Forming a small network at home (PART II)

Setting parameters manually on all computers
In this article I will discuss how to form a small network at home with two computers and a network switch/hub. For this article we will configure the TCP/IP settings manually. The ingredients needed here are discussed in the PART I of this article.

A. Connecting the computers physically:
First of all power up both your computers and your network switch. Now plug in one end of your patch cord (straight network cable) in the computer's LAN card port and the second end of the patch cord in any port of your network switch. Do the same with the second computer. The two computers are now physically connected.
NOTE: please remember to use a straight network cable that has been tested properly with a cable tester.

B. Configuring the TCP/IP settings:
On your first computer, do the following:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Network Connections,
2. Right click 'Local Area Connection' and select Properties,
3. In the Properties window, double click 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)',
4. Here, select 'Use the following IP address' radio button,
5. For IP address provide IP 192.168.0.1,
6. For Subnet mask provide 255.255.255.0,
7. Leave rest of the fields blank for now,
8. Click OK until you exit both dialog windows.

Now repeat the above steps 1 through 8 for the second computer, with the exception of providing the IP 192.168.0.2 in step 5.

C. Configure Windows Firewall
If you haven't tampered with the Windows Firewall up till now, then chances are that it is enabled. Your Windows XP Firewall will block any connections keeping the ports closed unless you add an exception. Here, we want Windows to allow file sharing, so we will add this type of communication as an exception.

On all computers, do the following:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Network Connections,
2. Right click 'Local Area Connection' and select Properties,
3. In the 'Advanced' tab click the settings button under Windows Firewall,
4. In the 'General' tab, 'On (recommended)' is probably selected. If not, select it,
5. In the same tab, uncheck 'Don't allow exceptions', as shown in the image above,
6. In the 'Exceptions' tab, find 'File and Printer Sharing' under 'Programs and Services' heading and check it,
7. Now click on the 'Edit...' button,
8. Click on the 'Change Scope' button,
9. In the 'Change Scope' dialog window select 'My network (subnet) only'. This will ensure that this type of communication is only allowed for your network,
10. Click OK on all open dialog windows and exit.

Congratulations, you have just configured your first network.

D. Verify if both computers are connected
The previously discussed 'ping' command can be used to verify if there is a connection between both the computers. For help using the ping command, please refer to the article: Using the Ping command.


Related articles on this blog

1. Forming a small network at home (PART I),
2. Forming a small network at home (PART III),
3. Forming a small network at home (PART IV),
4. Changing Network Authentication Mode,
5. Using the Ping command.