Set Up DHCP on a Local Area Network

Local area networks are the backbone of a company's communications infrastructure. These networks must run smoothly for the organization to operate at peak efficiency. Setting up DHCP on a local area network is an integral part of this process. While it does take some technical knowledge, setting up the DHCP is relatively painless.
This article will help you to Set Up DHCP on a Local Area Network.

Instructions

1. Establish a range of Internet Protocol addresses to use on the local area network. Do not use a public range of IP addresses. Use IP addresses that are private and specific to the local area network. The private IP address ranges are as follows: 10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255, 172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255, 192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255.?
   
2. Set the amount of IP addresses needed for a given local area network. Fifty is the general working number but some local area networks require a larger pool.
   
3. Choose the IP address (Belkin ip address)of the administrative computer. Pick an IP address within the pool of IP addresses but be sure that IP address is not from the general pool of addresses.
   
4. Download and install the DHCP setup utility if it is not on the computer.
   
5. Open the DHCP utility and enter the IP address of the current machine in the utility. Next, enter the pool IP addresses in the DHCP utility. Be sure the "Boot file" field is left empty. If a DNS server is used, please enter the server information now. If not, leave the field blank.
   
6. Determine the subnet mask for the local area network. If a user has any doubt about the subnet mask use 255.255.255.0 for the subnet mask.
   
7. Click "Save" and close the DHCP utility. Be sure to test the local area network from another machine before finishing the task.