diff --git a/core/internal/network/dhcp.go b/core/internal/network/dhcp.go
index f3f25aa..9a2ba8c 100644
--- a/core/internal/network/dhcp.go
+++ b/core/internal/network/dhcp.go
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
 
 	"github.com/insomniacslk/dhcp/dhcpv4"
 	"github.com/insomniacslk/dhcp/dhcpv4/nclient4"
@@ -38,19 +40,34 @@
 }
 
 type dhcpStatusReq struct {
-	resC chan *dhcpv4.DHCPv4
+	resC chan *dhcpStatus
 	wait bool
 }
 
-func (r *dhcpStatusReq) fulfill(p *dhcpv4.DHCPv4) {
+func (r *dhcpStatusReq) fulfill(s *dhcpStatus) {
 	go func() {
-		r.resC <- p
+		r.resC <- s
 	}()
 }
 
+// dhcpStatus is the IPv4 configuration provisioned via DHCP for a given interface. It does not necessarily represent
+// a configuration that is active or even valid.
+type dhcpStatus struct {
+	// address is 'our' (the node's) IPv4 address on the network.
+	address net.IPNet
+	// gateway is the default gateway/router of this network, or 0.0.0.0 if none was given.
+	gateway net.IP
+	// dns is a list of IPv4 DNS servers to use.
+	dns []net.IP
+}
+
+func (s *dhcpStatus) String() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("Address: %s, Gateway: %s, DNS: %v", s.address.String(), s.gateway.String(), s.dns)
+}
+
 func (c *dhcpClient) run(ctx context.Context, iface netlink.Link) {
 	// Channel updated with address once one gets assigned/updated
-	newC := make(chan *dhcpv4.DHCPv4)
+	newC := make(chan *dhcpStatus)
 	// Status requests waiting for configuration
 	waiters := []*dhcpStatusReq{}
 
@@ -67,7 +84,7 @@
 			c.logger.Error("DHCP lease request failed", zap.Error(err))
 			// TODO(q3k): implement retry logic with full state machine
 		}
-		newC <- ack
+		newC <- parseAck(ack)
 	}()
 
 	// State machine
@@ -75,7 +92,7 @@
 	// We start at WAITING, once we get a current config we move to ASSIGNED
 	// Once this becomes more complex (ie. has to handle link state changes)
 	// this should grow into a real state machine.
-	var current *dhcpv4.DHCPv4
+	var current *dhcpStatus
 	c.logger.Info("DHCP client WAITING")
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -101,8 +118,28 @@
 	}
 }
 
-func (c *dhcpClient) status(ctx context.Context, wait bool) (*dhcpv4.DHCPv4, error) {
-	resC := make(chan *dhcpv4.DHCPv4)
+// parseAck turns an internal status (from the dhcpv4 library) into a dhcpStatus
+func parseAck(ack *dhcpv4.DHCPv4) *dhcpStatus {
+	address := net.IPNet{IP: ack.YourIPAddr, Mask: ack.SubnetMask()}
+
+	// DHCP routers are optional - if none are provided, assume no router and set gateway to 0.0.0.0
+	// (this makes gateway.IsUnspecified() == true)
+	gateway, _, _ := net.ParseCIDR("0.0.0.0/0")
+	if routers := ack.Router(); len(routers) > 0 {
+		gateway = routers[0]
+	}
+	return &dhcpStatus{
+		address: address,
+		gateway: gateway,
+		dns:     ack.DNS(),
+	}
+}
+
+// status returns the DHCP configuration requested from us by the local DHCP server.
+// If wait is true, this function will block until a DHCP configuration is available. Otherwise, a nil status may be
+// returned to indicate that no configuration has been received yet.
+func (c *dhcpClient) status(ctx context.Context, wait bool) (*dhcpStatus, error) {
+	resC := make(chan *dhcpStatus)
 	c.reqC <- &dhcpStatusReq{
 		resC: resC,
 		wait: wait,
diff --git a/core/internal/network/main.go b/core/internal/network/main.go
index 7c22249..01760c7 100644
--- a/core/internal/network/main.go
+++ b/core/internal/network/main.go
@@ -76,16 +76,23 @@
 	return unix.Rename(resolvConfSwapPath, resolvConfPath)
 }
 
-func addNetworkRoutes(link netlink.Link, addr net.IPNet, gw net.IP) error {
+func (s *Service) addNetworkRoutes(link netlink.Link, addr net.IPNet, gw net.IP) error {
 	if err := netlink.AddrReplace(link, &netlink.Addr{IPNet: &addr}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if err := netlink.RouteAdd(&netlink.Route{
+
+	if gw.IsUnspecified() {
+		s.Logger.Info("No default route set, only local network will be reachable", zap.String("local", addr.String()))
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	route := &netlink.Route{
 		Dst:   &net.IPNet{IP: net.IPv4(0, 0, 0, 0), Mask: net.IPv4Mask(0, 0, 0, 0)},
 		Gw:    gw,
 		Scope: netlink.SCOPE_UNIVERSE,
-	}); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to add default route: %w", err)
+	}
+	if err := netlink.RouteAdd(route); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("could not add default route: netlink.RouteAdd(%+v): %v", route, err)
 	}
 	return nil
 }
@@ -98,11 +105,11 @@
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not get DHCP status: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	if err := setResolvconf(status.DNS(), []string{}); err != nil {
+	if err := setResolvconf(status.dns, []string{}); err != nil {
 		s.Logger.Warn("failed to set resolvconf", zap.Error(err))
 	}
 
-	if err := addNetworkRoutes(iface, net.IPNet{IP: status.YourIPAddr, Mask: status.SubnetMask()}, status.GatewayIPAddr); err != nil {
+	if err := s.addNetworkRoutes(iface, net.IPNet{IP: status.address.IP, Mask: status.address.Mask}, status.gateway); err != nil {
 		s.Logger.Warn("failed to add routes", zap.Error(err))
 	}
 	return nil
@@ -114,7 +121,7 @@
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return &status.YourIPAddr, nil
+	return &status.address.IP, nil
 }
 
 func (s *Service) OnStart() error {
diff --git a/core/scripts/launch.sh b/core/scripts/launch.sh
index bc91f0c..3f4e9b9 100755
--- a/core/scripts/launch.sh
+++ b/core/scripts/launch.sh
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     -drive if=pflash,format=raw,readonly,file=external/edk2/OVMF_CODE.fd \
     -drive if=pflash,format=raw,snapshot=on,file=external/edk2/OVMF_VARS.fd \
     -drive if=virtio,format=raw,snapshot=on,cache=unsafe,file=core/smalltown.img \
-    -netdev user,id=net0,hostfwd=tcp::7833-:7833,hostfwd=tcp::7834-:7834,hostfwd=tcp::6443-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::7835-:7835 \
+    -netdev user,id=net0,net=10.42.0.0/24,dhcpstart=10.42.0.10,hostfwd=tcp::7833-:7833,hostfwd=tcp::7834-:7834,hostfwd=tcp::6443-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::7835-:7835 \
     -device virtio-net-pci,netdev=net0 \
     -chardev socket,id=chrtpm,path=tpm-socket \
     -tpmdev emulator,id=tpm0,chardev=chrtpm \