Day 14. Setting Up a Network with Windows XP

Most computers are part of a network in some way today. Even home users have networks so that the parents have one machine and the children another. The fact that you make a connection to the Internet to pick up e-mail, visit Web sites, and chat with other people means you’re part of the world’s largest network. No matter what size your network is, you’ll need to manage it in order to gain the greatest benefit from it.

Today we’ll look at setting up a network from a Windows XP perspective. Networking is such a complex topic that we’ll spend the next five days discussing it. Today we’ll discuss nuts and bolts issues. For example, you’ll learn how to install protocols, clients, and services. You’ll also learn how to configure low-level network resources, such as the network interface card (NIC) and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).