Patent ID: 6892229

Claim:
An improvement in a network connected to a network device and a dynamic host configuration protocol server (DHCP server), the network device having a plurality of configuration parameters, a resident dynamic host configuration protocol client (DHCP client), and a device driver, the resident DHCP client being operable to assign the plurality of configuration parameters to the network device, the improvement comprising: a DHCP server simulator and a device DHCP client within the network device, the device DHCP client being operable to communicate over the network to query the DHCP server for at least one selected configuration parameter, to pass a message having the at least one selected configuration parameter to the resident DHCP client; and the DHCP server simulator being operable to monitor the resident DHCP client and to intercept and analyze the message having the at least one selected configuration parameter from the device DHCP client; the DHCP server operable to send to the resident DHCP client a plurality of DHCP messages including the message having the at least one selected configuration parameter in response to a request from the DHCP client.