What role does the DHCP protocol play in a network?

The DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) plays a crucial role in network management by automatically assigning IP addresses to devices within a network. This automation eliminates the need for network administrators to manually assign IP addresses, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors. By using DHCP, devices joining the network can request an IP address from a DHCP server, which then allocates a suitable address from a predefined pool and provides additional configuration information, such as the default gateway and DNS server addresses. This process streamlines device connectivity and ensures that each device has a unique IP address, preventing address conflicts.

The other options refer to different network functions that do not fall under the DHCP protocol's responsibilities. Routing of packets is handled by routing protocols, network traffic encryption relies on security protocols, and performance monitoring is done through various network management tools, not by DHCP.