Which of the following is a protocol used for automatic IP address configuration?

NFS (Network File System) is a distributed file system protocol for sharing files over a network, not for IP address assignment.

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is used to access and maintain directory services such as user accounts and authentication, not IP configuration.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used for sending email between mail servers, not for network address assignment.

DNS (Domain Name System) resolves human-readable hostnames to IP addresses but does not assign or configure IP addresses on hosts.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) automatically assigns IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways, and DNS server addresses to clients on a network. It uses a four-step DORA process (Discover, Offer, Request, Acknowledge) to lease configuration to clients without manual input. This eliminates the need for static IP assignment on each individual device.