Benj94
Solid State Member
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- United Kingdom
Is there anything in my basic definition of DHCP that is incorrect? Is there anything else that I should know? I am trying to develop a basic knowledge of DHCP.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a protocol that assigns dynamic IP Addresses to devices on a network. All devices on a TCP/IP network require an I.P. address. DHCP automatically assigns a dynamic I.P. address to a device when it joins the network. DHCP is a server service. A DHCP server has a scope from which I.P. Addresses can be assigned. I.P. Addresses that are assigned to devices are leased to that device. These leases can be configured to last a certain amount of time, before it releases the I.P. address back into the pool, ready for another device to use that address. The leases automatically renew themselves if after a certain percentage of the lease time, the device is still on the network. This can also be configured to try renew the lease multiple times, at different occasions.
When a device connects to a network, a request for an I.P. will be sent out over the network. This is called DHCP Discover. The DHCP server will then send a DHCP offer, which is an offer of an I.P. address. The device will then send a DHCP request to the DHCP Server to inform it that the I.P. address has been received. Then the DHCP Server will send an acknowledgement to the device.