Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit 2003

Installing and Configuring TCP/IP

The installation and configuration process for TCP/IP requires either the manual or default installation of TCP/IP, as well as IP address assignment, the resolution of names, and the verification that the Windows XP Professional implementation of TCP/IP is properly installed. The following sections provide some installation and configuration details.

Default and Manual Installation of TCP/IP

Windows XP Professional Setup installs TCP/IP by default. If you are upgrading to Windows XP Professional, however, Setup updates your existing network configuration, if such an update is available.

If your original Windows installation included a third-party TCP/IP protocol stack, Setup replaces the existing implementation of TCP/IP. If there are features that are required by your third-party stack, you must determine whether or not they are supported by the TCP/IP implementation in Windows XP Professional. If these required features are not supported by Windows XP Professional, you must install the third-party stack by using the installation tool provided by the stack s vendor.

Configuring IP Properties

Configuring TCP/IP on a Windows XP Professional based computer includes choosing a method for the assignment of IP addresses and a method for name resolution.

There are four methods of assigning IP addresses to TCP/IP clients:

• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), which automatically assigns IP addresses in an environment with a DHCP server.

• Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA), which automatically assigns an IP address and subnet mask to clients on a subnet if there is no DHCP server (or if no DHCP request to the subnet is received by the DHCP server).

• Alternate Configuration, which allows the user to set the computer to first try DHCP, and then configure an alternate, manually configured TCP/IP address setting if a DHCP configuration is not received.

• Manual configuration of IP addresses.

Similarly, there are four methods supported by Windows XP Professional for resolving names to IP addresses:

• Domain Name System (DNS) for applications and services that require host name to IP address resolution, such as the Active Directory directory service.

• Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), for compatibility with applications and services that require NetBIOS name to IP address resolution, such as file and print sharing functions of pre Windows 2000 versions of Windows.

• Hosts and LMHosts files, which provide host name to IP address resolution and NetBIOS name to IP address resolution, respectively, through the use of local files that are maintained manually.

• Subnet broadcasts, which can be used for NetBIOS name resolution within the local subnet.

For more information about address assignment and name resolution, see Configuring IP Address and Name Resolution later in this book.