Locate My IP

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is a protocol used by networked computers (clients) to obtain IP addresses and other parameters such as the default gateway, subnet mask, and IP addresses of DNS servers from a DHCP server. The DHCP server ensures that all IP addresses are unique, e.g., no IP address is assigned to a second client while the first client's assignment is valid (its lease has not expired). Thus IP address pool management is done by the server and not by a human network administrator.

DHCP is commonly found in many ISP's as a way to assign their clients IP address which are random and change often. This means that a new computer can be added to a network without the hassle of manually assigning it a unique IP address.