Windows xp network with 6 computers

Hi,
I currently have a windows network consisting of 4 machines with a mix of
windows xp home, xp pro and windows ME. A router handles DSL internet access
and assigns addresses via DHCP. I now need to add two more (for a total of
6) computers to the network but I know that windows xp home can connect to
only 5 computers and xp pro to 10. For the network to work, would I need to
upgrade all the non-xp-pro computers to xp pro? Or just one xp pro machine
on the network is enough? Since DHCP is handled by the router, is this
something that I should even worry about? Any help on this much appreciated.
Roger

These quota's only matter if you are sharing files
amongst all the machines.
It doesn't apply to the internet access through your
router.
-----Original Message-----
Hi,
I currently have a windows network consisting of 4
machines with a mix of
windows xp home, xp pro and windows ME. A router handles
DSL internet access
and assigns addresses via DHCP. I now need to add two
more (for a total of
6) computers to the network but I know that windows xp
home can connect to
only 5 computers and xp pro to 10. For the network to
work, would I need to
upgrade all the non-xp-pro computers to xp pro? Or just
one xp pro machine
on the network is enough? Since DHCP is handled by the
router, is this
something that I should even worry about? Any help on
this much appreciated.
Roger


.

In article , "Roger"
wrote:
Hi,
I currently have a windows network consisting of 4 machines with a mix of
windows xp home, xp pro and windows ME. A router handles DSL internet
access
and assigns addresses via DHCP. I now need to add two more (for a total of
6) computers to the network but I know that windows xp home can connect to
only 5 computers and xp pro to 10. For the network to work, would I need
to
upgrade all the non-xp-pro computers to xp pro? Or just one xp pro machine
on the network is enough? Since DHCP is handled by the router, is this
something that I should even worry about? Any help on this much
appreciated.
Roger

There's a lot of misinformation on the Internet about the limits that
apply to Windows XP networking. I've even seen such misinformation on
the web site of a prominent computer maker. I'll try to give just the
facts:

1. There's no limit to the number of computers that can be on a
network with a Windows XP computer.

2. A Windows XP computer can connect to any number of other computers
on a network simultaneously, without limit.

3. There's no limit to the number of computers that can share an
Internet connection with XP.

4. A Windows XP Home Edition computer allows a maximum of 5 other
computers to connect to its shared resources (disks, folders,
printers) simultaneously.

5. A Windows XP Professional computer allows a maximum of 10 other
computers to connect to its shared resources (disks, folders,
printers) simultaneously.

Computers that aren't actively connected to a computer's shared
resources don't count against the limit. When a computer disconnects
from a shared resource, it no longer counts against the limit. This
site has more information:

Inbound Connections Limit in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;314882

So, you don't need to upgrade any non-XP computers, and you don't need
to worry about the router.

OK, thanks for making it so clear. So the limit only applies to incoming
simultaneous connections. Looks like one XP pro machine on the network will
be enough if I make it the server. Thanks again.
Roger

You're welcome, Roger.

I just checked, and the Gateway web site STILL has misinformation
about Windows XP networking, more than 3 years after the product was
released:

http://products.gateway.com/products...e6300sb&seg=sb

Under "Operating System", it says "Windows® XP Home Edition is a
consumer operating system and does not support peer-to-peer networking
of more than five computers". Unbelievable! I've reported the error
to Gateway.
--
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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