Network Essential Version C (LE) Practice Test

When a device first joins a network and doesn’t know any DHCP server, it broadcasts a discovery message to locate available servers. This initial search is done with the DHCPDISCOVER message. It’s the one sent out to find a server that can offer an IP address.

Once a server hears this, it replies with a DHCPOFFER, offering an address and configuration. The client then replies with a DHCPREQUEST to select one of the offers, and the server confirms with a DHCPACK.

So, the message used to initiate the search for a DHCP server is DHCPDISCOVER. The other options are different steps in the process: DHCPACK is the server’s acknowledgment of the lease, DHCPOFFER is the server’s offer, and DHCPREQUEST is the client’s request for a specific offer.