Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrators Guide

Part of the process of installing Windows XP Professional involves adding the computer to a workgroup or domain. Workgroups are a means for organizing computers on small peer-to-peer networks. Domains are used to manage networks in a centralized manner, where all computers and users are managed using network servers known as domain controllers. A computer set up to run as a stand-alone system should be configured to join a workgroup, even though it's not part of a network. If a computer is to be part of a domain, it is recommended that the computer be connected to the network during installation so that the Windows XP Professional installation process can configure its network settings, including domain membership.

Computers can be switched between workgroups and domains as necessary. Therefore if it is not possible to connect the computer being set up to its network, the administrator can always configure the computer to join a workgroup and then come back later and attach the computer to the network and join it to the domain.

In addition to determining whether a computer should join a workgroup or a domain, administrators need to collect TCP/IP configuration settings for the computer prior to installation. This includes determining whether the computer will be configured with static IP settings or DHCP. For static configurations, the information that will be needed includes:

• A static IP address

• A subnet mask

• The default gateway

• WINS and DNS settings