[ocicat]

Originally Posted by wlm2

I do not understand why I need to set a static address on port vr1.

Then, you need to study the DHCP protocol. There are multiple sources you can use to study. Some obvious choices include:

• dhcp(8) manpage.
• dhcpd(8) manpage.
• dhcpd.conf(5) manpage.
• Section 6.4 of the FAQ.
• Wikipedia's DHCP page.

Think about how the communication that must take place between the DHCP client & server. In order to get an IP address, the first two step in the DHCP handshake are:

1. The client (who initially does not have an IP address...) broadcasts a request that it wants to be assigned an address. It passes its MAC address in the request known as DHCPDISCOVER.
2. The DHCP server replies with the IP address of its interface in DHCPOFFER.

Without an IP address on vr1, the DHCP handshake will fail. The client will not know to whom it is talking.