Auto TCP/IP setting in a workgroup

[John Smile]

Hi All,

I have a small workgroup with 4 computers.
The TCP/IP setting of each computers :
- Obtan IP address automatically = Yes
- Obtain DNS server address automatically = Yes
- The advanced setting = default
So far so good.

My question :
Will the above setting work well in a workgroup with
a large number of computer (For example 255 computers
or more). And how does the Windows manage the addresses ?

I do not have the experience in building a workgroup
with more than 4 computers yet. So I need your help
and advice.

Thanks in advance
John Smile

 

[Jetro]

DHCP will work well, but a workgroup itself won't.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Hi All,

I have a small workgroup with 4 computers.
The TCP/IP setting of each computers :
- Obtan IP address automatically = Yes
- Obtain DNS server address automatically = Yes
- The advanced setting = default
So far so good.

My question :
Will the above setting work well in a workgroup with
a large number of computer (For example 255 computers
or more). And how does the Windows manage the addresses ?

I do not have the experience in building a workgroup
with more than 4 computers yet. So I need your help
and advice.

Thanks in advance
John Smile

If the network has a DHCP server, it would have to be able to assign
255 or more IP addresses. That isn't possible with the usual
255.255.255.0 subnet mask, which allows a maximum of 253 computers.

If there's no DHCP server, the computers would automatically assign
themselves compatible IP addresses in the 169.254.x.x IP range (subnet
mask 255.255.0.0), which allows a maximum of 65,534 computers.

However, I doubt that a workgroup of 255 or more computers would be
useable. Network browsing would be probably be extremely slow and
unreliable. A network of that size really should be configured as a
domain, not a workgroup, with one or more computers running a server
operating system.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

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