DHCP

Stands for "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol." A network server uses this protocol to dynamically assign IP addresses to networked computers. The DHCP server waits for a computer to connect to it, then assigns it an IP address from a master list stored on the server.

DHCP helps in setting up large networks, since IP addresses don't have to be manually assigned to each computer on the network. Because of the slick automation involved with DHCP, it is the most commonly used networking protocol.

Published: 2002