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After the NICs have been installed, the cabling is in place, and everything’s plugged in, you’re ready to flip that big Frankenstein-style leaf switch and start networking and that’s done from within Windows XP. In this section, I discuss what every home “network administrator” should know.

Ah, sweet DHCP

You know, very few acronyms in the computer world make me genuinely smile every time that I see them. There’s TWAIN (technology without an interesting name), of course, and BBS (Bulletin Board System). But in networking, folks hold a fond spot in their hearts for DHCP, which stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. What’s so uplifting about a networking standard? It’s the Dynamic part. You see, DHCP was developed to automatically assign Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to the computers on your network. A computer’s IP address is that address that I mention at the beginning of the article: It’s a unique number that identifies that particular PC on the network. In days of yore, whoever set up a network had to keep track of which IP addresses were assigned to which computers. If a number was assigned twice, all hell broke loose (at least on those two machines). A device with DHCP such as an Internet sharing device or a PC that’s acting as an Internet connection server automatically assigns a number whenever needed. If you’re already using an Internet sharing device (such as a cable modem or digital subscriber line [DSL] Internet router that has DHCP built in) or a switch with DHCP built in and a connection port for your modem, you need to follow the steps provided in that device’s manual. That’s because you don’t need a PC to act as the DHCP host for your network. I cover Internet connection sharing in, Article 19. Setting up the host To set up a network under Windows XP by using DHCP and a shared Internet connection where your dial-up modem or DSL/cable modem connects directly to the PC you need to run the Network Setup Wizard on that PC. (That lucky computer becomes your Internet host, providing the DHCP functionality for your network.) If your host PC is currently using a NIC to connect to a DSL or cable modem (as most do) and the hub won’t accept a direct connection to your modem, you need a second NIC installed in that computer so that you can connect it to the hub! (Take a break and read the section titled, “Using a Standard Hub with a Cable or DSL Modem,” toward the end of this article before you proceed any farther. Things get explained there.) Ready to go? Follow these steps:

1. Choose Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> Network Setup Wizard, which displays the wizard welcome screen.

2. Take a moment to connect to the Internet (if you’re not using a broadband always-on connection), and then click Next to continue. The wizard displays a checklist screen to make sure that all hardware has been installed, connected, and turned on. (“Now, Rochester, have you installed the network hardware like I asked?”)

3. Click Next to get with the program.

4. In this case, you should select the This Computer Connects Directly to the Internet radio button, and then click Next to continue.

5. The wizard prompts you to select the network adapter that’s supporting your Internet connection (or, if you’re using a dialup modem, the modem itself) Note that if your PC has FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports, these are also listed because you can set up a FireWire network with the right hardware and cabling.

6. Type a description and name for the host PC.

7. Name your network (or, in Microsoft-speak, your workgroup), and then click Next to continue. I recommend that you enter something unique. Jot down this name because it will be important later on. Let’s do this! The wizard displays a screen with your settings so that you can verify the proceedings.

8. Click Next and sit back while Windows XP works its magic.

9. As a final step, the wizard offers you the chance to create a network setup disk (suitable for client PCs that aren’t running Windows XP). • If you choose to create the disk, you need a single, blank floppy disk handy. Select Create a Network Setup Disk. • Otherwise, just select the Just Finish the Wizard option, and then click Next to continue.

10. Click Finish to exit the wizard. Setting up the clients After the host has been configured, it’s ready to accept connections from the other computers on your network. However, you also have to configure each of those PCs as network clients. Yep, that’s where the buzzphrase client/server comes from. The good news is that you’ll be using your friend the Network Setup Wizard again, and the process is pretty similar. Again, make sure that the host computer is connected to the Internet, and then follow these steps on each PC running Windows XP that needs to join the network crowd:

1. Choose Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> Network Setup Wizard to start the wizard, and then click Next to continue. If the client PC is running an older version of Windows, you can load the Network Setup Disk that you created on the host PC at the end of the previous procedure. Open Windows Explorer, navigate to the floppy disk, double-click NETSETUP.EXE to start things going, and then follow the on-screen instructions. You’re graced with the same doggone Before You Continue screen, warning you of dire consequences if you haven’t connected everything, turned everything on, and connected to the Internet via the host PC.

2. Because you’ve already done all that, smile smugly, and then click Next.

3. Select the network adapter that’s going to connect this client PC to your network, and then click Next to continue. Because most client PCs have only one Ethernet adapter, this should be a cinch, and the wizard should already have the correct choice selected.

4. Time to choose a network description and name for this client PC, like you did for the host. When you’re done, click Next to continue.

5. Here’s where you need to enter the workgroup name that you chose for the host PC (see Step 7 in the previous section). Make sure that it’s spelled exactly the same, and then click Next to continue. The wizard again displays the settings verification screen.

6. Click Next to make Windows XP configure your client machine.

7. Select the Just Finish the Wizard option, and then click Next to continue.

8. Click Finish to exit the wizard and have Windows XP reboot your client PC. When it completes the boot process, the added client PC should be a member of your network family.

Browsing the neighborhood

After you set up your network, you can easily see which other PCs are available. Windows XP power users call this activity browsing your network, where you saunter around, admiring what’s connected. Choose Start -> My Network Places, and then click View Workgroup Computers to display each of the PCs in your networked surroundings. Whoops! I can hear all sorts of irate Windows XP faithful growling in irritation. “What’s that in your My Network Places window? Is that a . . . (gasp) Macintosh that I see there?” That’s right. As long as other computers conform to standard Ethernet protocols and they’ve been recognized by the host PC (or DHCP device), they’ll show up as well. (This includes PCs running Linux, Macs running Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X, and Unix machines.) “Wait! Where’s Boopsie?” Well, if the client PC that you named Boopsie has been turned on after you opened the My Network Places window, it won’t show up. To see it, choose View -> Refresh, which will rescan the network and update the window’s contents. (And whatever moved you to name a PC Boopsie, anyway?) To display which folders and devices are available on each computer, simply double-click the computer icon to open it up. Note that you might be greeted by a login dialog box; I get this because I’ve set up my iMac as a secure system, and I have to supply my username and password to my Mac OS X account. (If you set up your clients with the procedure above, you shouldn’t require a login to access their stuff . . . unless, of course, that computer’s user has specifically configured Windows XP to require a login.) Windows XP automatically adds shared folders and printers and displays them in the My Network Places window. However, you can also manually add a new location to your My Network Places window. Display the taskbar (if necessary) and click Add a Network Place to run the Network Place Wizard, which will guide you through the steps. Or you can simply create a shortcut by dragging a network folder or URL address to the My Network Places window.

Sharing folders and documents

“So what precisely controls what I can and can’t see when browsing the network?” Now you’ve entered The Sharing Zone, where time and space have no meaning. What does matter are the shared files and folders that you’ve set up on each computer in your network. Sharing something across the network allows other computers to see it when browsing. (Note that network sharing is very different from sharing a local file among users of the same PC.) By default, Windows XP takes the safe and conservative approach: Nothing is shared across a network until specifically set. (To be honest, I like it that way instead of defaulting to a completely open machine.) However, you can share a folder and all its contents by following these steps:

1. Double-click My Computer (the icon on your desktop) to open the Explorer window; then navigate to the folder’s location.

2. Right-click the folder and choose Sharing and Security from the shortcut menu that appears to display the settings

3. Select the Share This Folder on the Network check box. Windows XP provides a default share name based on the folder name, but you can type a new name if you like (less than 24 characters, please). I usually add the PC’s network name so that I know which Really Important Cool Stuff folder I’m actually looking at. The share name must be 12 characters or less for PCs running Windows 98/ME/NT that need to access the folder. Also, periods and exclamation points are allowed in the share name.

4. Decide whether you want anyone on the network to be able to edit, delete, or rename the files in this folder. If so, select the Allow Network Users to Change My Files check box to enable it. If this check box remains disabled, others can open any documents or files in this folder, but they can’t make changes. (To do that, they must copy the file to their own computer and edit their local copy.)

5. Click OK to close the dialog box. You’ll note that the icon for a shared folder is different from a standard folder. Windows tacks on an open hand, so it’s easy to tell which folders on your system are shared. You can also share a drive in the same fashion, but Windows XP cautions against it and so do I. It’s much better to assign just one shared folder on your drive. When you share a folder, you place everything in that folder on the network. Therefore, if there’s even one item (either a document or a subfolder) that you don’t want to distribute with others inside a folder, do not share that folder! After a folder is share enabled, its contents can be opened, moved, or copied either from Windows Explorer or from the File Open/Save/Browse dialog boxes that are common throughout Windows XP and your applications. (This assumes that the client user has the proper access level, as you can discover in the previous procedure.) That’s the neat thing: Everything works normally across the network by using the same functionality.

Printing across the Network

Although sharing an Internet connection is one of the prime advantages of using a network these days, one other resource has been shared across networks now for decades: the network printer. (Read all about Internet connection sharing in, Article 19.) And any printer connected to any PC on your network can be used by any other PC, which is a real boon when your office has only one large-format inkjet and only one color laser printer. You can follow one of four avenues for network printing:

-  Hook up the printer to a PC so that it acts as a printer server. As long as the printer only receives moderate use and it’s in an open area, this option can work. (If the PC is in a private office, don’t even think about it. You’ll drive the occupant smackers.)

-  Set up a separate PC as a simple print server. This is the traditional solution for high-traffic printers that need a central location. The client PC is basically just a doorman, existing only to queue print jobs for the connected printer. Expensive, but efficient.

-  Buy a network printer box. These standalone devices are essentially Ethernet cards with a slightly more intelligent brain, and they provide the same functionality as a print server.

-  Buy a printer with onboard Ethernet network support. Sure, they’re more expensive, but a network-ready printer is the most elegant solution of all. If you choose one of the latter two either a network printer box or a network-ready printer you’ll have to follow the manufacturer’s specific instructions to set things up. However, if you decide to use a client PC to provide printing services, you can follow these steps to set things up in Windows XP:

1. Set up the printer normally under Windows XP and make sure that it’s working properly.

2. Choose Start -> Printers and Faxes to display the Printers and Faxes window.

3. Right-click the printer that you want to share and choose Sharing from the shortcut menu that appears to display the Properties dialog box with the Sharing tab active.

4. Select the Share This Printer radio button. Windows XP creates a default share name for the printer, but it might not be descriptive enough (especially in a larger building with many identical printers). Feel free to edit it.

5. Windows XP offers a feature called shared printer drivers, in which you can install the drivers for other PCs on the network that might be using different versions of Windows besides Windows XP. a. If you want to make printer drivers available for these folks (which, believe me, will make things easier for both you and them), click the Additional Drivers button, which displays the dialog box b. Select the check boxes next to the other operating systems that might access this printer and click OK. You’ll need the manufacturer’s driver CD-ROM when prompted by Windows XP. Or, if you’re really hot stuff, you can download the latest drivers to your hard drive, expand (or unzip them), and browse to that location instead. By the way, don’t select the IA64/Windows XP check box unless someone on your network is running a computer that uses Intel’s 64-bit chip. This environment is not required for regular PCs running standard Windows XP. That’s taken care of by the Intel/Windows 2000 or XP check box, which is selected by default.

6. Click OK to close the dialog box. The icon for a shared printer (like a shared folder) is different; look for the open palm icon. (A reminder to cross it with additional funds, perhaps?) Now any computer on the network can connect to the shared printer, but of course, it has to be added to each client first. You can do this by running the Add a Printer Wizard (which appears in the task pane on PCs running Windows XP when you open the Printers and Faxes window). When prompted, make sure that you choose to install a network printer, and then use the Browse function to allow Windows XP to locate the printer on the network for you.