DHCP, High-Level Tasks for Maintaining Windows Server 2003 DHCP Services

Tasks for Maintaining Windows Server 2003 DHCP Services

Overview

Every company consists of employees (people), activities that those employees perform (processes), and tools that help them perform those activities (technology). No matter what the business, it most likely consists of people, processes, and technology working together to achieve a common goal. The following table illustrates this point.

Table 2. Examples of People, Process, and Technology Working Together

AreaPeople ProcessTechnology
Auto repair industry Mechanic Repair manual Socket set
Software development industry Programmer Project plan Compiler; debugger
IT operations IT technician Microsoft Operations Framework Windows Server 2003 DHCP Service

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a TCP/IP standard that reduces the complexity and administrative overhead of managing network client IP address configuration. Microsoft Windows 2003 Server provides the DHCP service, which enables a computer to function as a DHCP server and configure DHCP-enabled client computers on your network. DHCP runs on a server computer, enabling the automatic, centralized management of IP addresses and other TCP/IP configuration settings for your network’s client computers. The Microsoft DHCP service also provides integration with the Microsoft Active Directory® directory service and Domain Name System (DNS) service, enhanced monitoring and statistical reporting for DHCP servers, vendor-specific options and user-class support, multicast address allocation, and rogue DHCP server detection.

DHCP simplifies the administrative management of IP address configuration by automating address configuration for network clients. The DHCP standard provides for the use of DHCP servers, which are defined as any computer running the DHCP service. The DHCP server automatically allocates IP addresses and related TCP/IP configuration settings to DHCP-enabled clients on the network.

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