1.2.4 DHCP operation

1.2.4 DHCP operation

The DHCP client configuration process uses the following steps:

1. A client must have DHCP configured when starting the network membership process. The client sends a request to a server requesting an IP configuration. Sometimes the client may suggest the IP address it wants, such as when requesting an extension to a DHCP lease. The client locates a DHCP server by sending a broadcast called a DHCPDISCOVER.
2. When the server receives the broadcast, it determines whether it can service the request from its own database. If it cannot, the server may forward the request on to another DHCP server. If it can, the DHCP server offers the client IP configuration information in the form of a unicast DHCPOFFER. The DHCPOFFER is a proposed configuration that may include IP address, DNS server address, and lease time.
3. If the client finds the offer agreeable, it will send another broadcast, a DHCPREQUEST, specifically requesting those particular IP parameters. Why does the client broadcast the request instead of unicasting it to the server? A broadcast is used because the first message, the DHCPDISCOVER, may have reached more than one DHCP server. If more than one server makes an offer, the broadcasted DHCPREQUEST allows the other servers to know which offer was accepted. The offer accepted is usually the first offer received.
4. The server that receives the DHCPREQUEST makes the configuration official by sending a unicast acknowledgment, the DHCPACK. It is possible, but highly unlikely, that the server will not send the DHCPACK. This may happen because the server may have leased that information to another client in the interim. Receipt of the DHCPACK message enables the client to begin using the assigned address immediately.
5. If the client detects that the address is already in use on the local segment it will send a DHCPDECLINE message and the process starts again. If the client received a DHCPNACK from the server after sending the DHCPREQUEST, then it will restart the process again.
6. If the client no longer needs the IP address, the client sends a DHCPRELEASE message to the server.

Depending on an organization's policies, it may be possible for an end user or an administrator to statically assign a host an IP address that belongs in the DHCP servers address pool. Just in case, the Cisco IOS DHCP server always checks to make sure that an address is not in use before the server offers it to a client. The server will issue an ICMP echo request, or will ping, to a pool address before sending the DHCPOFFER to a client. Although configurable, the default number of pings used to check for a potential IP address conflict is two.