is the EOL of isc.org dhcpd a mistake? Kea doesn't feel like a replacement

Has anybody forked the original dhcpd to keep maintaining it?

Kea is a case example of how something is far over engineered for its purpose.

It isn't even a drop-in replacement for the original dhcpd.

I could be completely missing something here, but as best I can tell, it literally can't do everything dhcpd can. Notably: custom DHCP options.

And if you read up on the various discussion forums, the reason for not supporting custom DHCP options? Because their GUI has no easy way of managing it (:exploding-head:). Talk about the tail wagging the dog.

What we need is a very focused, functional, yet simple DHCP server. We don't NEED a GUI, that's just a nice side-feature that some people might use.

That the DHCP server has an API means somebody ELSE can make a GUI — that should be a separate project. The two should not define each other.

For those who want a GUI they can add it on. For those who just need a configurable flexible DHCP server with an API? Just give me that.

Is there something like that to replace isc.org's venerable DHCPD? Because it doesn't seem like Kea is the actual answer.