How to Set Up a Small Network with Windows 98 Second Edition (PART 5)

This article contains Part 5 of the "Set Up a Small Network with Windows 98 Second Edition" guide. Part 5 discusses configuring the TCP/IP protocol.

Note To view the other topics of the "Set Up a Small Network with Windows 98 Second Edition" guide, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that are listed in the "References" section of this article.

The "Set Up a Small Network with Windows 98 Second Edition" guide includes the following topics:

Part 5. Configuring TCP/IP Protocol

Now that you have successfully configured your network card, you must make sure that your computers can communicate with each other. To do so, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the Network icon.This is the control room for your small network. Together with the network card driver, Windows also installed Client for Microsoft Networks (enables the connection to other Windows computers) and TCP/IP protocol.

Windows deployed the dial-up adapter during the default installation. You can use this adapter to establish an Internet connection. At the moment, it is not important.Tip Because you must set several settings, it is useful to create a shortcut on the desktop. To create a shortcut, open Control Panel, right-click and drag the Network icon to the desktop, and then click Create Shortcut(s) Here.

Adding Network Components

If Client for Microsoft Networks or TCP/IP protocol is not listed under the installed network components, you can configure them now. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click Add, click Client, click Add, click Microsoft, and then click Client for Microsoft Networks.
   
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   Click Add, click Protocol, click Add, click Microsoft, and then click TCP/IP.
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2. Click OK to close the window, insert the Windows CD, and then restart the computer.

TCP/IP

Network protocols help your computers speak the same language so they can share data. Network protocols define the rules for communication. The TCP/IP protocol is used just about everywhere. After the Internet boom, it became the standard protocol for small networks. To configure this protocol, you must set two settings.

IP Address and Subnet Mask

The most important setting is the IP address. The IP address gives each computer a unique address where it can be accessed in the network. The address has four numbers between 0 and 255 that are separated by periods. All the computers are numbered in a series.

The subnet mask determines the network where the computer is located. This is especially important in large networks that are divided into several subnets. In your small network, all the computers are in the same subnet.

Internet

The Internet is a large TCP/IP network that is based on IP addresses. The addresses must be unique here, too. Two computers cannot use the same IP address. If you want to access the Internet, you must make sure that your small network does not use an address that is already in use in the Internet. Therefore, there are certain address ranges that you can use in your network without problems. For example, you can use 192.168.0.X, where X is a number between 1 and 254. Use 255.255.255.0 for your subnet mask.

To define the IP address and subnet mask, follow these steps:

1. Reopen the window:
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2. Select the TCP/IP entry that refers to your network card, and then click Properties.
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3. Click Specify an IP address, and then type the corresponding number combination. If you use 192.168.0.1 for the first computer, use 192.168.0.2 on the second computer, 192.168.0.3 for the third computer, and so on. The subnet mask stays the same for all the computers. Type 255.255.255.0 here.
4. Click OK, and then click OK again.
5. Restart your computer.
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Tip If you want to share Internet access, assign the address 192.168.0.1 to the computer that will establish the Internet connection. However, when you configure Internet Connection Sharing, this IP address is assigned to the computer automatically.

For additional information about this topic, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: