3-13 BOOTP Client ConfigurationWhile configuring a BOOTP client, go to these sections for information you are interested in:z Introduction to BOOTP Clientz Configuring an Interface to Dynamically Obtain an IP Address Through BOOTPz Displaying and Maintaining BOOTP Client ConfigurationIf several VLAN interfaces sharing the same MAC address obtain IP addresses through a BOOTP relayagent, the BOOTP server cannot be a Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003 Server.Introduction to BOOTP ClientThis section covers these topics:z BOOTP Applicationz Obtaining an IP Address Dynamicallyz Protocols and StandardsBOOTP ApplicationAfter you specify an interface of a device as a BOOTP client, the interface can use BOOTP to getinformation (such as IP address) from the BOOTP server, which simplifies your configuration.Before using BOOTP, an administrator needs to configure a BOOTP parameter file for each BOOTPclient on the BOOTP server. The parameter file contains information such as MAC address and IPaddress of a BOOTP client. When a BOOTP client originates a request to the BOOTP server, theBOOTP server will search for the BOOTP parameter file and return the corresponding configurationinformation.Because you need to configure a parameter file for each client on the BOOTP server, BOOTP usuallyruns under a relatively stable environment. If the network changes frequently, DHCP is more suitable.Because a DHCP server can interact with a BOOTP client, you can use the DHCP server to configurean IP address for the BOOTP client, without any BOOTP server.
