Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

IP addresses can be configured statically or dynamically. Normally we configure static IP addresses on network devices like routers, switches, firewalls and servers while we dynamically assign IP addresses to computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones etc. The dynamic method uses DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and in this short lesson I want to show you how it works.





Let’s take a look at the following picture:

Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

On the left side we have a computer without IP address. On the right side there’s a DHCP server configured with static IP address 192.168.1.254. This DHCP server will supply an IP address to our computer, this is how it works:

Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

The computer will send a DHCP discover message. This is a broadcast because it doesn’t have an IP address and it doesn’t know if there is a DHCP server on the network. Of course in our scenario we do have a DHCP server so it will respond to this broadcast as following:

Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

The DHCP server will respond with a DHCP offer message which contains an IP address for the computer (we have to configure the DHCP server to define which IP addresses we want to give). If we want we can also assign a default gateway and DNS server(s) to the computer. The computer will respond to this information:

Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

The computer will send a DHCP Request in response to the DHCP offer message, asking nicely if it’s OK to use the information that it has received. Our DHCP server will respond to this as following:

Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

The DHCP server will respond with a DHCP ACK message to tell the computer it’s OK to use this information. Now you have an idea what DHCP is like, let’s take a closer look at the packages in wireshark:

Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

Above you see the 4 DHCP packets in wireshark. If you want to capture this yourself you need to filter on bootp messages since DHCP uses the bootstrap protocol. In the DHCP discover message you can see that the computer has no IP address (0.0.0.0) and is broadcasting this to IP address 255.255.255.255. The DHCP offer is from our DHCP server (192.168.1.254).

Which type of packets does a DHCP server send to confirm that a host can use the obtained IP address?

Above you see the DHCP discover message. First of all you see the source MAC address of the computer and the destination MAC address is FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF (broadcast). It doesn’t have an IP address (0.0.0.0). DHCP uses the bootstrap protocol and you can see the source port (68) and destination port (67). Now let’s take a closer look at the DHCP offer:

What kind of message does the DHCP server use to confirm that the host can use the IP address?

The DHCP client broadcasts a message called a DHCP discover message. The server will reply with a DHCP offer message that includes an offered IP address, subnet mask, and some other data.

What type of message does a DHCP server send to a client to verify if an IP address has been assigned to a client?

Offer. When a DHCP server receives a DHCPDISCOVER message from a client, which is an IP address lease request, the DHCP server reserves an IP address for the client and makes a lease offer by sending a DHCPOFFER message to the client.

What information does a DHCP server send to a host in a DHCP response?

DHCP Offer This message contains the network information, such as client IP address, subnet mask, default gateway IP address, DNS IP address, IP lease time and DHCP server IP address.

Which DHCP message is used by a client to inform a DHCP server that it accepts the assigned IP address?

Assigning IP addresses In order to request an IP address, the client device sends out a broadcast message—DHCPDISCOVER. The network directs that request to the appropriate DHCP server.