DHCP permits site administrators to set up one or more server systems that dynamically distribute network IP addresses and site configuration parameters to new or requesting client systems. In this way, a site with only a few available addresses can serve a large number of hosts that connect to the network only occasionally, or a large site can manage the permanent assignment of addresses with a minimum of administrative attention.
The proclaim facility consists of a daemon that runs on a master server, optional relay daemons for servers on subnets, GUI configuration programs, and a client application that communicates with the DHCP servers. All these programs are bundled with the IRIX operating system.
The sections below provide information about configuring proclaim servers and clients. If you are not comfortable with the basic concepts of networking, IP addresses, and netmasks, please read portions of the IRIX Advanced Site and Server Administration Guide before you continue reading this section.