Some of the main topics in this chapter are
Most computer users prefer Windows-style graphical computing to the character-based command line. However, Windows 3.0 and 3.1 weren't really designed with networking in mind. You can connect to Windows NT computers in Windows 3.x by first loading the Microsoft Network Client for MS-DOS, but most of your computer's conventional memory will be used up by the MS-DOS client software. Your computer then can only run as a network node, not as a peer-to-peer server.
Microsoft engineered Windows for Workgroups 3.1 primarily in response to the lack of network support in Windows 3.x. Windows for Workgroups could act as a workstation and a server with all the necessary connectivity components already built in. Windows for Workgroups highlighted the idea of independent workgroups being connected in a point-and-click environment. Because of its built-in network functionality, Windows for Workgroups became the ideal Microsoft networking client.
About a year after Windows for Workgroups version 3.1 was released, Microsoft brought out an upgraded version. With the following features, Windows for Workgroups version 3.11 offered several advantages over Windows 3.x and the earlier Windows for Workgroups version:
If you're a system administrator in a TCP/IP-based network environment, you can install Microsoft's 32-bit TCP/IP protocol stack as an add-on to Windows for Workgroups 3.11. You can download this software from CompuServe, MSN, MSDL, or Microsoft's ftp (ftp://ftp.microsoft.com) and Web (http://www.microsoft.com) sites on the Internet. You can also install it directly from the Windows NT Server CD (\clients\tcp32wfw folder).
Read the READ.ME file that accompanies the software. This TCP/IP 32-bit client for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 boasts these advantages:
Installing the product or upgrading from Windows 3.x is fairly straightforward. You can purchase the packaged software from your favorite vendor or can install it from the Windows NT Server CD.
For DOS computers, simply type setup at the installation directory's command line (from floppy disk, CD-ROM, or network drive) and follow the instructions the setup program provides.
To upgrade Windows 3.x computers, first close all running applications. Next, go to Program Manager, and choose File, Run (or press Alt+F+R on the keyboard). Select SETUP.EXE from the installation media, and you're off and running.
When you get to the Network Setup part of the installation, you see the Network Setup dialog box (see Figure 34.1). You can access the Network Setup dialog box by double-clicking the Network Setup icon in the Network program group (one of the Windows for Workgroups default program groups). By default, no support for networks is installed. To add support for networking, click the Networks button. The Networks dialog box appears (see Figure 34.2).
Select the Install Microsoft Windows Network option button to set up support for Microsoft networking. You also can specify support for one additional network service, such as Novell NetWare. Click OK to accept your choices and return to the Network Setup dialog box.
The Network Setup dialog box is where you specify the type of network, file sharing properties, and network drivers.
You can use the Networks dialog box to install Microsoft Windows networking as well as other types of networks.
Click Sharing if you want the Windows for Workgroups workstation to be capable of sharing its files and attached printers with other users on the network. From the Sharing dialog box, select the appropriate check boxes to provide file sharing and printer sharing, and then click OK.
Finally, click Drivers (or press Alt+D) to install the appropriate network adapter card driver. The Network Drivers dialog box appears. Click Add Adapter (or press Alt+A) to select the appropriate driver for the network interface card installed in the computer workstation. The Add Network Adapter dialog box appears (see Figure 34.3). You can click Detect to have Windows for Workgroups detect the installed network adapter. If that's unsuccessful, select the proper adapter name from the list box. If the installed network card is not on the list, select Unlisted or Updated Network Adapter. In this case, when you click OK, you're prompted to insert a driver disk from the manufacturer of your network card. When the correct network adapter has been selected, click OK.
The Add Network Adapter dialog box enables you to select the proper network adapter card driver for the network adapter card installed in your computer.
The name of the network adapter you've selected is placed in the Network Drivers list box with two protocols: Microsoft NetBEUI and IPX/SPX Compatible Transport with NetBIOS (see Figure 34.4). As long as you don't need both protocols, remove the one you don't need by selecting it and clicking Remove. Otherwise, select the protocol you want as the default, and click the Set As Default Protocol button. You can also add more network card drivers and additional protocols by clicking Add Adapter or Add Protocol, respectively. You can further configure network drivers and protocols by selecting the one you want to configure and clicking Setup.
The Network Drivers dialog box is where you can add or remove network adapter card drivers and their associated network protocols.
Click Close to exit the Network Drivers dialog box and return to the Network Setup dialog box. Click OK to have Windows for Workgroups save and implement the new network settings. Your system might need access to the Windows for Workgroups setup files. After copying the necessary network files, Windows for Workgroups tells you to restart the computer for the new network settings to take effect. Close any open applications, and click Restart Computer.
The tricky part about configuring the networking portion of Windows for Workgroups is that it only prompts you for a workgroup name during installation of the product--not a domain name. Hooking up to a Windows NT Server domain requires an extra step that can only be performed after the installation process is complete.
You're prompted for a workgroup name during the setup process; Windows for Workgroups gives your workgroup a default name of Workgroup. You can change your workgroup name in the same location in which you enable the workstation to become part of a Windows NT Server domain. Open Control Panel, and then double-click the Network icon. You can change the workgroup name in the Microsoft Windows Network dialog box (see Figure 34.5).
The Microsoft Windows Network dialog box enables you to enter the name of your network workgroup or configure your workstation to log on to a Windows NT Server domain.
In the Options area, click Startup to open the Startup Settings dialog box (see Figure 34.6). Pay close attention to the Options for Enterprise Networking box. This is where you tell Windows for Workgroups that you want to log on to a Windows NT Server domain.
The Startup Settings dialog box enables you to enter the name of the domain to which you want to log on.
Select the Log On to Windows NT or LAN Manager Domain check box if you want to use domain authentication. Type the name of the network domain in the Domain Name text box. Click OK to return to the previous dialog box, click OK again, and then close Control Panel. The next time the user logs on to this Windows for Workgroups computer, he has to enter the Windows for Workgroups password. Then he's asked to enter and confirm the domain password for his user account (see Figure 34.7). If the Windows for Workgroups password and the domain password are the same, each subsequent time the user logs on to the system, he only has to enter the password once for Windows for Workgroups and domain authentication (see Figure 34.8).
The Welcome to Windows for Workgroups dialog box requests a Windows password and the Domain Logon dialog box requests an NT Server domain password.
After you've correctly entered your domain username, password, and the name of the domain to which you want to log on, your request will be authenticated.
When a user successfully logs on to a Windows NT Server domain or is a member of a network workgroup, File Manager and Print Manager become the connectivity tools. The Windows for Workgroups edition of File Manager has some enhancements from its Windows 3.x counterpart.
When you launch File Manager, you'll notice that the Windows for Workgroups version has some buttons on the toolbar that don't exist in the Windows 3.x version. Some of the menu options are also different. The Windows for Workgroups edition of File Manager provides you with the capability to share directories on your computer with other users on the network. It also gives you the option of connecting to other computers on the network. To connect to a network directory share, follow these steps:
The Connect Network Drive dialog box from File Manager enables you to connect to any of the available shared network directories.
3. Windows for Workgroups displays a list of the workgroups and domains
currently part of the network in the Show Shared Directories On list box. Click an
available computer name to select it.
4. The Shared Directories On list box lists the available shared directories.
Select the shared directory you want to access.
5. By default, the Reconnect at Startup check box is selected. Deselect
this check box if you don't want the connection to be automatically restored when
you log back on to Windows for Workgroups.
6. Click OK to accept the settings for this network connection. If you're
accessing a shared directory from a computer that's part of a workgroup and if a
password is required for access to that shared directory, Windows for Workgroups
requests the proper password.
7. A new window displays the name of the drive letter you've assigned to the connection, and it displays the actual network (UNC) path for the connection \\computername\SharedDirectoryName (refer to Figure 34.10).
Creating a shared directory on your local computer for other network users to access is easy. In File Manager, select the directory you want to make available as a network share. Click the Share Directory button on the toolbar, or choose Disk, Share As. The Share Directory dialog box appears (see Figure 34.10). You can assign a different share name than the default if you want. Clear the Re-share at Startup check box if you want this to be a one-time share. Select the type of access permission you want to allow. Click OK and you're done.
The Share Directory dialog box enables you to assign a unique name to the directory you want to share on the network, and limit users' access to it by implementing read-only and/or full-access passwords.
To disconnect from a network directory, click the Disconnect button on the toolbar (or choose Disk, Disconnect Network Drive), and then select the drive you want to disconnect and click OK.
To stop sharing one of your own directories on the network, click the Stop Sharing button on the toolbar (or choose Disk, Stop Sharing), and then select the shared directory you no longer want to share and click OK.
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