Maximum number of users on XP Home Network

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kevin
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K

Kevin

How many users (wired and wireless combined) can you have
on an XP Home Network? I have a wireless router that says
it can have up to 32 wireless connections and it has a 4
port wired switch, but can the Home Edition support all
this? I have a feeling the max # connected to the network
may be 4, but im not sure.
 
Hi Kevin,

The maximum # of connections for XP Home edition is 5. XP Professional is
10.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Nico Tomacelli
Microsoft Corp.
US - Windows Core:SOLID

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-----Original Message-----
How many users (wired and wireless combined) can you have
on an XP Home Network? I have a wireless router that says
it can have up to 32 wireless connections and it has a 4
port wired switch, but can the Home Edition support all
this? I have a feeling the max # connected to the network
may be 4, but im not sure.
.

Windows XP Home should not limit the amount of users
Click to expand...
connected to a network. It all comes down to how many
computers your computer can ping all at once and/or your
network switch/wireless switch.
 
"Kevin" said:
How many users (wired and wireless combined) can you have
on an XP Home Network? I have a wireless router that says
it can have up to 32 wireless connections and it has a 4
port wired switch, but can the Home Edition support all
this? I have a feeling the max # connected to the network
may be 4, but im not sure.
Click to expand...

There's a common misconception about a limit to the number of
computers on a Windows XP network. Apparently, Microsoft's
documentation isn't as clear as it should be. I've even seen a
computer manufacturer's web site pass along incorrect information in
this area.

There's no limit to the number of computers that can network with
Windows XP Home Edition and Professional.

There's a different limit that seems to cause this confusion. Home
Edition allows a maximum of 5 other computers to connect to its shared
resources simultaneously. Professional allows a maximum of 10 other
computers to connect to its shared resources simultaneously.
Computers that aren't actively connected to a computer's shared
resources don't count against the limit. When a computer disconnects
from a shared resource, it no longer counts against the limit. See
this site for more information:

Inbound Connections Limit in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314882
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
There's no limit of computers that can be networked? I really don't see how
that is possible. I would have to say it would depend on the router you
have. There are some routers that can only support up to 253 users. If 32
wireless connections can be made and 4 ports are present, I would have say
36 users total can be networked.

____________
Eric
 
"Eric Cross" said:
There's no limit of computers that can be networked? I really don't see how
that is possible. I would have to say it would depend on the router you
have. There are some routers that can only support up to 253 users. If 32
wireless connections can be made and 4 ports are present, I would have say
36 users total can be networked.
Click to expand...

Yes, some routers have limits, as you say, Eric, and networks using
those routers are limited by them. However, those limits aren't built
into Windows XP itself. A 1964 Volkswagen Bus might only be able to
go 45 MPH up a mountain road, but that doesn't mean that 45 MPH is the
maximum speed for every car going up that road. :-)

Also, a network using different (or no) routers could have far more
computers in a subnet. And a network can use NetBEUI or IPX/SPX
instead of TCP/IP, completely removing subnets from the equation.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
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