NETWORKING FUNDAMENTALS – Part1
PLEASE, no one take offense if this is too simplistic! I'm sure there are many in these forums that have more networking experience than I . I'm writing this for people who are new to networking.
I'm going to break this up into parts instead of trying to put it all into one post. That way, you can be bored to tears (or on the edge of your seat?) in relatively small chunks, instead of all at once!
What's a Network?
A Network (I'll start with a Local Area Network) is two or more computers connected to each other most often using Ethernet, and Category 5 (or 5e) Cabling, or 802.11g Wireless.
A LAN can be used to share resources, like that precious Internet connection, printers, and to let you move information between your own computers.
How do you build a network?
In order to make two PC's "talk" over a network, each PC must have at a minimum, three things:
1. A Network Interface Card (NIC): Most likely (99.999% of the time) an Ethernet wired or wireless NIC.
2. A Protocol: Almost always TCP/IP.
3. A Client: For home users, almost always Microsoft Family Logon. Included in Client Configuration, is making sure all PC's that want to connect to each other are in the same Workgroup or Domain.
NIC - Wired or Wireless?
A Wired NIC should be a 10/100 Megabit Ethernet PCI Card.
A Wireless NIC should be an 802.11g Wireless PCI NIC.
Above, I said you'd want PCI Cards, but for a laptop, of course, you'll want PCMCIA (PC Card) NIC's.
A Laptop Wired NIC like Netgear PC Card NIC
Once your NIC is installed, (you must physically install the card, and make sure the software Drivers are installed correctly) you'll be able to "bind" a protocol to it.
PROTOCOL
The Protocol you use will be TCP/IP if you want to connect to the Internet. On some older Operating Systems, NetBEUI and/or IPX/SPX are on by default. I recommend turning those protocols off for home networks.
You're in luck! The Drivers for most network cards install TCP/IP for you!
To check what Protocols are installed, do the following:
Windows 98/Me:
Right click on Network Neighborhood (neighbourhood?) smile.gif on your desktop, and select Properties from the menu that comes up. Under the Configuration Tab, scroll down and make sure TCP/IP -> Your Network Adapter (your adapter name will be here) appears.
Windows XP(2000):
Click on Start, Control Panel. In Control Panel, click on Network & Internet Connections, then on Network Connections. (2000, just right click My Network Places on your desktop, then select Properties).
Right Click on Local Area Connection and choose Properties. Make sure Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is listed.
I'll have much more (more than you want to know?) about TCP/IP in Part 2.
If your NIC is installed correctly, TCP/IP should be there. If it isn't, in the Network window you can click on Add, select Protocol from the Select Network Component Type window, click Add, click Microsoft in the left pane, and scroll down to TCP/IP in the right pane, then click Ok. If you don't know where your cab files are on the Hard Drive, you may need your Operating System CD for this.
CLIENT
Like TCP/IP, a Microsoft Client should be installed with the NIC Drivers.
To check your Client:
Windows 98/Me:
Right click on Network Neighborhood on your desktop, and select Properties from the menu that comes up. Under the Configuration Tab, scroll down and make sure TCP/IP -> Your Network Adapter (your adapter name will be here) appears.
Windows XP(2000):
Click on Start, Control Panel. In Control Panel, click on Network & Internet Connections, then on Network Connections. (2000, just right click My Network Places on your desktop, then select Properties).
Right Click on Local Area Connection and choose Properties. Make sure Microsoft Family Logon is there.
You can use the Client for Microsoft Networks, but you'll want to make sure the Client is NOT set to logon to a Windows Domain, if you don't have your own Server (most home users do not). To do this, in the Network window as above, select Client for Microsoft Networks, and click Properties. In the Client for Microsoft Networks Properties window, make sure Log on to Windows Domain under Logon validation is unchecked.
Workgroup
Ok, one last piece to the puzzle, the workgroup. In order for your computers to "see" each other, they will have to either be in the same Domain (primarily used for corporate networks) or workgroup (the home user’s choice).
To check your Workgroup:
Windows 98/Me:
Right click Network Neighbourhood, and select Properties. Click on the Identification tab. You'll see your Computer Name and Workgroup. Write them down. The Computer Name must be unique throughout your network and should be something meaningful to you (Kitchen, Laptop, something). The Workgroup name must be the same for all the computers you want to communicate with each other. The name isn't important, as long as it's the same throughout your network.
Windows XP/2000:
Right click on My Computer and select Properties. Click on the Network Identification Tab. Follow the same rules as above for naming the Computer and Workgroup.
Well, if you made it through all that, congratulations! I hope it's helpful with some of the fundamentals! Please let me know what you think about this..
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Coming up - Part2 - On TCP/IP, and Routers/Firewalls