DNS and DHCP, how they make your life easier DNS stands for domain name system, and DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol. Most of the time they are used in conjunction with connecting to a network, though they are not reliant on each other, nor do you have to use either one to connect to your network. They just make the job of setting a network up that much easier, but you can still do everything manually if you choose to do so, it just won’t be anywhere near efficient. DHCP allows assigning IP addresses to computers on a network automatically instead of having to logon to each individual computer and set the addresses yourself, as well as keeping track of the addresses you have already assigned. DHCP takes place on your router, you connect your computer to the router, either wired or wireless, and the router automatically assigns an available IP address to the device and it keeps track of this so no two devices that connect to the router are given the same IP. If two devices with the same IP try communicate with the router, the device that connected first will work; the second device will act as if it has no connection. If the first device is shut down, the second device will then start to work, the network connection may need to be reset first though on the second piece of equipment. Two devices just can’t share the same IP address at the same exact time. A DNS server takes the domain name of a website and translates it into an IP address which a computer can understand. It is basically a phonebook for the internet. Every website on the internet has its own IP address, but it is a lot easier to remember a word then a set of four numbers. So for instance, the server IP address that is hosting amazon’s website located in New York is 72.21.215.232, which is a number that the computer can understand. If you type that number into your address bar in