diff --git a/examples/hello-from-qemu.nix b/examples/hello-from-qemu.nix
index 78c4422..4888724 100644
--- a/examples/hello-from-qemu.nix
+++ b/examples/hello-from-qemu.nix
@@ -18,6 +18,14 @@ in rec {
     family = "inet"; address ="10.3.0.1"; prefixLength = 16;
   };
 
+  services.dhcpc = svc.network.dhcp.client.build {
+    interface = config.hardware.networkInterfaces.wan;
+
+    # don't start DHCP until the hostname is configured,
+    # so it can identify itself to the DHCP server
+    dependencies = [ config.services.hostname ];
+  };
+
   services.sshd = svc.ssh.build { };
 
   users.root = {