Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, is a protocol related to computers and networks of computers. It is referred to as DHCP for short. It was made so that computers could connect to other computers (on a network) automatically.

To be able to access the Internet (or any computer network), an IP address is needed. DHCP allows for this IP address to be obtained automatically by a router. If DHCP was not used, a user would have to manually give an available IP address to their device. This is also known as giving a device a static IP.

Other data, like a DNS Nameserver, or a time server can also be obtained that way. Computers that support network booting can get a disk image that they can boot from through the network.

The address can be dynamic (it can change), or it can be static (it stays the same). After a certain time, the address lease has to be renewed.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Media

An illustration of a typical non-renewing DHCP session; each message may be either a broadcast or a unicast, depending on the DHCP client capabilities.Template:Ref RFC
A simplified DHCP client state-transition diagram based on figure 5 of RFC 2131

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DHCP is one of the most complicated IP protocols in networks of computers.