DHCPDependent and Independent
DHCP is a protocol-dependant service, not a platform dependent service. This means that you can use, for example, a Linux DHCP server for a network with Windows clients or a Novell DHCP server with Linux clients.
Like DHCP, BOOTP is a broadcast-based system. Therefore, routers must be configured to forward BOOTP broadcasts. Today, it is far more likely that DHCP, rather than BOOTP, is used.