Chapter 1. TCP/IP Overview
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is an Internet standard protocol designed to dynamically allocate and distribute IP addresses as well as additional TCP/IP configuration information. DHCP is defined by RFCs 2131 and 2132. Working with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and a number of other vendors, Microsoft was instrumental in the development and standardization of DHCP.
Before the advent of DHCP, most TCP/IP configurations were maintained statically. An administrator configured each individual host with a valid IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway, as well as other TCP/IP configuration parameters. As you can guess, configuring and administrating static TCP/IP configurations for multiple workstations and network devices can be a burdensome task, especially if the network is large and/or changes frequently. The exception to the rule was the use of two predecessors to DHCP, the RARP and BOOTP protocols. These protocols are covered in more detail in Chapter 2.
DHCP uses a client/server model of operation (see Figure 1.1), where a DHCP client makes a request to a DHCP server for an IP address and other configuration parameters. When the DHCP client makes the request, the DHCP server assigns it an IP address and updates its database, noting which client has the address and the amount of time that the address can be used. This amount of time is known as a lease. When the time expires, the DHCP client needs to renew the lease ...
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