The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) provides a framework for passing configuration data to hosts in a TCP/IP network, which eliminates the problems associated with the manual TCP/IP configuration. When a DHCP server receives a request, it automatically assigns an IP address from a pool of addresses, as well as the address mask, the default gateway, the DNS server, the domain name, and the WINS server.
The options to be sent are read from the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\AdapterName\Parms\Tcpip\
DhcpOptions. You must create values under this key that have the names of the options to send. The default subkey under DhcpOptions must also be set; otherwise, DHCP internal default options are sent.
For example, creating the value names 1, 3, and 5 under the DhcpOptions subkey causes DHCP to query for these options: (address mask, domain name, and router). The results that DHCP receives are stored as binary values under these value names. The data format is the same as the DHCP format.