Networking Personal Computers with TCP/IP


	Networking Personal Computers with TCP/IP By Craig Hunt 1st Edition July 1995 1-56592-123-2, Order Number: 1232 408 pages, $32.95

Installing Windows 95 TCP/IP

The Windows 95 operating system includes a TCP/IP stack and a few TCP/IP applications. The TCP/IP software can be installed in two different ways: from the Network applet in the Control Panel or through the Internet Setup Wizard. The installation technique you use is both a matter of personal preference and of availability.
The Internet Setup Wizard is not available on all systems because it is not a standard part of the Windows 95 operating system. It can be downloaded from the Internet or purchased as part of Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95.
The software is available on the Internet via anonymous FTP from ftp.microsoft.com in the file /peropsys/Win_News/Windows95Information/InternetExplorer/msie20.exe or via the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie.htm. After downloading msie20.exe run it on the Windows 95 system. It is a self-exploding file that automatically installs the new software. One note: the "20" in the filename msie20.exe is a version number. This will change with time. When you download the file it could have a slightly different name.
If you prefer to purchase a copy, the Plus! package includes several enhancements for Windows 95, one of which is the Internet Jumpstart Kit. The kit has three parts: the setup wizard, a network browser, and enhancements to Microsoft Exchange to handle Internet mail. The file that can be downloaded from the Internet has the same three components.
The Internet Setup Wizard is not necessary for installing TCP/IP on a Windows 95 system. TCP/IP can be installed using the Control Panel and the Network applet in a straight forward manner. The advantage of the wizard is that it walks you methodically through the installation, reducing the possibility that you will forget something. The advantage of the Network applet is that it allows you to go straight to the configuration settings and modify them yourself. Different people prefer different approaches. We examine both, starting with the Internet Setup Wizard.
Installing TCP/IP with the Internet Setup Wizard

Install the LAN adapter hardware before running the Internet Setup Wizard. To install the adapter: power down the PC; open the case; insert the adapter card in an empty bus slot; and power up the PC. When Windows 95 boots it detects the new hardware and automatically loads the adapter driver from the Windows 95 CDROM. If the CDROM is not inserted in the drive, the system will prompt for it. See Figure 6-1.

Figure 6-1:Plug-and-Play Hardware Detection <\p>
If the system cannot identify the LAN adapter or if it incorrectly identifies the adapter, you can manually install the adapter driver using the Network applet found in the Control Panel. See the discussion of Figure 6-7 for tips on manually configuring LAN hardware under Windows 95.
This section assumes you are installing TCP/IP on a LAN. If a LAN adapter is not installed, the wizard assumes that the connection to the network is through a modem. It therefor displays a different set of questions from those shown in this section. If you are using a modem to connect to the network, go to the Windows 95 PPP section of this chapter.
Before attempting to install TCP/IP with the Internet Setup Wizard make sure the wizard is available on the PC. Go to the Start menu located to your left on the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. From the Start menu select Programs then Accessories. An entry for Internet Tools appears in the Accessories menu if the Internet Setup Wizard is available on the system.

Figure 6-2:The Windows 95 Start Menu

Figure 6-2 shows the new Windows 95 interface and the Start menu. The system in this example has the Internet Setup Wizard. If your system doesn't, you can install TCP/IP by following the instructions in the Installing TCP/IP from the Control Panel section found later in this chapter. If it does, start the wizard by selecting it from the Internet Tools menu.
When the wizard starts it detects the network adapter installed in the computer and asks whether you want to connect to the "Internet" through the LAN or through a phone line. This question is really asking if you want to run TCP/IP over the local area network or over a modem line using PPP. The wizard is designed to simplify setting up an Internet connection for home users and people with small LANs. It assumes that people want to use TCP/IP for Internet connectivity, which makes some of the wizard prompts confusing. To avoid confusion, just remember that the wizard must first install TCP/IP to prepare a system to connect to the Internet. In this example we select the LAN option. To use PPP over a modem, select the phone line option. (Examples of configuring modems and PPP are covered later in this chapter.)
Next the wizard asks if you want to use Microsoft Exchange to send and receive Internet mail. Even if you plan to install and use another e-mail package, select Yes. It does not hurt to add the Internet services to the Microsoft Exchange package and it can avoid problems in the future if the user of this PC decides to use Microsoft Exchange instead of your standard e-mail package.

Figure 6-3: A DHCP Warning Message

The wizard then loads the necessary software. The error message shown in Figure 6-3 may be displayed. If it is, just click No and go on to the window shown in Figure 6-4. The error message is caused by the fact that the wizard defaults to using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to provide the IP address when the PC is attached to a LAN. If the LAN has a DHCP server, neither the error message nor the window shown in Figure 6-4 are displayed because the server automatically configures the PC's IP address and subnet mask. (See Chapter 8 for detailed instructions on setting up a DHCP server.) If there is no DHCP server, manually configure the IP address and subnet mask through the window shown in 6-4.

Figure 6-4: Entering the IP Address

The next window displayed by the wizard prompts for the address of the DNS server. Provide two addresses: the address of the primary server and the address of a backup server.
You'll then be asked to provide the address of the "Internet Gateway". Enter the address of the default router for this LAN.
Finally, the wizard prompts for your Internet e-mail address and the name of an Internet mail server. Remember that the Internet Jumpstart Kit has three components, one of which is an Internet mail extension to Microsoft Exchange. That is what is being configured here. Enter the e-mail address that you want advertised to the outside world because the value entered here is used in the "From:" line of out-going mail. Enter the host name of the PC's POP3 mail server in the Internet mail server box. (E-mail configuration, including setting up POP servers, is covered in Chapter 9.)
That's it. Click Finish in the final window and the wizard installs and configures TCP/IP. Is this process simple? It depends on your personal taste. The wizard keeps you from forgetting something, but you may prefer a more direct approach. The following sections shows how the TCP/IP configuration values are entered or modified through the Control Panel. You can skip them if you installed TCP/IP using the Internet Setup Wizard. But you may want to refer to them at a later date if you need to modify an existing TCP/IP configuration.
Installing TCP/IP from the Control Panel

Open the Control Panel by selecting it from the Settings menu of the Start menu. (Refer to Figure 6-2 for a sample of the Start menu.) Open the Network applet by double-clicking on the Network icon in the Control Panel window. Figure 6-5 shows the Configuration tab of the Network window after several network components have been configured. The first time this window is displayed on your system, the listbox may be empty.

Figure 6-5: Network Configuration Window

The Network window is used for all network components--it is not specific to TCP/IP. In fact, most of the tabs in this window are used for NetBIOS configuration:

The Identification tab is used to set the NetBIOS name and the NetBIOS workgroup.
The Access Control tab is used to select the type of security used for NetBIOS file and printer sharing. The system can use share-level access control, like Windows for Workgroups, or user-level access control, like Windows NT. Share-level access control sets one type of access for the entire shared filesystem. User-level access control can set a different type of access for each user of the filesystem. (NetBIOS access control is covered in Chapter 7.)
On the Configuration tab, the File and Print Sharing button brings up a window with checkboxes that enable or disable NetBIOS file and printer sharing. (File and printer sharing is covered later in this chapter.) Also on the Configuration tab, the Primary Network Logon box identifies the server that validates the network logon. NetBIOS, NetWare and some other PC LAN systems require a network logon. TCP/IP does not. From the Network Logon pulldown list, choose the value that matches the primary network client software installed on the PC. The installed network clients are shown in the listbox at the top of this tab. The "primary" client is the one associated with the LAN system you use most often, e.g. NetWare or NetBIOS. If the PC has no network client software installed or the primary network is TCP/IP, choose Windows Logon from the listbox.

Despite its NetBIOS orientation, the Network applet is also used to install other types of network software, including TCP/IP. To install TCP/IP, click the Add button in the Configuration tab. Another window, labeled Select Network Component Type, will appear. Highlight Protocol in this new window and click Add. The window shown in Figure 6-6 appears.

Figure 6-6: Windows 95 Selecting TCP/IP

In the Select Network Protocol window, highlight Microsoft in the Manufacturers subwindow and a list of protocols appears in the Network Protocols subwindow. One of these is TCP/IP. Highlight it and click OK.
If you have not yet configured a network interface, you will be asked to do so now. It is very possible that Windows 95 detected and configured the network interface when the operating system was initially installed. If it did, skip the following step. Otherwise, the window shown in Figure 6-7 appears asking you to select a network adapter.

Figure 6-7: Windows 95 Selecting the Adapter

Each adapter listed in this window has a driver included in the Windows 95 distribution. If your network adapter is listed here, highlight it and click OK. If it is not listed here, get the adapter manufacturer's software disk and click Have Disk. Most hardware manufacturers ship a Windows 95 driver with the adapter hardware and provide a bulletin board system from which the latest driver can be downloaded. When absolutely necessary, a driver designed for Windows for Workgroups or Windows 3.1 can be installed on Windows 95. Simply provide Windows 95 with a disk that contains the OEMSETUP.INF file and the driver. Once the driver is loaded, the system prompts for the adapter configuration (IRQ, I/O Port, etc.), if one is required.
The system returns to the Network window shown in Figure 6-5. To configure TCP/IP, highlight TCP/IP and click Properties. The TCP/IP Properties window shown in Figure 6-8 appears.

Figure 6-8: TCP/IP Properties

This window contains six tabs. Three tabs affect the NetBIOS configuration:

Advanced

Use this tab to specify that TCP/IP is the default protocol. The tab is only "active" if another protocol, such as NetBEUI, is also installed. Select TCP/IP as the default protocol when the majority of traffic is to other TCP/IP systems.

Bindings

Use this tab to identify the network components that communicate over TCP/IP. Make sure that all of the Microsoft network components listed under this tab are selected when encapsulating NetBIOS inside of TCP/IP.

WINS Configuration

Use this tab to enable or disable WINS. WINS is a name server for NetBIOS names. Disable it and use DNS on a TCP/IP network.

The three other tabs, IP Address, Gateway, and DNS Configuration, are critical for the TCP/IP configuration. The IP Address tab is shown in Figure 6-8. Use it to enter the address and the subnet mask.
The Gateway tab is used to enter the default gateway. Select the tab, enter the IP address of the default gateway in the New gateway box, and click Add. The tab allows more than one gateway to be entered, but only the first gateway is really used. Don't try to use this tab to build complex static routes. If complex routes are required, use the ROUTE command, which is described in the Windows 95 Network Applications section of this chapter.
Figure 6-9 shows the DNS Configuration tab. Click Enable DNS and enter the PC's hostname and the domain name. In the DNS Server Search Order subwindow, enter the IP address of each name server in priority order, i.e., enter the most preferred server first, the next most preferred server second, and so on.

Figure 6-9: DNS Configuration

The Domain Suffix Search Order box at the bottom of the window is used to define the order in which domains are searched for host information. Normally it is blank. The function of this subwindow is similar to the domain and search commands in a UNIX /etc/resolv.conf file. If nothing is entered in the subwindow, the domain name from the Domain box is used as the default search domain and the parents of that domain are also searched. If domains are specified in the subwindow, those domains, and only those domains, are searched. The effect of the Domain Suffix Search Order subwindow on a DNS query is explained in the sidebar DNS Domain Search Order.
When the configuration is the way you want it, click OK. Provide the system with the necessary Windows 95 and adapter vendor diskettes when prompted. Then reboot the system, and the TCP/IP network is installed.
This concludes the discussion of installing TCP/IP on a Windows 95 system that is connected to a LAN. If you do not run TCP/IP over a modem, you do not need PPP or SLIP and you can skip ahead to the Windows 95 Network Applications section of this chapter.

Back to: Networking Personal Computers with TCP/IP