CNS ( 2019) model answers

Unit 5 Application layer

Application layer: client server /peer to peer / Connectionless iterative server , Connection-
oriented concurrent server / sockets
Application layer: enables the user, whether human or software, to access the network.
• It provides user interfaces and support for services such as electronic mail, file access and
transfer, access to system resources, surfing the world wide web, and network
management.
• A user at a local site wants to receive a service from a computer at a remote site
Two approaches : client server & Peer to peer

An iterative server can process only one request at a time; it receives a request, processes it, and
sends the response to the requestor before it handles another request. A concurrent server, on the
other hand, can process many requests at the same time and thus can share its time between
many requests
• Connectionless iterative server

• Connection-oriented concurrent server

Explain WWW or web client & web server
World Wide Web (WWW)
WWW project was initiated by CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics) to create a
system to manage distributed resources necessary for scientific research
Architecture
The WWW today is a distributed client-server service, in which a client using a browser can
access a service using a server. However, the service provided is distributed over many locations
called sites. Each site holds one or more documents, referred to as Web pages. Each Web page, ,
can contain some links to other Web pages in the same or other sites. Thus, a Web page can be
simple or composite. A simple Web page has no link to other Web pages; a composite Web
page has one or more links to other Web pages. Each Web page is a file with a name and
address.

Each site holds one or more documents, referred to as Web pages. Each Web page, , can contain
some links to other Web pages in the same or other sites. Thus, a Web page can be simple or
composite. A simple Web page has no link to other Web pages; a composite Web page has one
or more links to other Web pages. Each Web page is a file with a name and address.
Web pages are written using HTML and web pages are transferred from web site to client
browser using HTTP.
Hypertext and Hypermedia
Hypertext :means creating documents that refer to other documents. In a hypertext document, a
part of text can be defined as a link to another document. When a hypertext is viewed with a
browser, the link can be clicked to retrieve the other document.
Hypermedia is a term applied to document that contains links to documents containing text ,
graphics, video, or audio.
Web Client (Browser)
Lot of vendors offer commercial browsers that interpret and display a Web document, and all of
them use nearly the same architecture.
Eg (Internet Explorer, chrome, edge & Firefox )
Each browser usually consists of three parts: a controller, client protocol, and interpreters.
 • The controller receives input from the keyboard or the mouse and uses the client
programs to access the document.
• After the document has been accessed, the controller uses one of the interpreters to
display the document on the screen. The client protocol can be one of the protocols
described previously such as FTP, or TELNET, or HTTP .
The interpreter can be HTML, Java, or JavaScript, depending on the type of document
Web Server
The Web pages are stored at the server. Each time a client request arrives, the corresponding
document is sent to the client.
Eg of Web servers : Apache HTTP ,Apache tomcat , Microsoft Internet Information Server
(IIS) , lighttpd , Jagsaw , NGINX ,

URL
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
A client that wants to access a Web page needs the file name and the address of that Web page.
To facilitate the access of documents distributed throughout the world, HTTP uses uniform
resource locator (URL)
URL is a standard locator for specifying any kind of information on the Internet. The URL
defines four things: protocol, host computer, port, and path

The protocol is the client-server application program used to retrieve the document. Many
different protocols can retrieve a document; among them are Gopher, FTP, HTTP, News, and
TELNET. The most common today is HTTP.
The host is the domain name of the computer on which the information is located. Web pages
are usually stored in computers, and computers are given domain name
aliases that usually begin with the characters ―www‖. But This is not mandatory, as the host can
have any domain name.
The URL can optionally contain the port number of the server
Path is the pathname of the file where the information is located. path can contain slashes which
separate the directories from the subdirectories and files. In other words, the path defines the
complete file name where the document is stored in the directory system.
Types of web documents & technologies to create web documents
Type of webpage Need to be declared at the time of creation of webpage.
1. Static documents
are fixed-content documents that are created and stored in a server. The client can get a copy of
the document only . We can can change document at server , client can’t change it &
Document is displayed by client browser

Static documents are prepared using one of the several languages: Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Extensible Style Language (XSL), and Extended
Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML)
2. Dynamic Documents
A dynamic document is created by a Web server whenever a client browser requests the
document.
When a request arrives, the Web server runs an application program or a script that creates the
dynamic document. The server returns the output of the program or script as a response to the
browser that requested the document. Because a fresh document is created for each request, the
contents of a dynamic document may vary from one request to another.
Example : retrieval of the time and date from a server. ( every time the server process has to
execute to send response)
dynamic documents are prepared using CGI
Scripting Technologies for Dynamic Documents
The problem with CGI technology is the inefficiency that results if part of the dynamic document
that is to be created is fixed and not changing from request to request
Eg : in a web apge which is displaying cost & quantity of various items. Here items name can
remain fixed. Only stock & cost can change
items name Stock Cost per unit

If we use CGI, the program must create an entire document each time a request is made.
The solution is to create a file containing the fixed part of the document using HTML and embed
a script, a source code, that can be run by the server to provide the stock & cost.
most common scripting languages are:
• Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), which uses the Perl language;
• Java Server Pages (JSP), which uses the Java language for scripting;
 • Active Server Pages (ASP), a Microsoft product, which uses Visual Basic language for
scripting;
• ColdFusion, which embeds SQL database queries in the HTML document.

3. Active Documents
For some applications, we need a program or a script to be run at the client site. These are called
active documents.
For example, suppose we want to run a program that creates animated graphics on the screen or
a program that interacts with the user.
The program definitely needs to be run at the client site where the animation or interaction takes
place. When a browser requests an active document, the server sends a copy of the document or
a script. The document is then run at the client (browser) site.
Java Applets
One way to create an active document is to use Java applets. Java is a combination of a high-
level programming language, a run-time environment, and a class library that allows a
programmer to write an active document (an applet) and a browser to run it. It can also be a
stand-alone program that doesn’t use a browser
An applet is a program written in Java on the server. It is compiled and ready to be run. The
document is in bytecode (binary) format. The client process (browser) creates
an instance of this applet and runs it. A Java applet can be run by the browser in two ways. In the
first method, the browser can directly request the Java applet program in the URL and receive
the applet in binary form. In the second method, the browser can
retrieve and run an HTML file that has embedded the address of the applet as a tag.

JavaScript
The idea of scripts in dynamic documents can also be used for active documents. If the active
part of the document is small, it can be written in a scripting language; then it can be interpreted
and run by the client at the same time. The script is in source code (text) and not in binary form.
The scripting technology used in this case is usually JavaScript.
JavaScript, which bears a small resemblance to Java, is a very high level scripting language
developed for this purpose.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI)

is a technology that creates and handles dynamic documents. CGI is a set of standards that
defines how a dynamic document is written, how data are input to the program, and how the
output result is used.
CGI is not an another language , it allows programmers to use any of several languages such as
C, C++, Bourne Shell, Korn Shell, C Shell, Tcl, or Perl.
The only thing that CGI defines is a set of rules and terms that the programmer must follow.
The term common indicates that the standard defines a set of rules that is common to any
language or platform. The term gateway means that a CGI program can be used to access other
resources such as databases, graphic packages, and so on. The term interface means that there is
a set of predefined terms, variables, calls, and so on that can be used in any CGI program

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

This protocol is used mainly to access data ( i.e. web pages) on the World Wide Web.
HTTP functions like a combination of FTP and SMTP
HTTP uses the services of TCP on well-known port 80.
HTTP Transaction
Figure the HTTP transaction between the client and server.

Although HTTP uses the services of TCP, HTTP itself is a stateless protocol, which means that
the server does not keep information about the client. The client initializes the transaction by
sending a request. The server replies by sending a response.
A request message ( sent by clent) : consists of a request line, a header, and sometimes a body.
Request line consists of

Request type (Methods)

URL, as discussed earlier is the address and name of corresponding Web page.
The third field, version, gives the version of the protocol; the most current version of HTTP is
3.0
Header Lines In Request Message
After the request line, we can have zero or more request header lines.

Each header line sends additional information from the client to

the server. For example, the client can request that the document be sent in a special format.
A response message ( sent by server)
consists of a status line, header lines, a blank line and sometimes a body.
Status line

The first field defines the version of HTTP protocol

The status code field defines the status of the request. It consists of three digits.
100 range are only informational,
200 range indicate a successful request.
300 range redirect the client to another URL,
400 range indicate an error at the client site.
500 range indicate an error at the server site
The third field status phrase indicates the short description of status
Some examples of status codes

Header Lines In Response Message

After the status line, we can have zero or more response header lines. Each header line sends
additional information from the server to the client.
Some response headers
Example

example retrieves a document. GET method to retrieve an image with the path /usr/bin/image1.
HTTP version (1.1). client can accept images in GIF and JPEG format. The request does not
have a body.
The response message contains the status line and 4 lines of header. The header lines define the
date, server, MIME version, and length of the document. The body of the document follows the
header

Cookies

A cookie is information saved by your web browser. When you visit a website, the site may
place a cookie on your web browser so it can recognize your device in the future. If you return to
that site later on, it can read that cookie to remember you from your last visit and keep track of
you over time.
Since the data in cookies doesn't change, cookies themselves aren't harmful. They can't infect
computers with viruses or other malware. However, some cyber attacks can hijack cookies and
enable access to your browsing sessions. The danger lies in their ability to track individuals'
browsing histories.
Accepting cookies will give you the best user experience on the website, while declining cookies
could potentially interfere with your use of the site. For example, online shopping. Cookies
enable the site to keep track of all of the items that you've placed in your cart while you continue
to browse.
Cookies are text files with small pieces of data — like a username and password — that are used
to identify your computer as you use a computer network. Specific cookies known as HTTP
cookies are used to identify specific users and improve your web browsing experience.
Data stored in a cookie is created by the server upon your connection. This data is labeled with
an ID unique to you and your computer.
When the cookie is exchanged between your computer and the network server, the server reads
the ID and knows what information to specifically serve to you.

It can be useful in following

❑ Websites are being used as electronic stores that allow users to browse through the store,
select wanted items, put them in an electronic cart, and pay at the end with a credit card.
❑ Some websites need to allow access to registered clients only.
❑ Some websites are used as portals: The user selects the Web pages he wants to see.
❑ Some websites are just advertising

Web Caching: Proxy Server

A proxy server is a computer that keeps copies of responses to recent requests.

The HTTP client sends a request to the proxy server. The proxy server checks its cache.
If the response is already stored in the cache ( previous response ) , the proxy server sends the
copy from its cache.
If the response is not found in the cache, the proxy server sends the request to the corresponding
server. Incoming responses are sent to the proxy server and stored for future requests from other
clients.
The proxy server reduces the load on the original server, decreases traffic, and improves speed.
The proxy servers are normally located at the client site

4 types of web cache

1. Site cache
• A site cache or page cache stores website data the first time a webpage is loaded. Each
time a user returns to your website, saved elements are quickly accessed and displayed to
visitors.
• This is a type of client-side caching, which means that all the stored elements are
controlled by the end-user. As a website owner, the only say you have is how long
content remains in the cache.
site caching is ideal for websites with a lot of static content. Since your site rarely changes, users
will be able to continue loading your pages quickly while still seeing the latest version of your
site.
2 Browser cache
• Browser caching is a type of site caching built into the end-user’s web browser. Website
elements are stored by the browser on your visitor’s computer and grouped with other
files associated with your content. A browser cache can contain HTML pages, CSS
stylesheets, images, and other multimedia content.
 • Browser caching overlaps with site caching because they are both client-side systems.
The primary difference is that the browser, rather than the end-user, controls the cache.
All browsers have a cache that flushes out old files without any need for user
intervention.
3. Server cache
• Server cache is an umbrella term covering a number of different types of caching. This
includes Content Delivery Network (CDN) caching, object caching, and opcode caching.
Each stores different content on your website’s server. This type of caching is
administered by website owners without any input from end-users.
• Server caching is one of the best methods for reducing server loads. When a request is
made, the server checks its temporary storage for the necessary content before processing
it the request in full.
• If the requested content is available in the server cache, it will be returned to the browser
right away. This enables your server to handle more traffic and return your webpages
faster.
4. Micro cache
• Another type of caching that many website owners might not be aware of is micro
caching. This method stores content for very short periods of time. It generally saves
static versions of dynamic elements for up to 10 seconds. As this is a type of site cache,
it’s controlled by end-users with limited input from website owners.
• Micro caching is not a common type of cache because of the short storage time. The sites
that benefit from this form of caching also fit into a small profile. They’re typically high
traffic and feature rapidly changing content, such as the constantly updating graphs on
currency exchange and stock websites.

Advantages Web caching:

• Faster delivery of Web objects to the end user.
• Reduces bandwidth needs and cost. It benefits the user, the service provider and the
website owner.
• Reduces load on the website servers.

Domain Name System (DNS)

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet.

DNS, or the Domain Name System, translates human readable domain names (for example,
www.amazon.com) to machine readable IP addresses (for example, 192.0.2.44).
Why is it required ?
TCP/IP protocols use the IP address for each host, which uniquely identifies the a host in the
Internet.
However, people prefer to use names instead of numeric addresses. Therefore, we need a
system that can map a name to an IP address or an IP address to a name
In this method, the host that needs mapping can contact the closest computer holding the needed
information. This method is used by the Domain Name System (DNS).

DNS steps:
Steps
1. The user passes the host name eg google.com to the file transfer client.
2. The file transfer client passes the host name to the DNS client.
 3. each computer, knows the address of one DNS server. The DNS client sends a message
to a DNS server with a query
4. The DNS server responds with the IP address of the desired file transfer server.
5. The DNS client passes the IP address to the file transfer client.
6. The file transfer client now uses the received IP address to access the file transfer server.

Domain Name Space

In this the domain names are defined in an inverted-tree structure with the root at the top. The
tree can have only 128 levels: level 0 (root) to level 127

Label
Each node in the tree has a label, which is a string with a maximum of 63 characters. The root
label is a null string (empty string). DNS requires that children of a node (nodes that branch
from the same node) have different labels, which guarantees the uniqueness of the domain
names

Domain
A domain is a subtree of the domain name space. The name of the domain is the name of the
node at the top of the subtree. Figure shows some domains. Note that a
domain may itself be divided into domains (or subdomains )
The information contained in the domain name space must be stored. the information is stored
among many computers called DNS servers. we have a hierarchy of servers in the same way
that we have a hierarchy of names

A root server is a server whose zone consists of the whole tree.

• A root server usually does not store any information about domains but delegates its
authority to other servers, keeping references to those servers.
• There are several root servers, each covering the whole domain name space.
• The root servers are distributed all around the world
• DNS defines two types of servers: primary and secondary.

DNS IN THE INTERNET

DNS is a protocol that can be used in different platforms.
In the Internet, the domain name space (tree) is divided into three different sections: generic
domains, country domains, and the inverse domain

1. Generic domains
• the first level in the generic domains section allows 14 possible labels.
• These labels describe the organization types as listed in next slide
2. Country domains
Name of the country abbreviated in two-character
Eg : .in .us . fr .nz etc
3. Inverse Domain
The inverse domain is used to map an address to a name.
Domain name registration
new domains added to DNS ,through a registrar, which is a commercial entity by ICANN. A
registrar first verifies that the requested domain name is unique and then enters it into the DNS
database. For assigning domain name, a fee is charged.

DNS RESOLUTION (DNS Lookup )

Mapping a name to an IP address is called DNS resolution.

there are Domain Name Servers built across world that takes your DNS look-up request and
resolve it. There are 5 types of Name Servers –
1. Caching Name Servers.
2. Recursive Name Servers.
3. Root Name Servers.
4. Top Level Domain (TLD) Name Servers.
5. Authoritative Name Servers.

The DNS Resolution process

It starts when the user types a URL address ( eg google.com) on the browser and hits Enter.
Then browser asks the operating system about its IP address
Step 1: OS Query to DNS Resolver
Since the operating system doesn’t know where ―www.google.com‖ is, it queries a DNS
resolver, which is managed by the user's Internet service provider (ISP)
Step 2: DNS Resolver Query to the Root Server
The DNS resolver forwards the request for getting IP address of www.example.com to a DNS root name server
Step 3: Root Server Response
These root servers hold the locations of all of the Top Level Domains (TLDs) such as
.com, .edu .org etc.
so it returns the location of the .com servers. The root responds with a list of the 13
locations of the .com TLD servers, listed as NS or ―name server‖ records.
Step 4: DNS Resolver Query to the TLD Server
Then the resolver queries one of the .com name servers for the location of google.com..
Step 5: TLD Server Response
The .com TLD server does not have the IP addresses for google.com, but it knows the location
of google.com’s name servers. The .com TLD server responds with a list of all of google.com’s
NS records. In this case Google has four name servers, ―ns1.google.com‖ to ―ns4.google.com.‖
Step 6: DNS Resolver Query to the Google.com NS (name servers)
Finally, the DNS resolver queries one of Google’s name server for the IP of www.google.com.‖
Step 7: Google.com NS Response
This time the queried Name Server responds with IPv4 and IPv6 address record of requested
page www.google.com.
Step 8: DNS Resolver Response to OS
the resolver has finished the process and sends IP address to operating system of requesting
client.
Step 9: Browser Starts TCP Handshake
The operating system, sends the IP address to the Application (i.e. browser), which initiates the
TCP connection with server having that IP address, to request the web page.

Explain the email architecture / process

Email app has following architecture
User agent ,Message transfer agent ( Mail server) , Message access agents (MAAs).
User agent program : which does following
Message transfer agent ( MTA) ( Mail server)
The actual mail transmission is done through MTAs.
It has two parts :
MTA client : to send message
MTA server : to receive message
Message access agents (MAAs).
User agent program uses MAA to collect messages from MTA server

When both sender and receiver are connected to the two different mail servers via a LAN or a
WAN, we need two User agents UAs, two pairs of MTAs (client and server), and a pair of
MAAs (client and server). This is the most common situation today

• Format of an e-mail

Format of an e-mail
Email address format
The local part for a particular user it is the name of a special file, i.e. the user mailbox
domain name : An organization usually selects one or more hosts to receive and send e-mail;
they are sometimes called mail servers or exchangers.

Limitation of email
Electronic mail has a simple structure. Its simplicity, however It can send messages only in NVT
7-bit ASCII format.
For example, it cannot be used for languages that are not supported by 7-bit ASCII characters
(such as,, Hebrew, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese , marathi ).
Also, it cannot be used to send binary files or video or audio data.
Solution:
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is a supplementary protocol that allows non-
ASCII data to be sent through e-mail.

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)

is a supplementary protocol that allows non-ASCII data to be sent through e-mail. Because
Electronic mail can send messages only in NVT 7-bit ASCII format.
For example, it cannot be used for languages that are not supported by 7-bit ASCII characters
(such as,, Hebrew, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese , marathi ).
Also, it cannot be used to send binary files or video or audio data.
MIME transforms non-ASCII data at the sender site to NVT ASCII data and delivers them to the
client MTA to be sent through the Internet. The message at the receiving side is transformed
back to the original data.
MIME defines five headers that can be added to the original e-mail header section to define the
transformation parameters:
1. MIME-Version
2. Content-Type
3. Content-Transfer-Encoding
4. Content-Id
5. Content-Description

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

The actual mail transfer is done through message transfer agents. To send mail, a system must
have the client MTA, and to receive mail, a system must have a server MTA.
The formal protocol that defines the MTA client and server in the Internet is called the Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
SMTP is used two times, between the sender and the sender's mail server and between the two
mail servers.
 • SMTP simply defines how commands and responses must be sent back and forth.
• Commands are sent by client

List of commands sent by client

Sample List of responses by server

Connection establishment

Message transfer

• Connection termination
MESSAGE ACCESS AGENT: POP AND IMAP
The first and the second stages of mail delivery use SMTP. However, SMTP is not involved in
the third stage because SMTP is a push protocol.
the third stage needs a pull protocol; the client must pull messages from the server. The third
stage uses a message access agent.
two message access protocols are available: POP3 , IMAP4

Post Office Protocol, version 3 (POP3)

• The client POP3 software is installed on the recipient computer; the server POP3
software is installed on the mail server.
Mail access starts with the client when the user needs to download e-mail from the
mailbox on the mail server. The client opens a connection to the server on TCP port 110.
It then sends its user name and password to access the mailbox. The user can then list
and retrieve the mail messages, one by one.
POP3 has two modes:
1. the delete mode and the keep mode.
2. In the delete mode, the mail is deleted from the mailbox after each retrieval.
In the keep mode, the mail remains in the mailbox after retrieval.

IMAP4 (Internet Mail Access Protocol, version 4 )

is similar to POP3, but it has more features; IMAP4 is more powerful and more complex.
IMAP4 provides the following extra functions:
A user can check the e-mail header prior to downloading.
A user can search the contents of the e-mail for a specific string of characters prior to
downloading.
A user can partially download e-mail. This is especially useful if bandwidth is limited and the
e-mail contains multimedia with high bandwidth requirements.
A user can create, delete, or rename mailboxes on the mail server.
A user can create a hierarchy of mailboxes in a folder for e-mail storage

Compare POP3 with IMAP4

POP3 IMAP4
Mail access Agent Mail access Agent
simple and limited in functionality more complex & More functionality
It does not allow the user to organize her mail on A user can create, delete, or rename
the server; the user cannot have different folders mailboxes on the mail server.
on the server A user can create a hierarchy of mailboxes
in a folder for e-mail storage.
A user can partially download e-mail. This is
especially useful if bandwidth is limited and
A user can not partially download e-mail.
the e-mail contains multimedia with high
bandwidth requirements.
does not allow the user to partially check the does not allow the user to partially check the
contents of the mail before downloading contents of the mail before downloading
A user can check the e-mail header before A user can check the e-mail header before
downloading. downloading.
A user can not search the contents of the e-mail A user can search the contents of the e-mail
for a specific string of characters before for a specific string of characters before
downloading downloading

Web based mail

Some websites provide email service to anyone who accesses their site.
Three common sites are Hotmail, Yahoo, and Google.

Case I
the sender, uses a traditional mail server;, the receiver, has an account on a Web-based server.
• Mail transfer from Alice’s browser to her mail server is done through SMTP. The
transfer of the message from the sending mail server to the receiving mail server is still
through SMTP.
• However, the message from the receiving server (the web server) to receiver browser is
done through HTTP, instead of using POP3 or IMAP4. When receiver needs to retrieve
his e-mails, he sends a request HTTP message to the website (Hotmail, for example). The
website sends a form to be filled in by receiver, which includes the log-in name and the
password. If the log-in name and password match, the list of e-mails is transferred from
the Web server to receiver browser in HTML format. Now receiver can browse through
his received e-mails and then, using more HTTP transactions, can get his e-mails one by
one

Case II
both sender and receiver use Web servers, but not necessarily the same server. ( eg sender using
gmail.com receiver using yahoo.com)
 • Sender sends an HTTP request message to her Web server using the name and address
of receiver’s mailbox as the URL. The server at the sender site passes the message to the
SMTP client and sends it to the server at the receiver site using SMTP protocol.

• receiver retrieves the message using HTTP transactions. However, the message from the
server at the sender site to the server at the receiver site still takes place using SMTP
protocol.

What is Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP)? Why is it required?

It is a protocol for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters(

such as subnet mask, default gateway and DNS server information ) to nodes.

Why is it required:

Every node connected to a network , must have an IP address . It can be assigned either manually
or automatically . Manual assigning of IP to every node is tedious . So it is automated by using
DHCP.

What are the allocation methods of DHCP ?

1. Dynamic allocation

A network administrator sets a range of IP addresses in DHCP server, . The IP addresses are
given on lease for a time period. Devices release their IP addresses when their DHCP leases
expire and then request a renewal from the DHCP server if they are staying online. The DHCP
server may assign a new address rather than renewing an old one.

2. Automatic allocation

The DHCP server permanently assigns an IP address to a requesting client from a range defined
by an administrator. This is like dynamic allocation, but the DHCP server keeps a table of past IP
address assignments, so that it can preferentially assign to a client the same IP address that the
client previously had.

3. static allocation
This method is also called static DHCP allocation/ fixed address allocation/reservation,
and MAC/IP address binding. Devices such as web servers and switches are assigned
permanent IP addresses.

4. Manual

In this mapping the IP addresses to physical addresses needs to be manually configured. This
means that every time there is a change in a physical or IP address, the administrator needs to
manually enter the changes.

Thus DHCP provides static and dynamic address allocation that can be manual or
automatic.

DHCP allocation process

In DHCP, the client is one which requests for IP address and the DHCP server assigns IP
address. To get IP address from DHCP server, the client uses UDP protocol.
DHCP port number for DHCP server is 67 and for the DHCP client is 68.
Client & server exchange mainly 4 DHCP messages in order to make a connection, also called
DORA process, but there are total 8 DHCP messages in the process.

DHCP discover message –

This message is sent by Client host to discover if there is any DHCP server/servers are present in
a network or not. This message is broadcasted to all devices present in a network to find the
DHCP server.
DHCP offer message –
The server(s) send response, specifying the IP address and other information. This message is
broadcasted by server(s). If there are more than one DHCP servers present in the network then
client host will accept the first DHCP OFFER message it receives
DHCP request message –
Then client responds by broadcasting a DHCP request message. It is broadcasted in the network
showing the acceptance of IP address.
DHCP acknowledgement message –
In response to the request message received, the server will make an entry to lock the IP address
with specified client for a specified lease time. The client can now start using the IP for itself..

Other messages
DHCP negative acknowledgement message –
Whenever a DHCP server receives a request for IP address that is invalid according to the
scopes that is configured with, it send DHCP Nak message to client. Eg-when the server
has no IP address unused or the pool is empty, then this message is sent by the server to
client.
DHCP decline –
If DHCP client determines the offered configuration parameters are different or invalid, it
sends DHCP decline message to the server .When there is a reply to the gratuitous ARP
by any host to the client, the client sends DHCP decline message to the server showing
the offered IP address is already in use.

DHCP release –
A DHCP client sends DHCP release packet to server to release IP address and cancel any
remaining lease time.
DHCP inform –
If a client address has obtained IP address manually then the client uses a DHCP inform
to obtain other local configuration parameters, such as domain name. In reply to the dhcp
inform message, DHCP server generates DHCP ack message with local configuration
suitable for the client without allocating a new IP address. This DHCP ack message is
unicast to the client.

To get IP address from DHCP server, the client uses UDP protocol

DHCP port number for DHCP server is 67 and for the DHCP client is 68.