thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

Networking Fundamentals · Foundational

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

A protocol that automatically assigns IP addresses and other configuration to hosts, using UDP ports 67 (server) and 68 (client).

Definition

DHCP provides the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, DNS servers and other options from a defined scope for a lease period. Clients find servers by broadcast, so a relay agent is required when the server is on another subnet.

Example

A laptop joining the network receives 10.1.20.55/24, gateway 10.1.20.1 and DNS 10.1.1.10.

Exam tip

DHCP = UDP 67/68. Failure symptoms: 169.254.x.x APIPA address.

Don't confuse it with

Related terms