Motivation for Auto-configuration
Without proper configuration of hosts in networks, they
are not able to find each other, or to communicate with
each other. Device configuration is therefore of utmost
importance. This can be done either statically or dynamically. Devices that are permanently connected to an administered network are usually assigned static network
configuration parameters by administrators [7].
Other devices that are attached to administered networks can use dynamic network configuration. The devices themselves must be configured, i.e. all the necessary parameters must be assigned to the host (device) by
a network configuration service. The network configuration service in turn also requires configuration.
However, in a communication and information system
aimed at disaster recovery, manual administration of
network hosts is impractical or impossible. Hence, automatic configuration of the hosts is desirable.