How to Register Devices for the Campus DHCP Service in Socreg

A knowledge base article about How to Register Devices for the Campus DHCP Service in Socreg provided by the UC Berkeley IT Service Hub - Knowledge Portal

NOTICE: You must register your device's Ethernet MAC address in Socreg to use the campus wired DHCP service.

What does the DHCP Service do?

The DHCP Service automatically assigns IP addresses, gateways, and other network configuration information to registered devices. By registering, you also ensure that you receive security notices involving your devices when they are connected to campus wired networks.

Note: Users accessing socreg.berkeley.edu from an off-campus IP address or the CalVisitor Wi-Fi must use the campus VPN to connect.

Registration Guidelines:

Personally-owned devices should be registered to individuals.
University-owned devices must be registered to Unit Security Contacts.

Types of Device Registration

IP addresses are allocated to devices on the campus wired network in one of two ways:

DHCP Fixed: Devices receive the same IP address every time they connect to their primary subnet.
DHCP Dynamic: Devices obtain an available IP address from a pool. This applies to all devices on secondary subnets. If the pool is exhausted, no IP will be leased. Report lease issues to the Campus DNS Administrator at dns@berkeley.edu.

The registration list also includes ARP/NDP history and Cable ID information (where available) associated with the MAC address.

Register Your Personally-owned Device

Log into socreg.berkeley.edu.
Click My Assets in the left navigation menu.
Click New Device (or click an existing MAC address to edit).
- See: KB0010261 - How to find your MAC Address.
Enter the required information and click Submit.

Note: It can take up to 15 minutes for the DHCP service to recognize the new registration.

Attribute	Description
MAC address (Required)	Ethernet address (e.g., `11:ab:22:cd:33:ef`).
Device Name (Optional)	User-defined identifier (max 63 characters).
Dynamic DNS Hostname	For use with Dynamic IP assignment only.

Individuals must use the “Contact Us” link in Socreg to request DHCP Fixed registration.

Register University-owned Device

Log into Socreg and click the name of the relevant Security Contact.
Select the Devices tab.
Click the New Device button.

Departmental Attribute	Description
Assigned CalNet ID	The CalNet ID of the primary user of this device.
Notes	Text field for departmental records (max 250 characters).
IP Address	If present, the device is registered for Fixed IP assignment.

Self-Service Fixed IP: Unit Security Contacts can self-register for Fixed IP assignments if they have a registered subnet with available space and a registered subdomain. If the subnet is full, contact dns@berkeley.edu.