Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automatically gives hosts their IP configuration: an address, subnet mask, default gateway, DNS servers and more. Without it, every device would need manual configuration, which is slow, error-prone and invites duplicate addresses. DHCP servers listen on UDP 67 and clients use UDP 68. DHCP problems are among the most common network faults, and the symptom is distinctive: a host that cannot get a lease falls back to an APIPA 169.254.x.x address and cannot reach anything beyond its own segment.
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