DHCP

[Guest Michael Yardley]

Short for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a protocol for

assigning dynamic IP addresses to devices on a network. With dynamic

addressing, a device can have a different IP address every time it

connects to the network. In some systems, the device's IP address can

even change while it is still connected. DHCP also supports a mix of

static and dynamic IP addresses.

Dynamic addressing simplifies network administration because the

software keeps track of IP addresses rather than requiring an

administrator to manage the task. This means that a new computer can

be added to a network without the hassle of manually assigning it a

unique IP address. Many ISPs use dynamic IP addressing for dial-up

users.