Abbreviation for Bootstrap Protocol. Client/server protocol whereby a client sends a broadcast to obtain an IP address from a server. The client identifies itself to the server by providing its MAC address. The server, which maintains a preconfigured table of client device MAC addresses and associated IP addresses sends the client its predefined IP address. The BOOTP protocol can also provide other IP addressing data such as the default gateway and host name. BOOTP operation consists of two phases and uses UDP ports 67 and 68.