Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide

Chapter 2. IP Addresses Without DHCP

Each device on an IP network will need at least one unique IP address. Until you run your own network, you may not think very hard about how this works. You or someone from the IT staff most likely configured your computer at work to use a specified IP address or to use the company DHCP server, but the days when networks existed only at a few large universities and companies are behind us. Nowadays, there are small networks popping up everywhere. Computers and devices need to communicate. Your home may have a computer or two, a printer, a scanner, a digital camera, and a phone. You do not want to learn to be a network administrator just to get these devices to play nicely together, and there’s no reason you should have to—just like there’s no reason you should have to learn to be a car mechanic before you can drive a car.

You will see even more of these small local networks connecting various devices pop up at homes, coffee shops, or while on a walk. If we are to standardize on IP for communication among devices, it needs to be easier for them to obtain IP addresses. Suppose you take a bunch of pictures with your digital camera and wish to print them, save them to your computer, or transfer them to a friend’s. When you cable that digital camera to a printer or a hard drive, or you connect your computer to your friend’s wirelessly, you don’t really want to have to depend on a DHCP server being present, and you don’t really want to have to configure ...