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<\/p>\nThe purpose of this tutorial is to beginners some insight into TCP\/IP settings. For this guide I will be using Microsoft Windows XP, but the version of the operating system you are using doesn\u2019t really matter. If you are using a different version of Windows, you should be able to find the same settings that I talk about in the tutorial, but there may be a different way of getting to those settings.<\/p>\n
Note: I haven\u2019t had much experience using Microsoft Windows Vista yet, so I cannot go into detail on how to change these settings network settings in Windows Vista. I am sure there is a different (and possible more difficult) way to change the settings in Windows Vista than there is in the previous versions of Microsoft Windows.<\/p>\n
First we need to find the TCP\/IP properties window. Open the control panel and click the \u201cNetwork Connections\u201d icon.
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The Network connections window will open. All of your available network connections will be listed. I only have one network interface listed, which is my Local Area Network (LAN) card. You could have several options listed here both physical connections and virtual. For example if you had a wireless network car, and a wired network card, you would see both of these listed. An example of a virtual connection, meaning that there is no physical adapter, would be a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPN\u2019s are well beyond the scope of the tutorial, but I wanted to give you an example of the icons that you may see. My listing is pictured below.
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I will be explaining the settings of a standard wired connection. Right click on your Local Area Network connection and select properties.
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In the Local Area Connection Properties window find the box that reads \u201cThis connection uses the following items.\u201d Use the scroll bar to locate the \u201cInternet Properties (TCP\/IP)\u201d then highlight it and click the properties button.
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You will see the Internet Protocol (TCP\/IP) Properties window displayed. If you are using DHCP your window should look like the one below.
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When the options \u201cObtain an IP address automatically\u201d and \u201cObtain DNS server address automatically are selected, your computer will be set to operating using DHCP. DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. The basic idea behind DHCP is to have a DHCP server give each computer a unique IP Address. The IP address will expire at a set amount of time. When the address expires, the computer will try to renew the address with the server. If the address is not renew it can be assigned to another computer.<\/p>\n
If you are using DHCP your computer could have a different IP Address every time you turn it on. DHCP is very useful for large network, and has saved many network administrators from having to manually set the IP address at each computer. <\/p>\n
You can assign a static IP address, one that doesn\u2019t change, to your computer. There are many reasons that you may want to set a static IP address. The main reason that I use static IP addresses is because I run servers on several of my PC. One PC runs Terminal Services so that I can Windows Remote Desktop Connection to connect into my PC from anywhere. Another computer operates as an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server so that I can share files over the internet. I want these machines to have static IP addresses so I can identify them. It doesn\u2019t do me any good to have a server running, but not know how to find it on the network.<\/p>\n
If you wanted to set a static IP Address first you would select the option for \u201cUse the Following IP Address\u201d. You will notice that the DNS server option has changed as well.
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Now if you know what IP Address you are going to use, enter it in the box. You will want this to be a unique address. You will also want to make sure that the IP address that you choose is not going to be assign to a DHCP client if you have other machines on your network that operate on DHCP. Hint: Most home routers will allow you to set the range for DHCP, just make sure you use an address that is outside that range.<\/p>\n
Enter the IP address in the box.
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Now you will have to enter your subnet mask. In a nutshell, a subnet mask defines which part of the IP address is reserved for the host (to identify the network) and which part is reserved for the host (each computer). Subnetting can be difficult for some people to grasp so I will not really get into it. Most home networks will use a special class C IP address which is usually something like 192.168.1.X . The default subnet mask for a class C network is 255.255.255.0. To try to keep it brief that means that 192.168.1 will be the network and next number will be the host. <\/p>\n
If you have entered your IP address, when you click on the subnet mask field, windows will automatically fill in the default subnet mask for the class of IP address that you entered in the IP field.
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