DHCP is Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It is used to
control vital networking parameters of hosts (running clients)
with the help of a server. DHCP is backward compatible with
BOOTP. For more information see RFC 2131 (old RFC 1541) and
other. (See Internet Resources section at the end of the
document). You can also read
http://web.syr.edu/~jmwobus/comfaqs/dhcp.faq.html.
This mini-HOWTO covers both the DHCP _SERVER_ daemon as well as DHCP
_CLIENT_ daemon. Most people need the client daemon which is used by
workstations to obtain network information from a remote server. The server
daemon is used by system administrators to distribute network information
to clients so if you are just a regular user you need the _CLIENT_ daemon.