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Windows 10 Update Broke DHCP, Knocked Users Off the Internet (arstechnica.com)
Microsoft has quietly fixed a software update it released last week, which effectively prevented Windows 10 users from connecting to the Internet or joining a local network. From a report on ArsTechnica: It's unclear exactly which automatic update caused the problem or exactly when it was released -- current (unconfirmed) signs point to KB3201845 released on December 9 -- but whatever it was appeared to break DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), preventing Windows 10 from automatically acquiring an IP address from the network. There's also little detail on how many people were affected or why, but multiple cases have been confirmed across Europe by many ISPs. A Microsoft spokesperson has meanwhile confirmed that "some customers" had been experiencing "difficulties" getting online, but that's about it for public statements at present. However, a moderator on the company's forums has said the fix was included in a patch released on Tuesday called KB3206632.
I have to wonder about this specific bug. They fucked up DHCP? Doing what to it? The DHCP stack isn't something that needs regular tweaking; it's not like there are new features being introduced to DHCP all the time. The protocol is mature and relatively static, and the DHCP client in Windows has been robust for years. Even XP's DHCP client was rock solid, fully IPv6 aware, etc. There's nothing to be making changes to in that codebase. Just as I wouldn't expect CALC.EXE to get updated (and suddenly quit working) unless there's some major new discovery in mathematics that redefines how a calculator should operate, I wouldn't expect the DHCP client to be getting buggered when there haven't been any breakthroughs in IP lease assignment.
So what the hell they were mucking around with - adding more spying? Everybody gets a persistent route to FBI HQ in their config?
You don't need to touch a specific part of a stack to ruin something. Calc.exe would be equally screwed if you did something that broke the Win32API.
Likewise the change could have been completely unrelated to DHCP. Did anyone confirm if the rest of the network stack was okay or did they just conclude that Microsoft broke a very specific part of DHCP?
I once broke DHCP on my linux machine with a typo in an iptables script. That annoyed my especially since it was one of those bugs that was fine until the next reboot and the machine was headless.
Linux on the metal. Windows in a VM.
Took a little tweaking (you can google it) and it works perfectly for the vast majority of applications. I only found a slight degradation in the latest and greatest AAA vidya games. And even then, it's around a 10% loss in frame rate, or turning the graphics down from Ultra to Very High.
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