Technical Tip: How to configure ASCII value in DHCP option

Configuring ASCII values for Polycom devices in DHCP options on an NPS server. On the FortiGate, there is no direct option to configure ASCII values in DHCP options.

Typically, ASCII values are used in DHCP option 43 and DHCP option 60.

1. Use any ASCII to hexadecimal converter to convert the ASCII value (text) to a hexadecimal value.
   The converter used here is: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/ascii-to-hex.html.
   
   
   
2. In the GUI, go to Network -> Interface -> Edit -> Advanced -> Additional DHCP Options.

CLI Configuration:

config system dhcp server
    edit 1
        set dns-service default
        set default-gateway 192.168.1.99
        set netmask 255.255.255.0
        set interface "internal"
            config options
                edit 1
                    set code 43
                    set value "50 6F 6C 79 63 6F 6D" <---
                next
            end
    next
end

Packet capture in the DHCP option should show us the hexadecimal configured on the FortiGate

Troubleshooting debugs:

diagnose debug reset
diagnose debug console timestamp enable
diagnose debug application dhcps -1
diagnose debug enable

To disable:

diagnose debug disable