Using DHCP

The best method for ensuring easy and accurate installation of TCP/IP is to use automatic DHCP configuration, which uses DHCP to configure your local computer with the correct IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway.

You can take advantage of this method for configuring TCP/IP if there is a DHCP server installed on your network. The network administrator can tell you if this option is available. You cannot use DHCP configuration for a server that you are installing as a DHCP server or a WINS server. You must configure TCP/IP settings manually for DHCP servers, as described in "Configuring TCP/IP Manually" later in this chapter.

To configure TCP/IP using DHCP

1. Make sure the Enable Automatic DHCP Configuration option is checked in either the Windows NT TCP/IP Installation Options dialog box or the TCP/IP Configuration dialog box.
2. When you restart the computer after completing TCP/IP installation, the DHCP server automatically provides the correct configuration information for your computer.

If you subsequently attempt to configure TCP/IP in the Network Settings dialog box, the system warns you that any manual settings will override the automatic settings provided by DHCP. As a general rule, you should not change the automatic settings unless you specifically want to override a setting provided by DHCP. For detailed information about DHCP, see "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol" in Chapter 12, "Networking Concepts for TCP/IP."