A network-based recovery method implemented by one or more nodes configured to manage Internet Protocol (IP) configuration in a network includes during normal operation, discovering clients, providing IP configuration information to each of the clients, and maintaining a list of the clients and a database of the IP configuration information; responsive to a failure of any of the one or more nodes, sending a request to each client in the list for that client's associated IP configuration information; and, responsive to receiving a response from the sending to each client, repopulating the database with the client's associated IP configuration information.