Manual
+7(495) 797-3311 www.qtech.ru 
Москва, Новозаводская ул., 18, стр. 1 
224 
Chapter 29 DHCP Configuration 
29.1 Introduction to DHCP 
DHCP [RFC2131] is the acronym for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It is a protocol that 
assigns IP address dynamically from the address pool as well as other network configuration 
parameters such  as default gateway, DNS server, and default route and host image file 
position  within  the  network.  DHCP  is  the  enhanced  version  of  BOOTP.  It  is  a  mainstream 
technology that can not only provide boot information for diskless workstations, but can also 
release the administrators from manual recording of IP allocation and reduce user effort and 
cost  on  configuration.  Another  benefit  of  DHCP  is  it  can  partially  ease  the  pressure  on  IP 
demands, when the user of an IP leaves the network that IP can be assigned to another user.  
DHCP  is  a  client-server  protocol,  the  DHCP  client  requests  the  network  address  and 
configuration parameters from the DHCP server; the server provides the network address and 
configuration  parameters for  the  clients; if  DHCP  server  and  clients  are  located  in  different 
subnets, DHCP relay is required for DHCP packets to be transferred between the DHCP client 
and DHCP server. The implementation of DHCP is shown below: 
DHCP protocol interaction 
Explanation: 
1.  DHCP client broadcasts DHCPDISCOVER packets in the local subnet. 
2.  On  receiving  the  DHCPDISCOVER  packet,  DHCP  server  sends  a  DHCPOFFER  packet 
along with IP address and other network parameters to the DHCP client. 
3.  DHCP client broadcast DHCPREQUEST packet with the information for the DHCP server it 
selected after selecting from the DHCPOFFER packets. 
4.  The DHCP server selected by the client sends a DHCPACK packet and the client gets an 
IP address and other network configuration parameters.  
The above four steps finish a Dynamic host configuration assignment process. However, if the 
DHCP server and the DHCP client are not in the same network, the server will not receive the 
DHCP CLIENT 
DHCP SERVER 
Discover 
Offer 
Request 
 Ack 










