Lesson 4

Assigning IP Addresses

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Lesson 4: Assigning IP Addresses

Once you have calculated the IP addresses and subnet mask for the computers on your

network, you should include in your plan just how the actual TCP/IP configuration

process for each of the computers is going to proceed. There are two basic alternatives

from which to choose. You can manually configure each computer, or you can use

DHCP, an automated TCP/IP configuration service included with Windows Server 2003

and many other operating systems.

After this lesson, you will be able to

■ List the drawbacks of manual TCP/IP client configuration

■ Understand how DHCP automatically configures TCP/IP clients

Estimated lesson time: 15 minutes

Manually Configuring TCP/IP Clients

Configuring the TCP/IP client on a Windows computer by hand is a relatively simple

task, but when compounded by hundreds or thousands of computers, it can become

an administrative nightmare. Not only does an administrator have to travel to each

computer to configure its settings, but the administrator must also take steps to ensure

that each computer is assigned an IP address that is appropriate for the subnet on

which the computer is located and that does not duplicate the IP address of any other

computer in the enterprise. For a large network installation in which time is at a pre-

mium, you might have to bring in temporary personnel to help with the TCP/IP con-

figuration chores.

Planning

Keep in mind that in addition to the time and staff needed to perform the initial

TCP/IP configurations, you will also need to spend time to manually reconfigure a computer if

you later decide to move it to a different subnet.

Off the Record For a large network installation, manually configuring TCP/IP clients is

time-consuming, inefficient, and prone to errors. DHCP enables you to automatically configure

your computers and reconfigure them each time they start up. If you decide to move a com-

puter to a different subnet, DHCP assigns it a new address and reclaims the old one for

assignment to another computer.