Exploring DHCP Requests
In this article I would like to explore DHCP requests so that we can understand what happens when a device sends a request to a DHCP server. Lets start by listing some important information about DHCP….. DHCP is the abbreviation for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol DHCP uses UDP 67 & 68 – 67 – In a client-server environment port 67 is the BOOTP for the DHCP server and 68 is the BOOTP for the client The purpose of DHCP is to assign IP addresses automatically to the device that has requested an IP address How does the client interact with the DHCP server? In short… The client sends a DISCOVER frame asking for an IP address The DHCP server responds with an OFFER which contains an IP address and additional information The client sends a REQUEST to use the IP address contained in the OFFER The DHCP server ACKNOWLEDGES the request to use the IP address The above process is what happens on the surface however there is a lot more going on if we take a look at the frames using Wires