Operation Manual – DHCPH3C S3100 Series Ethernet Switches Chapter 4 DHCP/BOOTP Client Configuration4-1Chapter 4 DHCP/BOOTP Client Configuration4.1 Introduction to DHCP ClientAfter you specify a VLAN interface as a DHCP client, the device can use DHCP toobtain parameters such as IP address dynamically from the DHCP server, whichfacilitates user configuration and management.Refer to 1.2.2 “Obtaining IP Addresses Dynamically” for the process of how a DHCPclient dynamically obtains an IP address through DHCP.4.2 Introduction to BOOTP ClientAfter you specify an interface as a bootstrap protocol (BOOTP) client, the interface canuse BOOTP to get information (such as IP address) from the BOOTP server, whichsimplifies your configuration.Before using BOOTP, an administrator needs to configure a BOOTP parameter file foreach BOOTP client on the BOOTP server. The parameter file contains information suchas MAC address and IP address of a BOOTP client. When a BOOTP client sends arequest to the BOOTP server, the BOOTP server will search for the BOOTP parameterfile and return it to the client.A BOOTP client dynamically obtains an IP address from a BOOTP server in thefollowing way:1) The BOOTP client broadcasts a BOOTP request, which contains its own MACaddress.2) The BOOTP server receives the request and searches for the corresponding IPaddress according to the MAC address of the BOOTP client and sends theinformation in a BOOTP response to the BOOTP client.3) The BOOTP client obtains the IP address from the received response.Note:Because a DHCP server can interact with a BOOTP client, you can use the DHCPserver to assign an IP address to the BOOTP client, without needing to configure anyBOOTP server.
