The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows client systems to obtain network configuration information from a DHCP server each time that they connect to the network. The DHCP server is configured with a range of IP addresses and other network configuration parameters that clients need.
When you configure an Oracle Linux system as a DHCP client, the client daemon,
dhclient, contacts the DHCP server to obtain the networking parameters.
As DHCP is broadcast-based, the client must be on the same subnet as either a server or a
relay agent. If a client cannot be on the same subnet as the server, a DHCP relay agent can be
used to pass DHCP messages between subnets.
The server provides a lease for the IP address that it assigns to a client. The client can
request specific terms for the lease, such as the duration. You can configure a DHCP server to
limit the terms that it can grant for a lease. Provided that a client remains connected to the
network, dhclient automatically renews the lease before it expires. You can
configure the DHCP server to provide the same IP address to a client based on the MAC address
of its network interface.
The advantages of using DHCP include:
centralized management of IP addresses
ease of adding new clients to a network
reuse of IP addresses reducing the total number of IP addresses that are required
simple reconfiguration of the IP address space on the DHCP server without needing to reconfigure each client
For more information about DHCP, see RFC 2131.