Introduction to DHCP

Hello Swapnil

DHCP can provide a multitude of information to hosts. The most common implementations include IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS server. There are many more elements that DHCP can offer and these are called DHCP options. Some of the most common include NTP servers, log servers, cookie servers, interface MTU, default TCP TTL, NetBIOS name server and IRC chat server to name just a few.

These options are indicated using an option number. DHCP option numbers can range any where from 0 to 255. Some of these numbers are standard vendor-independent numbers while others are used by specific vendors. You can find information about these DHCP options at the following link or just search for them on the Internet, there are many available lists:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/asa/asa84/configuration/guide/asa_84_cli_config/basic_dhcp.html#wp1226344

One other widely used DHCP option is option 150 which is used primarily by Cisco IP phones to discover the local TFTP server. This is required as phones must reach this server to download their configuration which will give them info such as their extension number and other configured parameters.

I hope this has been helpful!

Laz