
Chapter 3 • Patching IPv4 47
log on and off the network regularly. For example, if an ISP offers dial-up
access to its Class C network with DHCP, and the average user connects
for only two hours a day (distributed evenly, an admittedly unreasonable
expectation in real life), the ISP could support roughly 3000 users with only
254 IP addresses.
Although DHCP is also an important tool for providers of “always-on”
services such as broadband Internet connectivity, it does not do anything
to improve address utilization efficiency in those networks. Every user
whose computer is always connected to the network ties up a single IP
address; there can be no sharing ...