Networking 2 XP Pro machines

[Pheasant Plucker®]

Can some kind soul please provide a link for a simple "How To" on networking
2 XP Pro computers together please?

I have looked at Practically Networked and see articles on networking Wi-Fi
& ICS but see no basic guide for XP Pro machines using a switch.

 

[Malke]

Can some kind soul please provide a link for a simple "How To" on
networking 2 XP Pro computers together please?

I have looked at Practically Networked and see articles on networking
Wi-Fi & ICS but see no basic guide for XP Pro machines using a switch.

If you want to share an Internet connection, you really want a router
and not a switch. If there is no Internet connection and you just want
a lan, the switch will do.

So, whether you have a switch or a router, you will read the
switch/router's manual to understand it's configuration. Then you will
plug it in and run ethernet cat5e cable from each computer's Network
Interface Card (NIC) to a port on the switch/router. You will want each
computer to be in the same Workgroup and on the same subnet. Share out
appropriate resources. Here are other links to help you with
networking:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/
http://www.wown.info/

If you want more help from this newsgroup, please post back to this
thread with more information about what you are trying to accomplish
and the equipment you have.

Malke

 

[Pheasant Plucker®]

Thanks for the reply Malke,

It's quite simple really.

The only reason I want to use an (unmanaged) switch is I have one kicking
around and it gives the option to plug in other items such as another
computer, print server etc. at a later date.

I could just as easily use a crossover cable...I don't want to use a router
as the original machine only has a modem for a dialup account (no DSL
access:-(

All I want to do is add a second computer to an existing one in a small
office, install a laser printer on one and an inkjet on the other and share
them for both machines, allow file access and lastly allow the second
machine internet access.

I have done all this before with full-blown client/server setups but nothing
as simple(!) as setting up a peer-to-peer network using XP on both
machines...a complete guide to setting up XP as a peer-to-peer network would
be ideal.

Thanks & regards,
-=pp=-

 

[Peter Hutchison]

Can some kind soul please provide a link for a simple "How To" on networking
2 XP Pro computers together please?

I have looked at Practically Networked and see articles on networking Wi-Fi
& ICS but see no basic guide for XP Pro machines using a switch.

If you mean a ethernet switch then all you need to do is plug one
Etherent cable into each PC and plug the other ends into the
switch.(Do not use the port marked Link).

e.g.

PC1-------- ------------PC2
| |
---------
| SW |
----------

Then you can configure Workgroup and TCPIP settings on each of the
computers using static IP addresses.

e.g.
PC 1 = IP address = 10.0.0.1
Netmask = 255.255.255.0
PC 2 = IP address = 10.0.0.2
Netmask = 255.255.255.0

Peter Hutchison

 

[Malke]

Thanks for the reply Malke,

It's quite simple really.

The only reason I want to use an (unmanaged) switch is I have one
kicking around and it gives the option to plug in other items such as
another computer, print server etc. at a later date.

I could just as easily use a crossover cable...I don't want to use a
router as the original machine only has a modem for a dialup account
(no DSL access:-(

All I want to do is add a second computer to an existing one in a
small office, install a laser printer on one and an inkjet on the
other and share them for both machines, allow file access and lastly
allow the second machine internet access.

I have done all this before with full-blown client/server setups but
nothing as simple(!) as setting up a peer-to-peer network using XP on
both machines...a complete guide to setting up XP as a peer-to-peer
network would be ideal.

Here's the problem I see with this (and I could be wrong, of course).
Forgetting about the need for dialup modem Internet access for an
instant, normally all you would do is plug both computers into the
switch, assigning internal static IP's to each. You would need to
assign static IP's because one of the functions of a router is to
assign those local IP's. So, you assign 192.168.1.10 to Computer 1 and
192.168.1.11 to Computer 2 (depends on what the switch settings are, of
course). You set up sharing, share out your resources, and fine.

But what about your dialup Internet connection on Computer 1? Normally,
in a lan using a router, you've set the boxen to automatically get an
IP. The router is the Internet Gateway, getting the public IP on one
side and passing out the private IP's to all lan computers on the
other. Getting an IP address automatically is also the usual setting
for a single computer connecting to the Internet, because in most cases
you are getting your dynamic IP address from your ISP. Even if you've
got a static IP address from the ISP, it's going to be a public one and
not usable on a lan.

Now, maybe you can set your dialup connection separately to
automatically get an IP address from your ISP and still leave the lan
with assigned IP's. I've never tried this and don't have any dialup
here so I can't test this for you. You can try it yourself, of course.

I think I gave you the networking links before, but in case I didn't
here are some good ones:

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

Malke

 

[CZ]

Now, maybe you can set your dialup connection separately to
automatically get an IP address from your ISP and still leave the lan
with assigned IP's. I've never tried this and don't have any dialup
here so I can't test this for you.

Malke:

That works. Each adapter has its own IP address.
During the dialup connection setup between the client and the server, the
IPCP protocol is used to pass IP settings to the client.

 

[Malke]

automatically get an IP address from your ISP and still leave the lan
with assigned IP's. I've never tried this and don't have any dialup
here so I can't test this for you.

Malke:

That works. Each adapter has its own IP address.
During the dialup connection setup between the client and the server,
the IPCP protocol is used to pass IP settings to the client.

Thanks, CZ. I wasn't sure and since none of my boxen have modems I
couldn't check. I appreciate the information.

Cheers,

Malke