The Utterances of a Peculiar Mindset

After my blog entry about Networking, I got a mail asking what exactly is DHCP and TCP/IP.
Here is the answer.

DHCP
Every computer system on a TCP/IP network is assigned a unique address known as IP address to identify a computer on the network. As the network grows, the network administrator has to keep track of the addresses given to the systems. This becomes even more complex when systems are added or removed from the network. Hence, DHCP is used to dynamically assign IP addresses to computers on a network. Instead of the network administrator, a DHCP server keeps track of the IP addresses assigned. Hence, a system joining a network is assigned an IP address from an IP pool. That IP address is retrieved back to the pool when the system is removed. The IP address assigned to a system changes every time it boots up and gets connected to the network.

http://www.dhcp.org

TCP/IP

TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. It is the basic set of rules that is used in almost all networks present today. It has a two layer structure in which TCP forms the higher layer and IP forms the lower layer of the protocol. TCP handles the transmission of packets over the network and it makes sure that the original packet is reassembled properly at the destination node. The lower layer, Internet protocol, is closer to the actual network it handles the address part of the packet. This layer checks whether the packet reaches the right destination. TCP/IP communication is primarily point to point, which means that each communication is from one point or node in the network to another point or node. It uses a client/server model of communication. The address given to each node on a TCP/IP network is called an IP address. This address can be given manually to a system, or a network can be configured to give an IP address to a machine when it logs on to the network. When an IP is given manually it is called static IP allocation, and the second method is called dynamic IP allocation. For this a technique known as DHCP or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is used. This method of IP allocation is normally used when your system gets connected to the internet using a dial up modem. A DHCP server used by your ISP assigns an IP to your system dynamically. The address scheme that is presently used is called IPv4. In this method each system is given a unique number separated by four dots. An example is 162.122.111.67. Here each number separated by dots can take a value between 0 and 255. These numbers specify the node address, network address, IP class, etc. of a node on a network. In the future, a new addressing scheme known as IPv6 would be used to overcome some of the limitations of IPv4.