Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol ( DHCP) is an open industry standard that is designed to reduce the complexity of TCP/IP network administration. This runs as a service on a server on your network. The server can be a Unix, Linux, or Windows platform based server. At a minimum, DHCP will provide client systems with an IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. It can also provide the Domain Name System (DNS) and Netbios name (WINS) servers, and the DNS Domain name.
A client system can be a computer, or any device that allows the dynamic assigning of IP addresses., such as a 170ENT1100x, or a 140NOE771xx. For more information on DHCP refer to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Requests for Comments (RFCs) 1533, 1534, 1541, and 1542.