In many networks, there are hundreds, and even thousands, of end devices such as desktops, laptops, and smart devices that require network connectivity to access resources on the corporate network. However, each device requires an address on the network for sending and receiving messages (packets), a path to access resources outside the local network (default gateway), an identifier to determine the logical network segmentation (subnet mask), and someone who can resolve hostnames to IP addresses on a network (DNS server).
Network administrators must ensure that the following four components are configured on all end devices:
- IP address
- Subnet mask
- Default gateway
- DNS server
The use of a DHCP server allows IT professionals to efficiently distribute IP configurations automatically to end devices on their network very quickly. To further understand the importance of...