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Today’s networks are becoming increasingly dynamic in their configuration. With the emergence of wireless LANs a modern network can expect to have devices removed and added frequently. Naturally these networks rely on common TCP/IP protocols such as DNS, DHCP, MADCAP and LDAP, which in turn require an administrative staff. For increasingly popular ad-hoc and small home networks, the technical knowledge of end-users is often limited and administrative skill can be lacking. In a world where networks are beginning to connect not only computer users of varying technical skill but also a huge variety of personal digital devices the end-user can't always be expected to have the time, desire, or knowledge to configure their network. From hotel rooms to airplanes, cars, and campuses computer users are routinely connecting to networks of which they have no knowledge of services (LDAP and printing, for example) or the primary hosts on the network (DHCP or DNS servers, for example). In situations where there are no administrators either because they are unavailable or don't exist all, these networks need protocols that require zero configuration and administration. The evolution of the IP standards suite has concentrated on achieving a reliable and scalable networking architecture. Emphasis has always been placed on mechanisms that allow decentralized administration. Individual networks have been operated with local configuration, while Internet wide configuration has been coordinated through different agencies handling registration of domain names, network numbers, and other parameters. Network operation requires consistent configuration of all hosts and servers and normally requires centralized, knowledgeable network administration and increasingly complex configuration management services. Several computer software companies have taken the initiative to enhance the IP suite to address this challenge. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has begun work on zero configuration networking for IP. The goal is to allow hosts to communicate using IP without requiring any prior configuration or the presence of network services. True to the traditional architectural principals of the IP suite, care is being taken to ensure that zero configuration networking protocols and operation do not detract from the scalability of larger configured networks with fully administered services. The central issue of this type of networking is the emergence of protocols for operation without services or configuration. Work in the area of zero configuration protocols has been motivated by new demands in the marketplace.