Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a standardized networking protocol used on IPnetworks that dynamically configures IP addresses and other information that is needed for Internet communication. DHCP allows computers and other devices to receive an IPaddress automatically from a central DHCP server, reducing the need for a network administrator or a user from having to configure these settings manually.

DHCP servers maintain a database of 

 available IP addresses and other kinds 

of addresses, such as a default route, 

and one or more DNS server addresses. 

DHCP may be used to configure some of these settings and the remaining settings may be manually configured.

DHCP servers typically grant IP addresses to devices only for a limited interval. Devices are responsible for renewing their IP address lease before that interval expires, and must stop using the address once the interval has expired, if they have not been able to renew it.

Non-technical

DHCP allows computers (clients) to be assigned settings from a server in a client-server model. DHCP is very common in modern networks and is used in home networks as well as larger campus networks. In home networks, the Internet Service Provider's server may assign a globally unique external IP address to a home router (or modem) and this IP address is used in Internet communications. The home router (or modem) may also use DHCP to supply a usable IP address to devices connected to the home network, allowing these devices to communicate on The Internet. The global unique IP address assigned by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) is different from any of the IP addresses assigned to the devices connected to the home router. This is because of a design consideration of IPv4 to help conserve IPv4 addresses.

Technical

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol automates network-parameter assignment to network devices from one or more DHCP servers. Even in small networks, DHCP is useful because it makes it easy to add new machines to the network.

When a DHCP-configured client (a computer or any other network-aware device) connects to a network, the DHCP client sends a broadcast query requesting necessary information to a DHCP server. The DHCP server manages a pool of IP addresses and information about client configuration parameters such as default gateway, domain name, the name servers, other servers such as time servers, and so forth. On receiving a valid request, the server assigns the computer an IP address, a lease (length of time the allocation is valid), and other IP configuration parameters, such as the subnet maskand the default gateway. The query is typically initiated immediately after booting, and must complete before the client can initiate IP-based communication with other hosts. Upon disconnecting, the IP address is returned to the pool for use by another computer. This way, many other computers can use the same IP address within minutes of each other.

Because the DHCP protocol must work correctly even before DHCP clients have been configured, the DHCP server and DHCP client usually must be connected to the same network link. In larger networks, this is not practical. On such networks, each network link contains one or more DHCP relay agents. These DHCP relay agents receive messages from DHCP clients and forward them to DHCP servers. DHCP servers send responses back to the relay agent, and the relay agent then sends these responses to the DHCP client on the local network link.

Depending on implementation, the DHCP server may have three methods of allocating IP-addresses:

·         dynamic allocation: A network administrator assigns a range of IP addresses to DHCP, and each client computer on the LAN is configured to request an IP address from the DHCP server during network initialization. The request-and-grant process uses a lease concept with a controllable time period, allowing the DHCP server to reclaim (and then reallocate) IP addresses that are not renewed.

·         automatic allocation: The DHCP server permanently assigns a free IP address to a requesting client from the range defined by the administrator. This is like dynamic allocation, but the DHCP server keeps a table of past IP address assignments, so that it can preferentially assign to a client the same IP address that the client previously had.

·         static allocation: The DHCP server allocates an IP address based on a table with MAC address/IP address pairs, which are manually filled in (perhaps by a network administrator). Only clients with a MAC address listed in this table will be allocated an IP address. This feature, which is not supported by all DHCP servers, is variously called Static DHCP Assignment by DD-WRT, fixed-address by the dhcpd documentation, Address Reservation by Netgear, DHCP reservation or Static DHCP by Cisco and Linksys, and IP reservation or MAC/IP binding by various other router manufacturers.