In a network, each computer has to have its TCP/IP protocol properly configured. This means that the IP address, network mask, default gateway address, DNS server address, etc. must be configured on each computer. If the maintainer has to set the parameters manually on a large number of workstations, it is difficult to avoid mistakes, e.g. using an address twice - which may cause collisions and consequently also an incorrect function of the entire network.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a feature of WinRoute designed to simplify the task of network administration. DHCP is used for a dynamic configuration of the TCP/IP protocol on computers. During start-up, the DHCP client computer sends a request. When the DHCP server receives the request, it chooses TCP/IP configuration parameters for the client. The common parameters are IP address, network mask, default gateway, DNS server address, client's domain name, etc.
The server may assign a configuration to the client for a limited time only (the so-called lease time). The server always assigns the IP address so that it does not collide with any other address assigned through DHCP to another client.
With a DHCP server available, it suffices to enable the "Obtain IP address from DHCP server" option and the DHCP server takes over the responsibility for proper configuration of TCP/IP on workstations. This may help to significantly lower the network maintenance and management costs.
If some computers in your network are not configured dynamically by DHCP, but have a fixed configuration instead, you must make sure the parameters used by DHCP do not conflict with the ones used in the fixed configurations.