https://lists.isc.org/pipermail/dhcp-users/2010-February/010916.html
https://lists.isc.org/pipermail/dhcp-users/2009-August/009667.html

you can use BSD sockets exclusively, as long as you don't need to
handle DHCP broadcast traffic (for instance if all your DHCP clients
are behind a relay agent). This *should*, at least in theory, enable
you to use a ppp interface.

Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug at nethelp.no