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Next, you need to specify a number of settings to properly configure TCP/IP, beginning with the IP address. To do so, select the TCP/IP protocol from the Configuration property page, then choose Properties to open the TCP/IP property sheet. The following sections explain how to set the values on the property pages for the TCP/IP protocol.
Tip
You can configure and use multiple sets of TCP/IP settings. You can use one configuration for your LAN TCP/IP connection, for example, and specify different settings for each dial-up connection you use.
Configuring IP Addressing
When Windows 98 first displays the property sheet for the TCP/IP protocol, the IP Address page appears. If you use a static IP address for your workstation, choose the Specify an IP address option button, then enter the IP address and subnet mask for your workstation in the IP address and Subnet mask fields. If you want to rely on a DHCP server or PPP server to assign an IP address automatically for your workstation, choose the Obtain an IP address automatically option button. You do not have to specify the IP address of the DHCP server.
If you specify an explicit IP address, take the time to verify that you have entered the correct address and subnet mask before you continue to the other configuration steps.
Configuring a Gateway
If your subnet is connected to other subnets, to other networks, or to the Internet, you must specify at least one default gateway. To do so, choose the Gateway tab to open the Gateway property page.
Tip
Your network's router typically is the default gateway.
If your network is connected to multiple gateways, you can specify as many gateways as necessary to allow for fault tolerance if one gateway becomes unavailable. To add a gateway, enter its IP address in the New gateway field, then choose Add. Windows 98 adds the gateway's IP address to the Installed gateways list. If you add multiple gateways to the list, the IP address at the top of the list serves as the default gateway. Other gateways in the list are used only if the default gateway is inaccessible. Unfortunately, you can't simply drag the IP addresses in the Installed gateways list to prioritize them. Instead, the gateway addresses are placed in the list in the order in which you add them. To prioritize a set of gateways, write down the gateway addresses, remove the addresses, and add them back in using your preferred order of priority, adding the default gateway first.
Using DNS
If your workstation requires Domain Name System (DNS) services, click on the DNS Configuration tab to open the DNS Configuration property page. To enable DNS, choose the Enable DNS option button.
Tip
If your computer needs to use Lmhosts to resolve network names, you must enable DNS.
Specifying Host and Domain Names
After you enable DNS, you need to specify some additional items of information. First, you need to specify the host name for your computer in the Host text box. By default, the host name is your computer's name as specified in the Identification property page of the Network property sheet. You can use any host name, however; you might use your name as the host name, for example. You can use any combination of letters and numbers — a dash, or a period, but not a space or underscore character — in the host name. Next, specify the domain name for your network in the Domain text box. TCP/IP combines the host name you specify with the domain name you specify to derive a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) for your computer. If your host name is JimB and your domain name is newriders.mcp.com, the FQDN for your computer is JimB.newriders.mcp.com.
Note
Some TCP/IP utilities use your host name, domain name, and FQDN to authenticate your computer name. Note that a computer's FQDN is not the same as a user's email address. Although the FQDN might be JimB.newriders.mcp.com, the email address might be jboyce@newriders.mcp.com. Also, a DNS domain name and a Windows NT or LAN Manager domain name are in no way related.
Specifying DNS Server IP Addresses
If you do not use DHCP to define IP addresses, you must provide the IP addresses of the DNS servers you use. If you do use DHCP, the DHCP server can automatically provide the IP addresses of the DNS servers.
You can specify up to three DNS server addresses in the DNS Server Search Order group of controls. First, determine the IP address of the DNS server you want to use by default. Then, enter the server's IP address in the IP address text box and choose Add. Enter a second IP address if you want, then choose Add. Enter a third IP address in the same manner if you have a third DNS server.
Note
The DNS server IP addresses are placed in the list in the order in which you add them. Therefore, you should enter the DNS server with the highest priority first, followed by any other servers in descending order of priority. To change priority of DNS servers in the list, you must remove and re-add the IP addresses. Windows 98 uses the secondary and tertiary DNS servers only if the primary DNS server does not respond. If the primary DNS server responds that the requested name is not recognized, Windows 98 does not query the secondary or tertiary DNS servers. If you know the name is correct, you can use the Hosts file to enable proper resolution of the name.
Adding Domain Suffix Entries
Normally, DNS appends the domain name specified in the Domain text box to your host name to resolve the FQDN of your computer. You can specify up to five additional domain suffixes that DNS can use if it can't resolve the FQDN using the default domain name. A DNS server attempts to resolve the FQDN using these additional suffixes in alphabetical order (which is how they appear in the list after you add them).
To add additional domain suffixes, enter a domain name in the Domain Suffix Search Order text box, then choose Add. Repeat the process to add up to five domain names.
Using WINS
If your network includes one or more Windows NT servers configured as WINS servers, or access to WINS servers, you can configure your Windows 98 TCP/IP stack to use WINS to resolve names. WINS offers numerous advantages over DNS, particularly in conjunction with DHCP. To configure WINS, click on the WINS Configuration tab to display the WINS Configuration property page.
To enable WINS for your computer, choose the Enable WINS Resolution option button. You can specify a primary and a secondary WINS server by entering their IP addresses in the fields provided for that purpose on the property page. If your computer uses DHCP to resolve names, however, you can leave the IP address fields blank and choose the Use DHCP for WINS Resolution option button, and Windows 98 queries the DHCP server for the WINS server addresses.
Binding the TCP/IP Protocol
If you use TCP/IP for resource access and/or resource sharing, you must bind the protocol to the necessary network client and/or resource sharing service. To do so, click on the Bindings tab to open the Bindings property page. Enable the check box beside the client or service to bind the protocol to the client or service.
Note
If you use TCP/IP only to provide access to the Internet, and use a different network protocol to provide local resource sharing, you don't have to bind TCP/IP to your clients or services.