New Training: DHCP and DNS on CUCM

In this 8-video skill, CBT Nuggets trainer Lalo Nunez reviews Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) and their role in the Collaboration environment. Watch this new Cisco training.

Learn Cisco with one of these courses:

• Cisco Collaboration Solutions and Architecture

This training includes:

• 8 videos

• 45 minutes of training

You’ll learn these topics in this skill:

• Intro: DHCP and DNS

• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Demo

• Domain Name System (DNS)

• Domain Name System (DNS) Troubleshooting

• Domain Name System (DNS) Cisco Routers

• Domain Name System (DNS) Cisco Phone Verification

• DHCP & DNS Review

How Do DNS and DHCP Protocols Work Together?

Though DNS and DHCP protocols are well understood individually, some IT technicians don't fully understand how they work together. Though DNS and DHCP perform different functions, why do enterprise environments need both protocols?

Before understanding how DNS and DHCP work together, you need to understand what their core functions are. DHCP (dynamic host control protocol) is a way for devices that need network connectivity to obtain an IP address to connect to a network. IP addresses are both tracked and assigned by a DHCP server. Using DHCP mitigates the complexity of tracking and configuring IP addresses for individual workstations and devices in a network. More importantly, DHCP allows IP addresses to be re-used without creating issues.

DNS (domain name system) acts as an address book. Much like an address book matches a person's name to their home address, DNS matches IP addresses with the names of devices attached to a network.

Though DHCP servers can make managing device connectivity much easier, they can also make configuring static communication between devices difficult. DNS servers alleviate that workload by matching IP addresses with device names. Though IP addresses can potentially change, device names will not. This gives IT staff a path to organize and connect individual devices on a network where connectivity can often be a fluid state.