DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is a network management protocol used to automatically assign IP addresses and other network configuration parameters to devices on a network. This allows devices to communicate on an IP network without the need for manual configuration. Domain Name System DNS, or Domain Name System, is often referred to as the "phone book of the Internet." It is a hierarchical and distributed naming system that translates human-readable domain names (like ) into IP addresses that computers use to identify each other on the network. The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a distance-vector routing protocol used to determine the best path for data packets in a network. A VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) is a logical segmentation of a network that allows devices to communicate as if they are on the same physical network, regardless of their actual location. Each VLAN is identified by a unique VLAN ID ranging from 0 to 4095.