What does the term “dynamic IP addressing” refer to?

Dynamic IP addressing refers to the assignment of IP addresses from a pool of available addresses on a temporary basis. This method is commonly used in networks where devices connect and disconnect frequently, such as in home networks or large organizations. When a device connects to the network, it requests an IP address from the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, which then assigns an available address from its pool for a specific duration, known as a lease time.

This approach is efficient because it allows multiple devices to share a limited number of IP addresses, as they are not always connected simultaneously. When a device disconnects or the lease expires, the IP address can be reclaimed and reassigned to another device, optimizing the use of address space in environments where devices are frequently changing.

The other options describe different concepts related to IP addressing:

• Assigning a fixed IP address refers to static IP addressing, where a specific IP is manually set for a device and does not change.

• Having no IP address at all implies that a device is not configured to communicate over an IP network, which is not relevant in the context of dynamic addressing.

• Restricting access to specific IP addresses concerns access control mechanisms and does not involve how IP addresses are assigned to devices on the network