How to enable DHCP?

Until the owner of the computer has a need for local and Internet connections, you can not worry about how to enable DHCP on a router, modem, or network adapter. But if there is a network, everything is completely different. Of course, you can safely use the DHCP client-server capabilities all your life without even knowing it. An inquisitive user, for sure, at least once in the operating system or on the device configuration page has seen the DHCP settings. What is hidden under this abbreviation, and how to enable DHCP?

The current network protocol assumes that any computing device that connects to the network must have, at a minimum, a unique IP address and a number of other parameters that can be identified. Obtaining this data, in fact, means making the computer (device) visible to all other participants. This is similar to the name and surname, allowing you to quickly find and distinguish people. Unlike the real world, the identifying parameters are assigned to the client computer by the server at the time of connection, therefore they are not rigidly fixed and can be changed. Here it is worth noting that at the dawn of the development of network technologies, each card, after all, was identified through a "wired" MAC address at the factory , but in the future this practice was abolished.

DHCP is a protocol that allows dynamic configuration of a network node. For the abbreviation, the first letters of the English words Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol are taken . It's easy to guess that DHCP can be enabled in the program settings, because it's a protocol. Where exactly - depends on the device.

Before you figure out how to enable DHCP, let's specify how to assign IP addresses. There are three:

• Manual. It assumes direct indication by the administrator of the necessary data. The external hardware address of the Ethernet interface is compared with the IP number of the connecting computer. For this purpose, the IP and subnet mask are registered on the client side . This method allows you to use the same address every time you connect. For example, if you need to "share" the webcam, then its address should always remain unchanged;
• Dynamic. Most often used. The server assigns the connecting device the necessary free addresses from the entire available range. After the session time is over, the client device makes a repeated request to receive the necessary data;
• Automatic. The session time is unlimited, so the assigned IP address is permanent.

It is easy to understand that dynamic configuration is the optimal solution, if there are no special requirements. That's why the question "how to enable DHCP" is often asked.

The answer is complex. First of all, in the list of system services check the status of NetBios and DHCP. We call the properties "My Computer", then "Management - Services and Applications - Services". Here, the DHCP client and the NetBios support module (often also needed) are put into automatic launch mode.

How can I enable DHCP if the function still remains inactive?

Then everything depends on the equipment used. If you are talking, for example, about a router or an ADSL modem, DHCP should be enabled on the device configuration page. Run the browser, in the address bar, type 192.168.0.1. Next, you need to enter a password. If it did not change specifically, then the standard is admin. In the settings menu, we look for DHCP and enable it.

And, finally, in the properties of the connection itself (Network - Internet Protocol), all must be transferred to the automatic mode of obtaining addresses. Of course, this only works if there is a server on the network. So, two computers connected via Ethernet will not be able to work correctly if at least one of them is not switched to server mode. Accordingly, the automatic receipt of IP in this case is useless.