In article , "Fred Marshall"
wrote:
I'm continually working on mixed Windows networks.
In all this time I've not found good descriptions of how all the pieces fit
together, work together.
Hi, Fred. I know what you mean: there's a lot of networking
information available, but much of it is fragmented, and much of it is
just plain wrong. I've seen more misinformation about networking than
about any other area of Windows -- so much that I've written a web
page about it:
Windows Networking Myths
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/myths.htm
For example:
What happens if TCP/IP, NetBEUI and IPX are all installed on all computers?
Are there protocol priorities for doing one task or another? etc. Some say
to use all 3, others insist that TCP/IP is enough and others insist there is
a proper mix for security purposes.
All three protocols support file sharing. Some networked games
require TCP/IP or IPX. Only TCP/IP supports Internet access. Nothing
in Windows networking has ever required NetBEUI.
NetBEUI was the default protocol in Windows 95, but TCP/IP has been
the default protocol since Windows 98. Even in Windows 95, you can
un-install NetBEUI and use a different protocol. Microsoft wouldn't
have dropped support for NetBEUI in Windows XP if anything required
it.
It's possible, but rarely useful, to use TCP/IP for Internet and one
of the others for file sharing.
Using more than one protocol for file sharing can cause browsing
problems and make the network unreliable, especially when XP is
involved. Unless there's a specific need for them, remove NetBEUI and
IPX from all computers and use only TCP/IP. If the network needs more
than one protocol (e.g. TCP/IP for Internet access and IPX/SPX for
networked games), choose one protocol for file sharing and un-bind
sharing from the other(s). I've written a web page with details:
Windows XP Network Protocols
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/..._protocols.htm
I've seen networking web sites and even NIC installation instructions
from network equipment manufacturers say to use all three, but my
experience shows it to be a bad idea. I've never seen multiple
protocols for file sharing recommended in any document from Microsoft.
Why does installing NetBEUI on one 98SE computer cause XP computers that
don't have NetBEUI to disappear from view - even though they could see each
other before installing NetBEUI on the 98SE or ME machine?
Using more than one protocol, even on a single computer, can cause
browsing problems and make the network unreliable, especially when XP
is involved. It causes redundant network broadcasts and disrupts the
browse list that the network's master browser maintains.
How do Microsoft Family Logon and Client for Microsoft Networks differ? (I
have seen both of them separately recommended to be used in order for a
network to be reliable).
Microsoft Family Logon has nothing to do with file sharing and is
never necessary. Installing it does two things:
1. Enables Win 9x computers to save DUN passwords if Client for
Microsoft Networks isn't installed.
2. If you set the primary network logon to Microsoft Family Logon, it
presents a menu of known user names at startup time and asks you to
select one.
You must install Client for Microsoft Networks to allow a computer to
see other computers on the network. However, it doesn't have to be
the primary network logon -- Windows Logon, Client for Microsoft
Networks, Microsoft Family Logon are all OK as the primary network
logon.
What can be done to force or improve the time it takes to display the actual
Workgroup computers after a change has been made?
Because of the way that Microsoft implemented network browsing, it
often takes up to 15 minutes for a computer to appear on the network
after it starts up. I don't know of any way to speed that up. To
access a computer directly, before it appears in Network Neighborhood
or My Network Places, type its name in the Start | Run box in this
format:
\\computer
Oh, I've found pieces on the web. But, how about good books on Windows
networking? I didn't see anything on amazon.com that sounded like what I'm
looking for. Either the books were high-level networking books that don't
talk about these Windows specifics and interactions (I already have books
like that) or, they were about a single Windows OS and were too low-level to
get into this kind of detail (and I already have books like that also).
I'm sorry, but I don't know of any good books.
Thanks,
Fred
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)
Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
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