Using Various Configurations to Install Windows NT Workstation as a TCP/IP Client

Using Various Configurations to Install Windows NT Workstation as a TCP/IP Client

TCP/IP, the default protocol for Windows NT Workstation 4.0, is a suite of protocols designed for WANs. TCP/IP is supported by most common operating systems and is also required for connectivity to the Internet. When you manually configure a computer as a TCP/IP host, you must enter the appropriate settings, which are required for connectivity with your network. The most common network settings are as follows:

IP Address. A logical 32-bit address used to identify a TCP/IP host. Each network adapter configured for TCP/IP must have a unique IP address, such as 10.100.5.43.
Subnet Mask. A subnet is a division of a larger network environment typically connected with routers. Whenever a TCP/IP host tries to communicate with another TCP/IP host, the subnet mask is used to determine whether the other TCP/IP host is on the same network or a different network. If the other TCP/IP host is on a different network, the message must be sent via a router that connects to the other network. A typical subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. All com-puters on a subnet must have identical subnet masks.
Default Gateway (Router). This optional setting is the address of the router for this subnet that controls communications with all other subnets. If this address is not specified, this TCP/IP host can only communicate with other TCP/IP hosts on its subnet.
Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). Computers use IP addresses to identify each other, but users generally find it easier to use other means, such as computer names. Some method must be used to provide name resolution, which is the process where references to computer names are converted into the appropriate IP addresses. WINS provides name resolution for Microsoft networks. If your network uses WINS for name resolution, your computer needs to be configured with the IP address of a WINS server (the IP address of a secondary WINS server can also be specified).
Domain Network System (DNS) Server Address. DNS is an industry standard distributed database that provides name resolution and a hierarchical naming system for identifying TCP/IP hosts on the Internet and on private networks. A DNS address must be specified to enable connectivity with the Internet or with Unix TCP/IP hosts. You can specify more than one DNS address and the search order that specifies the order in which they should be used.

Name resolution is the process of translating user-friendly computer names to IP addresses.

If the settings for the TCP/IP protocol are incorrectly specified, you will experience problems that keep your computer from establishing communications with other TCP/IP hosts in your network. In extreme cases, communications on your entire subnet can be disrupted.

You can specify all the settings for the TCP/IP protocol manually, or they can be automatically configured through a network service called Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

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