Why set up a local area network?

When you have several computers, it can be convenient to connect them to each other to create a local area network (LAN). Setting up such a network costs very little, contrary to what people may think. Here are a few advantages you could enjoy by setting up a local area network:

File transfers; Sharing of resources (internet connection sharing, printer sharing, shared disks, etc.); Mobility (in the case of a wireless network); Discussion (mainly when the computers are remote); Network games.

The two types of local area networks

There are two main types of local network architecture:

Wired networks, based on the Ethernet technology, which represent almost all local area networks. Given that Ethernet networks generally use RJ45 cables, people often talk of RJ45 networks; Wireless networks, which generally use the WiFi technology.

Necessary hardware
To create an RJ45 local area network in Windows, you will need:

Several computers running Windows (computers running two different versions of Windows can be part of the same network); Ethernet cards on a PCI or ISA port (with an RJ45 plug) or built into the motherboard. When applicable, make sure the diodes on the back of the network card light up when the computer is on and that a cable is plugged in! There are also network adapters for USB ports, particularly in the case of wireless network adapters; RJ45 cables in the case of wired networks; A hub, a device you can connect the RJ45 cables from the network's various computers to, which are fairly inexpensive (expect to pay around 50), or a switch, or, as an alternative option, a crossover cable if you want to connect just two computers.

Network architecture

To create an RJ45 local area network, it is recommended that you adopt a so-called "star" structure, where the computers are each connected to the hub via an RJ45 cable. A hub is a device that transfers data from one computer to another. The choice of hub will be made in function of the number of connected computers in order to have enough plugs (called "ports") on the hub. In the event of a large network or a network with substantial bandwidth requirements, a switch will favourably replace the hub, as it makes it possible to distribute packets only to the computers concerned, whereas a hub systematically sends packets to all connected computers. The structure of such a network looks like this:

If you want to connect two computers only, it is possible to avoid using a hub, by directly connecting the two computers with a crossover RJ45 cable.

Architectures to avoid
The following network structures will not work, even if they appear to be correct at first, unless the computers have several network interfaces (several cards) and the cables used between two computers are crossover cables: Incorrect RJ45 network

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to set up a network to enable data exchanges between computers, resource sharing and network games. Is it therefore necessary to install a network card in each computer that may be part of the local area network.

The goal of this tutorial is to show you how to install an NE2000 compatible Ethernet network card in Microsoft Windows systems.

Installing hardware
The first thing to do is to open your computer and insert the network card. The following article will tell you how to easily install a network card in the computer's casing:

Installing expansion boards

Installing drivers
Before installing drivers, you are strongly advised to visit the website of the network adapter's manufacturer, to retrieve the latest versions of the drivers, even if you have recently purchased your hardware. Major updates generally take place when hardware is put on the market. In addition, drivers in their packaging are sometimes several months old. When installing a network card or adapter, it is necessary to refer to the documentation provided, since the procedure may vary from one manufacturer to another. Some manufacturers ask, for example, that you not connect the peripheral device before you've installed the drivers. If you run into an installation problem, it is possible, and recommended, to perform a search on your favourite search engine with the brand and reference number of your hardware as keywords and one or more keywords such as "installation", "drivers" and "windows".

If the installation goes smoothly, in Windows XP, a prompt window should appear to ask you to continue with the installation and a warning message may appear stating the following:
The software you are installing for this hardware: ********************* has not passed Windows logo testing to verify its compatibility with Windows XP. (Tell me why this test is important.) Continuing your installation of this software may impair or destabilize the correct operation of your system, either immediately or in the future. Microsoft strongly recommends that you stop this installation now and contact the hardware vendor for software that has passed Windows logo testing.

Click Continue. A balloon should appear stating that new hardware has been installed and prompting you to execute the automatic configuration.

Installing protocols
Protocols are the software components that will enable computers to communicate with each other. The main protocols for a local area network are as follows:

TCP/IP: the protocol used on the Internet. You will need it if you decide to connect your local area network to the internet IPX-SPX: a simple protocol, sometimes used for certain video games. Client for Microsoft networks: Microsoft's proprietary protocol, enabling file sharing and printer sharing, among others.

By default, the operating system installs the common protocols, which will be sufficient for almost all users. Unless you have a specific need, you do not need to read the rest of this section. To install specific protocols, open the properties of the desired network connection and click Install, then choose protocol or services.

in Windows 2000/XP
To configure each computer, simply go to the control panel, then double-click "network connections" and right-click "local area connection", then choose properties! The local area connection window displays the various protocols installed. To be able to share your files, play network games or use your printers, the following protocols need to be installed:

Client for Microsoft networks File and printer sharing for Microsoft networks QoS packet scheduler Nwlink Netbios NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS-compatible transport protocol (for old games) TCP/IP internet protocol

If one of these protocols is missing, click "Install..." and add it. Each computer should then be assigned an address, called an IP address, to be able to communicate. To do so, select "TCP/IP Internet Protocol" and click "Properties". IP addresses may be automatically assigned or manually defined; the latter is preferable for a small local network. We will commonly give these addresses:
Computer n1 IP address: 192.168.0.1 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 Computer n2 IP address: 192.168.0.2 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 ... Computer nxxx IP address: 192.168.0.xxx Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

Once the IP address has been assigned, simply close the window by clicking OK (The DNS (name servers) will be left automatic) To have optimal functioning, it is useful to make sure the network's computers belong to the same workgroup. To do so, simply right-click "My computer" and select "properties". The "Computer name" tab shows the computer's name as well as the workgroup it belongs to. To modify the workgroup and assign the same one to all computers, simply click "Network ID"; The next step involves making sure the various computers are able to communicate with each other. Right-click the "My network places" icon on your desktop then click "explore" (note: there is a difference between explore and open!!!), click "entire network", then click the workgroup, which will let you see the computers and the folders and files they share.

in Windows 95/98/Me
Right-click the "network neighborhood" icon on your desktop and select properties, or if there is no network neighborhood icon on the desktop, go to the control panel and click "network".

The "Configuration" tab displays the various protocols and network cards installed. To be able to share files, play network games or share your printers, the following protocols must be installed:

Client for Microsoft networks The name of your network card File and printer sharing for Microsoft networks IPX/SPX protocol TCP/IP internet protocol

If one of these protocols is missing, simply click "Install..." and add the missing feature. You can configure each computer's IP address by selecting "TCP/IP Internet Protocol" and then clicking "Properties" to open the "TCP/IP properties" window. Each computer's IP address can be assigned manually or automatically. For a network made of a small number of machines, the manual method lets you control your network's addressing plan! The following IP addresses will commonly be given:
PC n1 IP address: 192.168.0.1 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 PC n2 IP address: 192.168.0.2 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

To have optimal functioning, it is useful to make sure the network's computers belong to the same workgroup. The "Identification" tab in your "network" window shows the computer's name as well as the workgroup it belongs to. To modify the workgroup and assign the same one to all computers, simply click "Network ID"; The next step involves making sure the computers are able to communicate with each other. Right-click the "network neighborhood" icon on your desktop then click "explore" (note: there is a difference between "explore" and "open"!!!), click "Network", then the workgroup you created and you will see the computers as well as all the folders and files they share.

Testing the IP configuration

Before doing anything else, you are advised to check the computer's IP configuration. Windows systems offer a command-line tool, called ipconfig, that lets you find out your computer's IP configuration. The output of this command gives the IP configuration for each interface; a computer with two network cards and one wireless adapter has 3 interfaces each with its own configuration. To view your computer's IP configuration, simply enter the following command (Start/run):

cmd /k ipconfig /all

The output of such a command looks like this:

Windows IP Configuration Host name . . . . . . . . . . : CCM Primary DNS suffix . . . . . . : Node type . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast IP routing enabled . . . . . . . . : No WINS proxy enabled . . . . . . . . : No Ethernet adapter wireless network connection: Connection-specific DNS suffix: Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3A Mini PCI Adapter Physical address . . . . . . . . .: 00-0C-F1-54-D5-2C DHCP enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No IP address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3 Subnet mask . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default gateway . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DNS servers . . . . . . . . . . : 193.19.219.210 193.19.219.211 Ethernet adapter local area connection: Media status . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Controller Physical address . . . . . . . . .: 0F-0F-1F-CB-99-87

The above report shows that the computer has two network interfaces, one of which is wireless. The name of the machine on the network is CCM. The Ethernet interface connected to the local area network (network card) is not active since the cable is disconnected, but the wireless adapter is configured. Machines on a same network must use a same address range (with different addresses) and a same subnet mask. In the case of a local network, connecting machines that do not have routable IP addresses, so-called private address ranges must be used. The default gateway refers to, when applicable, the IP address of the machine offering internet access. DNS servers. The DNS servers must correspond to the organization's DNS servers; most of the time these are the service provider's DNS servers.

Testing the connection

To test the proper functioning of a network, there is a highly practical utility provided as a standard feature with most operating systems; this is the ping utility. Ping lets you send a data packet to a network computer and lets you evaluate the response time. The ping command is explained in detail at the following address:

Network tools - Ping command

To test the network thoroughly, simply open a command-line window, then successively carry out the following steps:

ping the loopback address (127.0.0.1), representing your computer:

ping -t 127.0.0.1

ping the IP addresses of the network's computers, for example:

ping -t 192.168.0.3

ping the computer names, for example:

ping -t Mickey

ping the computer used as gateway on the local area network, that is, the computer sharing its internet connection. It usually has the address 192.168.0.1:
ping -t 192.168.0.1

ping the service provider's gateway. The address of the service provider's gateway can be retrieved using the ipconfig command on the computer being used as gateway on the local area network; ping the service provider's name servers . The address of the service provider's DNS servers can be retrieved using the ipconfig command on the computer being used as gateway on the local area network; ping a machine on the internet network, for example:
ping -t 193.19.219.210

ping a domain name, for example:

ping -t www.commentcamarche.net

If all this works, your network is ready to be used! If you have a local area network (two or more computers connected in a network) with one computer connected to the Internet (via a modem, using a cable, etc.), it may be useful to make the connection accessible to the other computers on the network by installing a software program that will serve as a proxy server, that is, that will give the network's computers access by proxy, by redirecting data packets. However, the more users there are, the lower the bandwidth for each of them will be, since the users will share the bandwidth with each other. For example, if 8 people are connected

to an ADSL connection at 512 Kb/s, only 64 kb/s will remain per person, or 6 or 7 kB/s per person. There are a variety of software programs that make it possible to carry out this function, yet Window 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and higher versions natively offer such a function. We will now assume that the connection is already configured on the PC equipped with Internet access. This computer (PC no.1) will play the role of server (proxy) whereas the other network computers will be clients (PC no. 2, 3 and 4, etc.). We will choose the address 192.168.0.1 for PC no. 1 that has the Internet connection (the others will respectively take the IP addresses 192.168.0.2, 192.168.0.3, 192.168.0.4, etc.).

Server in Windows XP/2000

To authorize Internet connection sharing on the host (the computer with an Internet connection), simply right-click "My network places" on the desktop, then choose Properties in the menu. Right-click your connection's icon, then choose Properties. Then click the Advanced tab and check the box Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection as well as the other two boxes. Then validate by clicking OK and close the Network connection window.

If this option is not available in the Advanced tab, you can use the network setup wizard at the bottom of the tab and specify that "This computer connects directly to the Internet. The other computers on my network connect to the Internet through this computer"!

Clients in Windows XP/2000

The next step is to configure client gateways. The gateway is the IP address of PC no. 1 that has the Internet connection, or 192.168.0.1 in our case. In the "Internet protocol properties (TCP/IP)" window, in the "General" tab, enter 192.168.0.1 as the gateway for each of the clients. Still in the "General" tab, click "Use the following DNS server address" and enter the following information:
Preferred DNS server: 192.168.0.1 Alternate DNS server: nothing

They correspond to the primary and secondary DNS (Domain Name Servers).

Server in Windows 98
To share a computer's connection in Windows 98, you first need to install the "Internet connection sharing" service. To do so, go to Start/Settings/Control panel/Add or Remove programs/Windows setup/Internet tools then select "Internet connection sharing". Confirm by clicking "ok", then indicate the Windows 98 CD-ROM directory when the system asks for it.

Clients in Windows 98
You need to configure the clients (the other network computers) so they know that the connection is being made through the PC1. In the "Gateway" tab of the "TCP/IP properties" window, enter 192.168.0.1 as new gateway and remember to click add. In the "DNS configuration" tab, click "Enable DNS" then enter the following information:
Host: Name-of-PC1 // for all PCs (except the PC1 itself) Domain:

In "DNS search order", enter "192.168.0.1" and click "add".