Set up your own TCP/IP network!

Basic information for setting up a TCP/IP network with Microsoft Windows, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT. I believe most of the information to be cross-platform but some will be applicable to MS OS's only.

!!! This whole section is so ancient it's practically funny. Until I redo it I'll leave it here as there is some interesting information. !!!

Many of us use our computers for multiple tasks, we rarely use a general purpose PC to do only one thing. In fact, even most of the custom DAW systems I build are used for much more than just Audio/Video editing. Whether it's audio files, Word documents, a printer, or a large hard drive, there are times when it's desirable to share a resource or resources in order to:

Of course these same reasons apply to business users as well as home users and for some small businesses this information will be a good reference to get you started on the right foot so a network professional can assist in creating a network architecture that really works for you.

Why TCP/IP?

With TCP/IP being the protocol of the Internet the likelihood that it is already installed on your system is extremely great - as you are, after all, reading this page. It's true that it is not quite as mindlessly simple to set up as NetBEUI, but your system setup itself will be simpler and have less overhead with just one protocol installed. When you are ready to put your net on the Net there will be little additional work to do.

TCP/IP has been Microsoft's default protocol since the introduction of Windows NT 4.0, released in the summer of '96. It has and will continue to get the most development effort to improve performance, reliability, cross-platform compatibility, etc.

Recommended network components

The network is a combination of hardware and software. Let's look at what is needed.

Hardware

Software

Putting it all together