Chapter Summary

The Internet and TCP/IP offer an extensive array of tools, utilities, and applications that directly affect how Windows XP Professional interacts with other computers. Even though TCP/IP is the default protocol for Windows XP Professional, TCP/IP does not need to be installed and configured for a Windows XP computer to communicate on a private network that uses another protocol suite, such as IPX/SPX or NetBEUI. However, any Microsoft network that participates in an Active Directory requires all its clients to use TCP/IP.

TCP/IP is enabled for each adapter, and can be configured with entirely different specifications for each one. Windows XP offers the Ipconfig utility and Event Viewer as tools for troubleshooting TCP/IP. The TCP/IP protocol suite provides many command-line utilities, including Ping, Tracert, Nslookup, Arp, Netstat, and Nbtstat.

In Windows XP, you can configure remote access for dial-up modems and broadband modems. You can create VPN connections and dial-up connections for linking directly to the Internet. These are all configured in dial-up networking (DUN). Users can route Internet traffic through their personal computer to a small network using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). Users can protect their computer with Windows Firewall, connect to other computers to run remote sessions with Remote Desktop, or request help from an expert through Remote Assistance. All these features and applications use TCP/IP as the basic protocol.