Zeroconf in the home

While most of the focus on zeroconf network assumes an ad-hoc networking environment, zeroconf is a possible option for home networks, because it avoids the need for network management, which is likely to enable far more home users to use networking.

The home network is probably the principle case where the need for capable hosts to have multiple addresses configured on a single interface occurs. This allows the host to use an ADSL or ISDN gateway (which may offer DHCP services) to communicate with the wider internet, while not requiring a DHCP server to be present and active in order to print to a local printer (which is assumed to have a zeroconf IP address) or to play a networked game with a second, local, capable host.