Windows NT IP Address Settings
To begin, follow the path Start\Settings\Control Panel\Network to the Network screen:
Figure B.21: The main Network screen.
The computer name should be a unique name given by you to the computer (it's best to change it from the default settings). The workgroup is also a name given by you: it should be the same for all of your computers. Now, click on Protocols Tab:
Figure B.22: The Protocols Tab.
Here you'll see the protocols that have been assigned ("bound") to the network adapters on this machine. TCP/IP and NetBeui is a good starter set. Highlight the TCP/IP protocol line, and click Properties. All network adapters recognized by the system are listed in the drop-down box. Choose the one you want, and you're ready for the settings:
Figure B.23: Obtaining IP addresses automatically is the best way to go!
This setting shown here will allow the chosen network connection to obtain its IP settings from a DHCP server such as WinProxy. We recommended this setting for all your client machines, especially if you're new to networking. The only place where you cannot use this setting is on the internal network connection of the WinProxy machine. That connection must be a statically-assigned address.
You can assign a static IP address on that same screen. To do so, click "Specify an IP Address."
Figure B.24: Assigning a static IP address.
The settings shown here are for an NT client behind WinProxy. This network connection has been assigned an IP address of 90.0.0.99; WinProxy is at the IP address 90.0.0.1. To specify the IP address on any client machine (you can mix and match, having some specified and others obtained automatically), follow these rules for each additional IP address specified:
- Each machine gets the same subnet mask as the WinProxy machine.
- Each machine gets a unique IP address. Having two machines with the 90.0.0.1 address, for instance, would confuse things. It's easier to remember addresses if you number them sequentially: the next machine is 90.0.0.2, then 90.0.0.3, etc.
- You can use any number between 1 and 254. You cannot use 0, and you cannot use 255 or any higher number.
- When setting unique addresses, you can make changes only in the IP address field corresponding to the '0' in the subnet mask. The IP fields corresponding to the '255' blocks in the subnet mask must be the same on all internal network connections.
On each network connection where you specify an IP address, you'll also need to specify the gateway. The gateway address is the address of the WinProxy internal network connection. Each and every network connection on your local network must have that very same gateway address. If running WinProxy on an NT machine, here's how to configure that internal network connection:
Figure B.25: Configuring the internal network connection.
That's all that's required for this machine to connect and communicate on a TCP/IP network. However, you can do one more thing to make your life easier down the road. Click on the DNS Tab:
Figure B.26: Setting DNS information manually.
These settings are needed only if you're specifying the IP address. If you set the network IP address connection to "Obtain Automatically," it obtains the DNS information as well.
The setting for "DNS Server Search Order" is the WinProxy internal IP address. Each machine on your local network uses the WinProxy machine as its DNS server. The setting for the domain can be anything you like as long as it's the same on all computers. The "Host" setting is the name of the computer you're currently configuring.
You don't need anything under the suffix search, and you don't need to add anything to any of the other tabs. Here's one last thing to keep in mind about DNS settings. While TCP/IP settings are "per network connection," the DNS settings are "per host." Thus, while a computer (or "host") can have as many TCP/IP settings as it does network connections, it can have only one DNS configuration.
