Benefits of DHCP

With a DHCP server installed and configured on your network, DHCP-enabled clients can obtain IP addresses and related configuration parameters each time they start and join your network. DHCP servers provide this configuration in the form of an address lease offer to requesting clients.

One main advantage of using DHCP is that DHCP servers greatly reduce the time required to configure and reconfigure computers on your network. DHCP simplifies administration not only by supplying clients with IP addresses, but also (optionally) with the addresses of the default gateway, DNS servers, WINS servers, and other servers useful to the client. Another advantage of DHCP is that by assigning IP addresses automatically, it allows you to avoid configuration errors resulting from entering IP address information manually at every host. For example, DHCP helps prevent address conflicts caused when the same IP address is mistakenly assigned to two hosts.