Zero Configuration
You might be wondering what happens if the network clients are all configured to use DHCP, and the DHCP server goes offline. A circle of client computers could be alive and waiting to communicate, but without static addresses or a way to obtain dynamic addresses through DHCP. In another case (although this is rarer than it once was), a user might want to set up a small workgroup of networked PCs without the need for Internet access or a special DHCP/routing device.
Several OS vendors have explored techniques for letting the computers on a local network get connected without either a static configuration or a DHCP-based dynamic configuration. Previous LAN protocols like NetBEUI (on Windows systems) and AppleTalk (on Apple networks) ...
Get Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP in 24 Hours, Fourth Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.