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160 
Chapter 23 DHCP Configuration 
23.1 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: 
DHCP client broadcasts DHCPDISCOVER packets in the local subnet. 
On receiving the DHCPDISCOVER packet, DHCP server sends a DHCPOFFER packet along 
with IP address and other network parameters to the DHCP client.  
DHCP client broadcast DHCPREQUEST packet with  the information  for the DHCP server it 
selected after selecting from the DHCPOFFER packets.  
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 broadcast  packets sent by  the client, therefore no DHCP  packets  will  be sent to the 
client by the server. In this case, a DHCP relay is required to forward such DHCP packets so 
that the DHCP packets exchange can be completed between the DHCP client and server.  
DHCP CLIENT 
DHCP 
SERVER 
Discover 
Offer 
Request 
 Ack 










