Part 6: Managing Windows Server 2003 Networking and Print Services in C#

Printer Quick Response Code in C# Part 6: Managing Windows Server 2003 Networking and Print Services

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Figure 24-6.

You can manually assign an IP address to a computer by giving the computer a static IP address. A static IP address is an IP address that is fixed once it is assigned. Check with your organization s network administrator or whoever else is in charge of assigning IP addresses and get a static IP address that you can use. Before you use any address even one assigned to you you should make sure it doesn t conflict with any existing IP address that has been assigned. One way to do this is to open a command prompt and type ping followed by the IP address, such as ping 192.168.1.100. If no current host on the network uses this IP address, the PING command output should be similar to the following:

Pinging 192.168.1.100 with 32 bytes of data: Request Request Request Request timed timed timed timed out. out. out. out.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.100: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss)

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Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out You can then use the IP address. On the other hand, if you receive a reply when you ping the IP address, someone on the network is using that IP address. You should then inform the network administrator and obtain a different address. Note

Pinging an IP address will work as long as all the hosts are up and running on the network at the time you ping the address. More important is to plan the assignment of static addresses to machines on your network carefully.

You can configure IP addressing for a computer with a static IP address by following these steps:

1 In Control Panel, access Network Connections, and then select or double-click the connection you want to work with. A connection called Local Area Connection is created automatically when you install a computer. 2 In the Status dialog box, click Properties. This displays the Properties dialog box shown previously in Figure 24-6. 3 Open the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 24-7, by double-clicking Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

Figure 24-7.

4 Click Use The Following IP Address, and then type the IP address you want to use in the IP Address field. If you press Tab, the subnet mask is filled in for you automatically based on the IP address class. As necessary, change the subnet mask to match the subnet mask in use for the subnet in which the computer is located.

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5 Type the IP address of the network s default gateway or router in the Default Gateway field. The default gateway is responsible for forwarding and routing packets for any nodes that are outside the local subnet, which could include another intranet subnet or the Internet. 6 Type the IP addresses of the preferred and alternate DNS servers in the fields provided. These IP addresses are needed for domain name resolution. 7 When you re finished, click OK. If the computer has additional network adapters, repeat this process for those adapters. Be sure to use a unique IP address for each network adapter.

Many organizations use DHCP servers to dynamically assign IP addresses. To receive an IP address, client computers use a limited broadcast to advertise that they need to obtain an IP address. DHCP servers on the network acknowledge the request by offering the client an IP address. The client acknowledges the first offer it receives, and the DHCP server in turn tells the client that it has succeeded in leasing the IP address for a specified amount of time. The message from the DHCP server can, and typically does, include the IP addresses of the default gateway, the preferred and alternate DNS servers, and the preferred and alternate WINS servers. This means these settings wouldn t need to be manually configured on the client computer. Tip

DHCP is primarily for clients Dynamic IP addresses aren t for all hosts on the network, however. Typically, you ll want to assign dynamic IP addresses to workstations and, in some instances, member servers that perform noncritical roles on the network. But if you use dynamic IP addressing for member servers, these servers should have reservations for their IP addresses. For any server that has a critical network role or provides a key service, you ll definitely want to use static IP addresses. Finally, with domain controllers and DHCP servers, you must use static IP addresses, so don t try to assign dynamic IP addresses to these servers.

You configure a computer to use dynamic IP addressing by completing the following steps:

1 In Control Panel, access Network Connections, and then select or double-click the connection you want to work with. A connection called Local Area Connection is created automatically when you install a computer. 2 In the Status dialog box, click Properties. This displays the Properties dialog box. 3 Open the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box by double-clicking Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).