DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It is a service that automatically assigns network settings to the hosts from a server. There are two parts to DHCP, namely the server and the client. Server sends settings to each client and assigns the following configuration properties:
Host name
Domain name
Default gateway
Time server
Print server
DHCP is useful in many ways to the server administrators. Firstly, settings need to be changed only at one place. The settings will be updated automatically on other DHCP clients whenever they poll the DHCP server. Conflicts are greatly reduced as the server handles all the IP address assignment. Also, it is easier to add new machines to the network and assign IP addresses to them.
DHCP clients can be provided with configuration settings by the DHCP server in the following two methods:
MAC address: Each network has a unique number on its NIC known as the MAC address. The server has the MAC addresses of each client and also the configuration...