How do I set up a home network???

[Paxton Krichmar]

I have the following:
2 computer running win xp pro
1 cable modem
1 linksys wireless router

currently i have 1 computer hard wired to the router and 1 computer with a
wireless network card.

i would like to be able to see the files of each computer as well as share
printers.

is this a difficult task?

also, does anyone know how i can utilize xp pro by being able to log onto my
home xp pro computer from a computer that isn't on the same network -
meaning from work i would like to log onto my home computer. my office
computer is running xp home if that makes a difference.

thanks in advance.

 

[Fred Marshall]

It's pretty easy if you know what settings to make:

I will assume the router internal LAN address is 192.168.1.1. (It could be
something else like 192.168.0.1 or 10.0.0.1 so the following numbers would
change accordingly if that's the case).

Assign fixed IP addresses to computers on the LAN:
192.168.1.2, .3, .4 ......
Subnet mask 255.255.255.0
Set the router DHCP to start at:
192.168.1.100 and maybe assign only one or a few IP addresses.

With this arrangement, computers set to obtain an IP address automatically
will get addresses 192.168.1.100, .101, .102 ... etc.
In the mean time, computers with fixed addresses can have:
192.168.1.2, .3, .4 .... .49, .50, .... .99

Both fixed and automatic IP addresses can live peacefully in the same LAN
this way. So how you do it is a matter of choice.

In general one might reserve DHCP / automatic addressing for large networks
where managing fixed (or static) addresses would be a pain. The other
reasons for using DHCP might be:
- you want to be able to plug in a "foreign" laptop and just have it work
without messing with network settings.
- you have users who are unfamiliar with making the network settings and
want to simplify things.

Otherwise, using static IP addresses on a small network removes a degree of
uncertainty when you're doing setup and troubleshooting, etc. No need to
ask if DHCP is working. No need to puzzle over why suddenly machines are
getting Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) addresses (that start with
169.xxx.....) and don't see the network......

Now, in a simple peer-to-peer network *without* a router you could use
APIPA - but that's not your situation

Set the Gateway to the router's internal address (e.g. 192.168.1.1)
I like to set the DNS server addresses to be my ISP's DNS server addresses.
If you're using DHCP on the router and getting addresses automatically on
the computers then this should be unnecessary.

Fred

 

[Richard G. Harper]

As for the basic network configuration, see:

http://www.wown.com/
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/

Both sites have how-to guides.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
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