User Manual

Version 3.03 SPEEDLAN 9000 Series Installation and Operation User Guide
9-8 Basics of IP Addressing
What is DHCP?
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows network administrators to assign
dynamic IP addresses for the period of time needed to connect to the Internet. Think of
DHCP as leasing an apartment. A prospective tenant may not need to live in an
apartment for two years, maybe just a year. Therefore, the tenant will only sign a one-
year lease agreement. For example, each time a computer is set up to connect to the
Internet, the network administrator uses DHCP to automatically assign the computer a
unique IP address. That computer will give up its IP address when it is no longer needed
(when the lease has ended) allowing new a computer (or a new tenant) on the same
network to use it. This benefits educational and corporate settings where users often log
on to different computers. In this case more IP addresses outnumber computers
because you can quickly reconfigure the network if needed from a centralized location.
Servers that utilize DHCP resolve security issues, costly IP addressing services, and
compatibility problems. DHCP is an alternative to BOOTP, which reduces the agony of
assigning static IP addresses and also provides advanced configuration options.
Note: The figure on the next page may help you understand how DHCP assigns
and IP address.