DHCP IP address management / Problems in address resolution

DHCP IP address management
9.3.5 This page will explain the features and benefits of DHCP.


Dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) is the successor to BOOTP. Unlike BOOTP, DHCP allows a host to obtain an IP address dynamically without the network administrator having to set up an individual profile for each device. All that is required when using DHCP is a defined range of IP addresses on a DHCP server. As hosts come online, they contact the DHCP server and request an address. The DHCP server chooses an address and leases it to that host. With DHCP, the entire network configuration of a computer can be obtained in one message. This includes all of the data supplied by the BOOTP message, plus a leased IP address and a subnet mask.

The major advantage that DHCP has over BOOTP is that it allows users to be mobile. This mobility allows the users to freely change network connections from location to location. It is no longer required to keep a fixed profile for every device attached to the network as was required with the BOOTP system. The importance to this DHCP advancement is its ability to lease an IP address to a device and then reclaim that IP address for another user after the first user releases it. This means that DHCP offers a one to many ratio of IP addresses and that an address is available to anyone who connects to the network. A step-by-step description of the process is shown in Figures through .

The next page describes common problems in address resolution.

Problems in address resolution
9.3.6 This page will discuss address resolution problems.


One of the major problems in networking is how to communicate with other network devices. In TCP/IP communications, a datagram on a local-area network must contain both a destination MAC address and a destination IP address. These addresses must be correct and match the destination MAC and IP addresses of the host device. If it does not match, the datagram will be discarded by the destination host. Communications within a LAN segment require two addresses. There needs to be a way to automatically map IP to MAC addresses. It would be too time consuming for the user to create the maps manually. The TCP/IP suite has a protocol, called Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), which can automatically obtain MAC addresses for local transmission. Different issues are raised when data is sent outside of the local area network.

Communications between two LAN segments have an additional task. Both the IP and MAC addresses are needed for both the destination host and the intermediate routing device. TCP/IP has a variation on ARP called Proxy ARP that will provide the MAC address of an intermediate device for transmission outside the LAN to another network segment.

The next page will describe Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).