This document proposes a method of algorithmic load balancing. It enables multiple, cooperating servers to decide which one should service a client, without exchanging any information beyond initial configuration.

The server selection is based on the servers hashing client Media Access Control (MAC) addresses when multiple Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers are available to service DHCP clients. The proposed technique provides for efficient server selection when multiple DHCP servers offer services on a network without requiring any changes to existing DHCP clients. The same method is proposed to select the target server of a forwarding agent such as a Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) relay.