What is a DHCP client?
DHCP client refers to the computer or terminal that requests and gets the IP address from a server through the “DHCP” process. DHCP or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a network protocol involving an automatic IP address assignment by a DHCP server to a DHCP client. Through DHCP, the configuration and management of computer networks are made easier. This is particularly helpful to those who don’t have the expertise of IT managers and administrators.

The DHCP client or the end-user’s computer is what initiates the DHCP process. When a particular user tries to connect to the internet, his/her computer (the DHCP client) will need some form of identification to access the World Wide Web. This identification is called the IP address. So, technically the DHCP requests for an IP address to the DHCP server. This server then lets the DHCP client borrow an available address from the network’s pool of IP addresses. After which, the DHCP client may now surf the internet and do whatever it wants.

But problems could occur along the way while the DHCP client is requesting for its own IP address. Like when the IP address is reflected as 0.0.0.0, one must try to check if there is a problem with the computer hardware or with the network connection. It could also mean that the DHCP server is down at the time of the request. In other situations, the DHCP client may be unable to perform some functions or may lack some configuration details. In this case, the DHCP server may not have been configured properly to provide the missing network details, or the problem may be with DHCP client itself, wherein it cannot support the specifications given by the DHCP server.

Despite these problems that may be encountered by the DHCP client, many still prefer to use this dynamic process. DHCP provides for easier and faster network configuration, while the static or manual way of configuring IP addresses is considered laborious and error-prone.