Understanding the theory behind the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite is an important part of the network administrator's education, but that theory must eventually be put into practice. This chapter examines the procedures for installing and configuring the TCP/IP protocols on a computer running Microsoft Windows 2000. The procedures used for installation on the other Windows operating systems are similar to those for Windows 2000, although the user interface is slightly different. Operating systems such as UNIX and Novell NetWare generally rely on a text file to hold the configuration settings for the TCP/IP client. In some cases, these operating systems include a graphical or menu-driven utility that facilitates the creation or modification of this file.
No previous knowledge other than a basic familiarity with Windows 2000 controls is needed to perform the procedures in this chapter. However, understanding the place of the TCP/IP protocols in the operating system's protocol stack, as explained in Lesson 1: Network Operating Systems, in Chapter 4, "Networking Software," is important for gaining an overall picture of data networking. More detailed explanations of the various TCP/IP configuration parameters can be found in the following chapters: