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Using Remote LAN Resources

After you define a Dial-Up Networking connection, you can connect to the remote server in various ways. You can open the Dial-Up Networking folder, for example, and double-click on the icon of the connection you want to use. Windows 98 opens the Connect To dialog box.

Enter your user name and password in the User name and Password text boxes. If you need to modify the phone number for the connection, make the change in the Phone number text box. From the Dialing from drop-down list, select your dialing location. If you need to define dialing properties such as a calling card number, prefix dialing numbers, disable call waiting, or set other dialing options, choose Dial Properties. When you are ready to make the connection, click on the Connect button. Windows 98 dials the server and attempts to establish a connection. After the connection is established, a status dialog box appears giving you information about the connection.

Tip
If Windows 98 doesn't give you the option of saving your password (the Save Password check box is dimmed), you probably don't have a network client installed. Open the Network object in Control Panel and add the Client for Microsoft Networks, then reboot the computer. You should then gain the ability to save your Dial-Up Networking passwords.

 

Windows 98 also can make remote connections automatically. The following list describes situations in which Windows 98 automatically starts a Dial-Up Networking connection:

Windows 98 caches remote server names and their resources for future use. If Windows 98 can't determine which Dial-Up Networking connection to use to access a resource, Windows 98 prompts you to choose a connection from the Dial-Up Networking folder or enter a server name. If the connection is successful, Windows 98 associates the server and remote resource name so that it can automatically establish the connection in the future.

Tip
Sometimes Dial-Up Networking is completely automatic from session initiation to termination. If you use remote preview in Exchange to access a remote mail server, for example, Exchange establishes the connection, downloads your mail headers, and terminates the connection, all automatically.

 

After a remote connection is established, you can use remote resources as if they were located on your LAN or local computer. Remote nodes with which you share a workgroup name appear in the Network Neighborhood folder. You can access other workgroups and servers on the remote LAN through the Entire Network folder. Essentially, accessing a remote resource through a Dial-Up Networking connection is exactly the same as accessing it through a LAN connection, except the Dial-Up Networking connection is slower.

Using SLIP and CSLIP Connections

Although the number of networks connected directly to the Internet continues to increase, many networks do not have a direct connection to the Internet. And, the number of home-based users or users who have non-networked stand-alone workstations and want access to the Internet is also growing rapidly.

Windows 98's Dial-Up Networking supports the TCP/IP protocol stack, which enables you to dial into various types of remote access servers and Internet service providers to gain access to the Internet. Many Internet service providers use Point-to-Point (PPP) protocol to provide dial-up Internet connections. PPP is Dial-Up Networking's default protocol in Windows 98 and is used when you connect to a Windows 98 or Windows NT RAS server.

Many UNIX servers, however, use Serial Line Interface Protocol (SLIP) or Compressed SLIP (CSLIP). Windows 98 supports SLIP and CSLIP, which enables you to use Windows 98's Dial-Up Networking to connect to SLIP and CSLIP servers. Windows 98 installs support for SLIP and CSLIP automatically when you install Dial-Up Networking.

Selecting and Using SLIP and CSLIP

You select SLIP or CSLIP for use when you create or modify a Dial-Up Networking connection. Use the steps specified earlier in this chapter to create the Dial-Up Networking connection for the SLIP or CSLIP server to which you want to connect. After you use the Make New Connection wizard to create the connection, open the connection icon's context menu and choose Properties to display its General property page. Click on the Server Types tab to open the Server Types page.

From the Type of Dial-Up Server drop-down list, select CSLIP:UNIX Connection with IP Header Compression if you want to connect to a CSLIP server, or select SLIP:UNIX Connection if you want to connect to a SLIP server. Set the logon and TCP/IP options according to your server's requirements, then choose OK. Now you can begin to use the SLIP or CSLIP connection.

Connecting to the Server

When you connect to a SLIP or CSLIP server, the server generally prompts you for a user logon name and password. When you use Dial-Up Networking to connect to a SLIP server, Windows 98 displays a Post Dial Terminal Screen dialog box after the connection is established, which enables you to enter your user name and password to log on and receive the IP addresses of the server and your workstation. Write down the IP addresses, then choose F7. Windows 98 displays a SLIP IP Connection Address dialog box in which you must enter the IP address the SLIP connection has assigned your computer. After you enter the IP address, choose OK to begin using the SLIP connection.