# Quick Start

This section describes the basic steps needed to get Kea up and running. For further details, full customizations, and troubleshooting, see the respective chapters in the Kea guide.

## Quick Start Guide for DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 Services

1. Install required run-time and build dependencies. See for details.

2. Download Kea source tarball from ISC.org downloads page or ISC ftp server.

3. Extract the tarball. For example:

       $ tar xvzf kea-&keaversion;.tar.gz

4. Go into the source directory and run the configure script:

       $ cd kea-&keaversion;
       $ ./configure [your extra parameters]

5. Build it:

       $ make

6. Install it (by default it will be placed in `/usr/local/`, so it is likely that you will need root privileges for this step):

       # make install

7. Edit the Kea configuration files which by default are installed in the `[kea-install-dir]/etc/kea/` directory. These are: `kea-dhcp4.conf`, `kea-dhcp6.conf`, `kea-dhcp-ddns.conf` and `kea-ctrl-agent.conf`, for DHCPv4 server, DHCPv6 server, D2 and Control Agent respectively.

8. In order to start the DHCPv4 server in background, run the following command (as root):

       # keactrl start -s dhcp4

   Or run the following command to start DHCPv6 server instead:

       # keactrl start -s dhcp6

   Note that it is also possible to start all servers simultaneously:

       $ keactrl start

9. Verify that Kea server(s) are running:

       # keactrl status

   A server status of "inactive" may indicate a configuration error. Please check the log file (by default named `[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-dhcp4.log`, `[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-dhcp6.log`, `[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-ddns.log` or `[kea-install-dir]/var/kea/kea-ctrl-agent.log`) for the details of the error.

10. If the server has been started successfully, test that it is responding to DHCP queries and that the client receives a configuration from the server; for example, use the ISC DHCP client.

11. Stop running the server(s):

        # keactrl stop

For instructions specific to your system, please read the system specific notes, available in the Kea section of ISC's Knowledgebase.

The details of `keactrl` script usage can be found in .

## Running the Kea Servers Directly

The Kea servers can be started directly, without the need to use the `keactrl`. To start the DHCPv4 server run the following command:

    # kea-dhcp4 -c /path/to/your/kea4/config/file.json

Similarly, to start the DHCPv6 server run the following command:

    # kea-dhcp6 -c /path/to/your/kea6/config/file.json