Baslinux mailing list

[James Miller <jamtat AT mailsnare.net>]

On Wed, 12 May 2004, Sheldon Isaac wrote:

> As long as we're at it:  what is dhcp?  Why and how would one use it?

D=dynamic; H=host; C=configuration; P=protocol.  So, it's a protocol by
which hosts are configured.  In regler Anglish, this means they are
assigned an IP address on a network.  It provides a sort of automated
solution for computers on a network to sanely and easily obtain adresses.
Hosts (regular old user computers) on a network broadcast a signal
requesting that they be assigned an address on the network.  A server
which serves IP addresses responds and offers a valid one.  So, the hosts
run a dhcp client that makes the request, then applies the settings to the
NIC, while the server runs an dhcp serving program, keeping track of what
addresses have been unsed, which are available, for how long they can be
used and so forth.

James