dhcpcd and dnsmasq in same Pi

Question

I have a Pi 3 running stretch which uses dhcpcd to configure its one network interface, eth0. But it also acts as the dhcp server for my LAN, courtesy of dnsmasq.

The dhcpcd.conf file spells out eth0 as a static address assignment. It also specifies the gateway and DNS servers, too.

I’ve configured dnsmasq, by way of /etc/ethers and /etc/hosts, to apply “fixed” IP addresses to several key parts of my LAN (e.g., wireless access points and a Windows server).

Can I apply the same logic to the Pi itself? Put another way, if dnsmasq will always supply the same IP address to the Pi, do I need to have those “static” entries in dhcpcd.conf?

Also, when does dhcpcd do its magic? Just during boot, or at other times?

Answer 1

There is a chicken-egg problem here. Your DHCP server will listen on an IP address and port. If your IP address has not been assigned yet, your DCHP server cannot listen on an IP address, because it is not there yet.

So no, conceptually, that would not work.