Definition:
DHCP provides a translation or conversion from 48-bit ethernet Source and Destination addresses (see above) to 32-bit IP-Internet Protocol Addresses. Why, ethernet was designed for use on LAN-Local Area Networks and IP was for WANs-Wide Area Networks. That is, when ethernet was created, there was no internet or internet protocol. Moreover, the ethernet packet was not designed to be routed - often called a non-routable protocol. As you can see, the IP-Internet Protocol packet has a 32-bit address. This means that a translation or conversion from 48-bits to 32-bits must occur before transmission across the internet.