Natwork Address Translation

What Does NAT Do?
NAT is like the receptionist in a large office. Let's say you have left instructions with the receptionist not to forward any calls to you unless you request it. Later on, you call a potential client and leave a message for that client to call you back. You tell the receptionist that you are expecting a call from this client and to put her through.
The client calls the main number to your office, which is the only number the client knows. When the client tells the receptionist that she is looking for you, the receptionist checks a lookup table that matches your name with your extension. The receptionist knows that you requested this call, and therefore forwards the caller to your extension.
Developed by Cisco, Network Address Translation is used by a device ( firewall , router or computer ) that sits between an internal network and the rest of the world. NAT has many forms and can work in several ways:
Static NAT - Mapping an unregistered IP address to a registered IP address on a one-to-one basis. Particularly useful when a device needs to be accessible from outside the network.
In static NAT, the computer with the IP address of 192.168.32.10 will always translate to 213.18.123.110.
Dynamic NAT - Maps an unregistered IP address to a registered IP address from a group of registered IP addresses.
In dynamic NAT, the computer with the IP address 192.168.32.10 will translate to the first available address in the range from 213.18.123.100 to 213.18.123.150.
Overloading - A form of dynamic NAT that maps multiple unregistered IP addresses to a single registered IP address by using different ports. This is known also as PAT (Port Address Translation), single address NAT or port-level multiplexed NAT.
In overloading, each computer on the private network is translated to the same IP address (213.18.123.100), but with a different port number assignment.
Overlapping - When the IP addresses used on your internal network are registered IP addresses in use on another network, the router must maintain a lookup table of these addresses so that it can intercept them and replace them with registered unique IP addresses. It is important to note that the NAT router must translate the "internal" addresses to registered unique addresses as well as translate the "external" registered addresses to addresses that are unique to the private network. This can be done either through static NAT or by using DNS and implementing dynamic NAT.
The internal IP range (237.16.32.xx) is also a registered range used by another network. Therefore, the router is translating the addresses to avoid a potential conflict with another network. It will also translate the registered global IP addresses back to the unregistered local IP addresses when information is sent to the internal network.
The internal network is usually a LAN (Local Area Network) , commonly referred to as the stub domain . A stub domain is a LAN that uses IP addresses internally. Most of the network traffic in a stub domain is local, so it doesn't travel outside the internal network. A stub domain can include both registered and unregistered IP addresses. Of course, any computers that use unregistered IP addresses must use Network Address Translation to communicate with the rest of the world.
If you are reading this article, you are most likely connected to the Internet and viewing it at the HowStuffWorks Web site. There's a very good chance that you are using Network Address Translation (NAT) right now.
The Internet has grown larger than anyone ever imagined it could be. Although the exact size is unknown, the current estimate is that there are about 100 million hosts and more than 350 million users actively on the Internet. That is more than the entire population of the United States ! In fact, the rate of growth has been such that the Internet is effectively doubling in size each year.
So what does the size of the Internet have to do with NAT? Everything! For a computer to communicate with other computers and Web servers on the Internet, it must have an IP address . An IP address (IP stands for Internet Protocol) is a unique 32-bit number that identifies the location of your computer on a network. Basically, it works like your street address -- as a way to find out exactly where you are and deliver information to you.
When IP addressing first came out, everyone thought that there were plenty of addresses to cover any need. Theoretically, you could have 4,294,967,296 unique addresses (2 32 ). The actual number of available addresses is smaller (somewhere between 3.2 and 3.3 billion) because of the way that the addresses are separated into classes, and because some addresses are set aside for multicasting, testing or other special uses.
With the explosion of the Internet and the increase in home networks and business networks, the number of available IP addresses is simply not enough. The obvious solution is to redesign the address format to allow for more possible addresses. This is being developed (called IPv6 ), but will take several years to implement because it requires modification of the entire infrastructure of the Internet.
The NAT router translates traffic coming into and leaving the private network.
This is where NAT ( RFC 1631 ) comes to the rescue. Network Address Translation allows a single device, such as a router , to act as an agent between the Internet (or "public network") and a local (or "private") network. This means that only a single, unique IP address is required to represent an entire group of computers.
But the shortage of IP addresses is only one reason to use NAT. In this edition of HowStuffWorks , you will learn more about how NAT can benefit you. But first, let's take a closer look at NAT and exactly what it can do...
NAT Configuration
NAT can be configured in various ways. In the example below, the NAT router is configured to translate unregistered (inside, local) IP addresses, that reside on the private (inside) network, to registered IP addresses. This happens whenever a device on the inside with an unregistered address needs to communicate with the public (outside) network.
An ISP assigns a range of IP addresses to your company. The assigned block of addresses are registered, unique IP addresses and are called inside global addresses . Unregistered, private IP addresses are split into two groups. One is a small group ( outside local addresses ) that will be used by the NAT routers. The other, much larger group, known as inside local addresses , will be used on the stub domain. The outside local addresses are used to translate the unique IP addresses, known as outside global addresses , of devices on the public network.
IP addresses have different designations based on whether they are on the private network (stub domain) or on the public network (Internet), and whether the traffic is incoming or outgoing.
Most computers on the stub domain communicate with each other using the inside local addresses.
Some computers on the stub domain communicate a lot outside the network. These computers have inside global addresses, which means that they do not require translation.
When a computer on the stub domain that has an inside local address wants to communicate outside the network, the packet goes to one of the NAT routers.
The NAT router checks the routing table to see if it has an entry for the destination address. If it does, the NAT router then translates the packet and creates an entry for it in the address translation table. If the destination address is not in the routing table, the packet is dropped.
Using an inside global address, the router sends the packet on to it's destination.
A computer on the public network sends a packet to the private network. The source address on the packet is an outside global address. The destination address is an inside global address.
The NAT router looks at the address translation table and determines that the destination address is in there, mapped to a computer on the stub domain.
The NAT router translates the inside global address of the packet to the inside local address, and sends it to the destination computer.
NAT overloading utilizes a feature of the TCP/IP protocol stack , multiplexing , that allows a computer to maintain several concurrent connections with a remote computer (or computers) using different TCP or UDP ports . An IP packet has a header that contains the following information:
Source Address - The IP address of the originating computer, such as 201.3.83.132
Source Port - The TCP or UDP port number assigned by the originating computer for this packet, such as Port 1080
Destination Address - The IP address of the receiving computer, such as 145.51.18.223
Destination Port - The TCP or UDP port number that the originating computer is asking the receiving computer to open, such as Port 3021
The addresses specify the two machines at each end, while the port numbers ensure that the connection between the two computers has a unique identifier. The combination of these four numbers defines a single TCP/IP connection. Each port number uses 16 bits, which means that there are a possible 65,536 (2 16 ) values. Realistically, since different manufacturers map the ports in slightly different ways, you can expect to have about 4,000 ports available.
Dynamic NAT and Overloading
Here's how dynamic NAT works:
An internal network (stub domain) has been set up with IP addresses that were not specifically allocated to that company by IANA ( Internet Assigned Numbers Authority ), the global authority that hands out IP addresses. These addresses should be considered non-routable since they are not unique.
The company sets up a NAT-enabled router. The router has a range of unique IP addresses given to the company by IANA.
A computer on the stub domain attempts to connect to a computer outside the network, such as a Web server.
The router receives the packet from the computer on the stub domain.
The router saves the computer's non-routable IP address to an address translation table . The router replaces the sending computer's non-routable IP address with the first available IP address out of the range of unique IP addresses. The translation table now has a mapping of the computer's non-routable IP address matched with the one of the unique IP addresses.
When a packet comes back from the destination computer, the router checks the destination address on the packet. It then looks in the address translation table to see which computer on the stub domain the packet belongs to. It changes the destination address to the one saved in the address translation table and sends it to that computer. If it doesn't find a match in the table, it drops the packet.
The computer receives the packet from the router. The process repeats as long as the computer is communicating with the external system.
Here's how overloading works:
An internal network (stub domain) has been set up with non-routable IP addresses that were not specifically allocated to that company by IANA.
The company sets up a NAT-enabled router. The router has a unique IP address given to the company by IANA.
A computer on the stub domain attempts to connect to a computer outside the network, such as a Web server.
The router receives the packet from the computer on the stub domain.
The router saves the computer's non-routable IP address and port number to an address translation table. The router replaces the sending computer's non-routable IP address with the router's IP address. The router replaces the sending computer's source port with the port number that matches where the router saved the sending computer's address information in the address translation table. The translation table now has a mapping of the computer's non-routable IP address and port number along with the router's IP address.
When a packet comes back from the destination computer, the router checks the destination port on the packet. It then looks in the address translation table to see which computer on the stub domain the packet belongs to. It changes the destination address and destination port to the ones saved in the address translation table and sends it to that computer.
The computer receives the packet from the router. The process repeats as long as the computer is communicating with the external system.
Since the NAT router now has the computer's source address and source port saved to the address translation table, it will continue to use that same port number for the duration of the connection. A timer is reset each time the router accesses an entry in the table. If the entry is not accessed again before the timer expires, the entry is removed from the table.
Stub Domains
Look at this table to see how the computers on a stub domain might appear to external networks.
Source Computer
Source Computer's IP Address
Source Computer's Port
NAT Router's IP Address
NAT Router's Assigned Port Number
A
192.168.32.10
400
215.37.32.203
1
B
192.168.32.13
50
215.37.32.203
2
C
192.168.32.15
3750
215.37.32.203
3
D
192.168.32.18
206
215.37.32.203
4
As you can see, the NAT router stores the IP address and port number of each computer in the address translation table. It then replaces the IP address with it's own registered IP address and the port number corresponding to the location, in the table, of the entry for that packet's source computer. So any external network sees the NAT router's IP address and the port number assigned by the router as the source-computer information on each packet.
You can still have some computers on the stub domain that use dedicated IP addresses. You can create an access list of IP addresses that tells the router which computers on the network require NAT. All other IP addresses will pass through untranslated.
The number of simultaneous translations that a router will support are determined mainly by the amount of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) it has. But since a typical entry in the address-translation table only takes about 160 bytes, a router with 4 MB of DRAM could theoretically process 26,214 simultaneous translations, which is more than enough for most applications.
IANA has set aside specific ranges of IP addresses for use as non-routable, internal network addresses. These addresses are considered unregistered (for more information check out RFC 1918: Address Allocation for Private Internets , which defines these address ranges). No company or agency can claim ownership of unregistered addresses or use them on public computers. Routers are designed to discard (instead of forward) unregistered addresses. What this means is that a packet from a computer with an unregistered address could reach a registered destination computer, but the reply would be discarded by the first router it came to.
There is a range for each of the three classes of IP addresses used for networking:
Range 1: Class A - 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255
Range 2: Class B - 172.16.0.0 through 172.31.255.255
Range 3: Class C - 192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255
Although each range is in a different class, your are not required to use any particular range for your internal network. It is a good practice, though, because it greatly diminishes the chance of an IP address conflict.




Security and Administration
Implementing dynamic NAT automatically creates a firewall between your internal network and outside networks, or between your internal network and the Internet. NAT only allows connections that originate inside the stub domain. Essentially, this means that a computer on an external network cannot connect to your computer unless your computer has initiated the contact. You can browse the Internet and connect to a site, and even download a file; but somebody else cannot latch onto your IP address and use it to connect to a port on your computer.
In specific circumstances, Static NAT, also called inbound mapping , allows external devices to initiate connections to computers on the stub domain. For instance, if you wish to go from an inside global address to a specific inside local address that is assigned to your Web server, Static NAT would enable the connection.
Static NAT (inbound mapping) allows a computer on the stub domain to maintain a specific address when communicating with devices outside the network.
Some NAT routers provide for extensive filtering and traffic logging. Filtering allows your company to control what type of sites employees visit on the Web, preventing them from viewing questionable material. You can use traffic logging to create a log file of what sites are visited and generate various reports from it.
NAT is sometimes confused with proxy servers , but there are definite differences between them. NAT is transparent to the source and to destination computers. Neither one realizes that it is dealing with a third device. But a proxy server is not transparent. The source computer knows that it is making a request to the proxy server and must be configured to do so. The destination computer thinks that the proxy server IS the source computer, and deals with it directly. Also, proxy servers usually work at layer 4 (transport) of the OSI Reference Model or higher, while NAT is a layer 3 (network) protocol. Working at a higher layer makes proxy servers slower than NAT devices in most cases.
NAT operates at the Network layer (layer 3) of the OSI Reference Model -- this is the layer that routers work at.
A real benefit of NAT is apparent in network administration . For example, you can move your Web server or FTP server to another host computer without having to worry about broken links. Simply change the inbound mapping at the router to reflect the new host. You can also make changes to your internal network easily, because the only external IP address either belongs to the router or comes from a pool of global addresses.
NAT and DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol ) are a natural fit. You can choose a range of unregistered IP addresses for your stub domain and have the DHCP server dole them out as necessary. It also makes it much easier to scale up your network as your needs grow. You don't have to request more IP addresses from IANA. Instead, you can just increase the range of available IP addresses configured in DHCP to immediately have room for additional computers on your network.
Multi-homing
As businesses rely more and more on the Internet, having multiple points of connection to the Internet is fast becoming an integral part of their network strategy. Multiple connections, known as multi-homing , reduces the chance of a potentially catastrophic shutdown if one of the connections should fail.
In addition to maintaining a reliable connection, multi-homing allows a company to perform load-balancing by lowering the number of computers connecting to the Internet through any single connection. Distributing the load through multiple connections optimizes the performance and can significantly decrease wait times.
Multi-homed networks are often connected to several different ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Each ISP assigns an IP address (or range of IP addresses) to the company. Routers use BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), a part of the TCP/IP protocol suite, to route between networks using different protocols. In a multi-homed network, the router utilizes IBGP (Internal Border Gateway Protocol) on the stub domain side, and EBGP (External Border Gateway Protocol) to communicate with other routers.
Multi-homing really makes a difference if one of the connections to an ISP fails. As soon as the router assigned to connect to that ISP determines that the connection is down, it will reroute all data through one of the other routers.
NAT can be used to facilitate scalable routing for multi-homed, multi-provider connectivity.

Internet Sharing

Internet Sharing

ICS (Internet Connection Service)

ICS is a feature to use internet on the network. It is an in-built feature. This feature used in small network. This feature come Win 98 SE onwards i.e. in Win 98 SE, Win Me, Win XP, Win 2k.

To make ICS

Select connection and go properties.
Tab to sharing, this option will come only on LAN.
Click on ‘ Enable ICS for this connection '.
If we want to dial through another computer on a LAN, then we click on ‘ Enable on-demand dialing '. This option will enable after enabling ICS.
NOTE : -When we make ICS then the IP-address of the server changed to 192.168.0.1 automatically.

Software Proxy

Software proxy is third-party software. It is also used for internet sharing but on a big network. There are many software proxy like Win proxy, Spool proxy, MS- proxy, Browser – gate, Ezasy Proxy, Netscape Proxy, Win gate etc. Among all of these, we normally use Win proxy . There are five versions of Win proxy which are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 .

Features of Win Proxy

1. In built DHCP server (comes version 3 onwards)
2. In built Anti – virus (comes version 3 onwards)
3. Automatic Anti – virus update
4. Viewing active connection
5. IP – address restriction
6. Web site restriction
7. Site termination (comes version 3 onwards)
8. Multiple Protocol support
9. Enable logging
10. In – built socks 4 and socks 5
Yahoo messenger use HTTP proxy , but MIRC or MSN messenger use socks to communication.

To install/remove Win proxy trial version

We can download 30 days trial version of win proxy from www.winproxy.com site. After 30 days we need to reinstall it. To reinstall Win proxy trial version, we need to format HD. There are other options to remove Win proxy.
1. Change the time of computer
2. Backup the registry
3. Delete Win proxy entries from registry (win proxy & ositis)

To install Win proxy

1. First run Setup of Win proxy from CD-ROM to install.
2. In welcome wizard click Next.
3. In license agreement screen click Yes to agree.
4. Enter the destination path to install win proxy on HD, either select the default or browse any other.
5. In setup type wizard select any one among Typical, Compact & Custom .
6. In Select Program Folder option, give any name to the program.
7. In Start copying file , it show the current setting and on pressing Next it copies files from CD-ROM to HD.

To configure Win proxy

1. In Win proxy registration dialog box, enter the serial no, name & e-mail ID .
2. Now it asks for to register , click Yes.
3. By Rebuilding cache Database , files retrieved before processing is done by cached.
4. In this wizard, it tells us about IP address of computer on network/ Internet.
5. In setup wizard: Internet protocol , check the protocols which we want to enable.
6. In Proxy port , we give the CERN Proxy Port. We can give any no. up to 80. All the clients also configure same port no. in Internet Connection Properties to access the Internet. Port No. is like a Pin Code. Port No. 16, 20, 80 used for HTTP, 21 for FTP, 23 for Telnet.
7. In Internet News wizard, we enter the Internet News server.
8. In Mail server wizard, we enter the Internet Mail server.
9. In Socks wizard, Select DO if we want to enable Socks 4 and Socks 5 for communication. Here we can also enter the address of DNS server also.
10. In Dial up network wizard, we select either Use Dial up networking or not using dial up networking. If we are using Dial up network then we need to give Phone no, user name and password to dial.
11. If we are using two proxy servers then we enable Cascading . This allows users to access Internet through two proxy server. We also give cascading Proxy Port and Proxy IP address .
12. In Administrator & security option, we give the password to run and remove proxy.
13. There is also a port for Logging, which is default 8000 . Logging allows us to monitor all traffic over the network.
14. In Connection view wizard, we select DO if we want to view active connection otherwise do NOT.
15. On click Finish, it asks for view suggested client configuration. If we press Yes, it show all the configuration in a Notepad file.

Hardware proxy

It is a hardware device, which use dedicated hardware. It also uses a dedicated IP address given by manufacturers. There is no driver required in H/w proxy.

There are two models of hardware proxy, which is launched by D – Link .
(i) DP – 601 (ii) DP – 602

DP – 601 : - It is an H/w proxy, which has in – built modem. It is cheaper than other. It is slow in speed. We can not attach any extra external modem in this type of proxy. If there is problem in server then both the server and modem damaged.

DP – 602 : - It is an H/w proxy, which has COM port to attach external modem. We can use two modems, when there are more users. Then we need two phone lines also. These two modems also load balancing.
To configure H/w proxy
1. Telnet
2. Software install in one PC.
3. Web browser (easy & common)
4. We can configure it by GUI by entering the IP address at Internet Explorer.

Active Directory & Remote Installation Service

ADS (Active Directory Service)

ADS installed server is also called Domain Controller . In domain based networking, we use centralized user accounts and database on domain controller (DC). It is also called PDC (Primary Domain Controller). To change a workgroup of Win 2k server in domain, we need to install ADS.
NOTE : - We can not change the name of computer after installing the ADS.

Requirement for ADS server

1. Win 2k server
2. TCP/IP protocol
3. DNS
4. Static IP address
5. Win 2k CD-ROM
6. NTFS partition

Installation of ADS server

1. To install ADS there are two options.
(i) Open ‘Configure your server' and select Activity Directory and click on start .
(ii) Run the dcpromo command on RUN.
2. Click on Next in welcome wizard.
3. In domain controller type wizard, select a new domain option to create a new child domain, new domain tree, or new forest. In case of use existing domain, we select controller for an exiting domain .
4. In create tree or child domain wizard, we can create new tree by selecting create a new domain tree or create a child under exiting tree by selecting create a new child domain in an existing domain tree .
5. In create or join Forest wizard, we can create a new forest of domain trees or place the new domain tree in an existing forest by selecting option.
6. In new domain name wizard, we give DNS name with a 3 digit extensions.
7. Now we give the NetBIOS domain name, users of earlier versions of windows will use this name to identify the new domain.
8. In this wizard, we give database and log locations . The partition must be NTFS.
9. In shared system volumn wizard, we give the path of folder which stores the server's copy of the domain's public files. The name of the folder must be sysvol . The folder must be located on NTFS volumn.
10. In configure DNS wizard, we select Yes to install and configure DNS or select No to install and configure DNS myself.
11. If we select Yes then Permissions wizard will open. If we want to run ADS on all OS, then we select ‘ Permissions compatible with pre-windows 2000 servers ' or if we want to run ADS only on Win 2000 OS then we select ‘ Permissions compatible only with Window 2000 servers '.
12. In this wizard, we give the password for starting the computer in Active Directory restore mode .
13. Now it shows the summary of ADS.
14. When we click on Next, system starts configure active directory.
15. After configuration, we click on Finish to complete the ADS installation.

To connect with domain server

1. Open the TCP/IP properties and write the IP address of domain server.
2. Open the properties of My computer.
3. Select the properties of ‘Network identification'.
4. Enter the domain name then it asks for domain server user name and password.
5. Restart the system.
NOTE: - The time & date of all the systems must be same.

To create user accounts on domain

1. Start à Programs à Administrator tools à ADS users & computers.
2. To create organization, select the server and select ‘ New organization ' from the pop-up menu.
3. To create new user account, we select ‘ New user ' from pop-up menu.
4. To move a user/computer, we select the user/computer and then select move from the pop-up menu. Then enter the OU (Organizational Unit) name.

To make restriction

1. To restrict a user to logon in particular time. Then we select the user A/c and then select ‘ Logon hours ' from right click menu. Then we give the day and time restriction and select logon denied .
2. To restrict users to log on any particular computer, we select ‘ logon to ' from right click menu and add the computers to logon. Remaining computers are restricted from logon.
3. To expire a user at any particular time, we select the user A/c and select ‘ Account expires ' from pop-up menu. Now we select the date and time when the A/c expires. On that particular date & time the user can not logon.
4. To disable a user/computer, we select disable from pop-up menu.

RIS (Remote Installation Service)

RIS is used to install OS on a client, which has not CD-ROM. To install OS we create RIS wizard on a server and install OS on the network. We can install only Win 2k Professional through RIS. RIS delete all partitions of the client computer.

Requirements for RIS server

1. Win 2k server
2. ADS (Active Directory Service)
3. NTFS partition other than system having Win 2k image
4. DHCP server (Authorized)
5. TCP/IP protocol
6. DNS server
7. RIS (configure)
8. Win 2k professional CD-ROM
9. PXE – boot ROM (NIC) or RIS client floppies
To create floppy, we use RBFG command. But the floppy run in some types of LAN, which is made by some manufacturers like Intel (PRC), AMD, IBM, Compaq, 3Com.

Installation of RIS

1. We need DHCP and DNS for RIS so first we Install DHCP and DNS.
2. When creating scope, we define the DNS name and computer name.
3. Authorized DHCP server.
4. Select add/remove window components from the add/remove programs of control panel.
5. Check the RIS .
6. When we press Next, it configure the components. Enter the CD-ROM of Win 2k, when prompted.
7. We end the wizard or completing the installation by clicking on Finish and then restart the system.

Configure RIS setup wizard

1. To configure RIS setup wizard, Run risetup command on RUN.
2. Click on Next on welcome screen.
3. In Remote installation folder location wizard, enter the location for the installation folder. The partition must be formatted by NTFS.
4. In initial setting wizard, if we want this RIS server to respond to client requests, we check ‘respond to client computer requesting service'. We can also configure it manually after the after the setup wizard.
5. In the Installation source file location wizard, we specify the location of the Win 2k professional source file that the wizard will copy to create the default RIS image.
6. In Window installation image folder name wizard, give the name of the folder that will contain the RIS image. By default the folder name is win2000.pro .
7. In Friendly Description and help text screen, enter a description and help text for the RIS image.
8. Now it displays the summary of all the setting or information. Now click Finish.
9. Remote installation service setup wizard will run in which RIS server copies files, creates the remote installation folder, create the image of Window 2000 professional and set up the RIS server. This process takes several minutes. When the process completes, click on Done .


Installation of Win 2k pro on client through PXE-NIC by RIS

1. To install OS on a new system we boot the system from PXE – NIC.
2. Now it configures DHCP and obtains a IP address and now press F12 , when prompted.
3. Welcome screen will display, click on Next.
4. Give User name, password and domain name of RIS server.
5. Configure all data on HD of client computer will be deleted.
6. Now it shows setting.
7. Installation of Win 2k professional started.

DHCP.DNS & WINS

It is used to auto assigned IP addresses to TCP/IP clients. But we need to give static IP address to DHCP server manually. We can install DHCP only on Win NT server or Win 2k server . There may be any OS on client computer. There must be TCP/IP protocol on both sides. On client computers, in TCP/IP properties, we select ‘ Automatic IP address ' instead of manually.

Installation of DHCP server

1. Select add/remove window components from the add/remove programs of control panel.
2. Check the DHCP from the Detail of Networking Services .
3. When we press OK and then Next, it configure the components. There is no need of Win 2k CD-ROM.
4. We end the wizard by clicking on Finish.

Configuration of DHCP server

1. Open Start à Programs à Administrator tools à DHCP
2. In DHCP dialog box, select system name and select ‘New scope ' from pop-up menu.
3. Click next on welcome screen.
4. In next wizard, we have to provide an identifying scope name . This helps us quickly identifying how the scope is to be used on network.
5. In IP address range dialog box, we define the scope address range by identifying a set of consecutive IP addresses. We enter the start IP address and End IP address . A subnet mask defines how many bits of an IP address to use for the network IDs.
6. In add exclusions wizard, we enter the IP address or a range of address, that are not distributed by the server.
NOTE: - The IP address of Server must be excluded.
7. In Lease duration dialog box, specifies how long a client can use an IP address from this scope. We can give the days, hours or minutes.
NOTE : - By default lease duration in Win NT is 3 days and in Win 2k is 8days .
But in Win NT, we can give unlimited days and in Win 2k, we can give 999 days .
If the server is off, then the network will work up to given limit.
8. In configure DHCP options, it asks for configure DNS sever and WINS settings. We can select ‘Yes' to configure it now or we can select ‘No' to configure later.
9. We complete DHCP by click on Finish.
10. Now we select ‘ Activate ' from the right click of scope. There are further four options in this:
(i) Address Pool : - It shows the range of IP-address range and excluded IP-address.
(ii) Address lease : - It shows the defined IP addresses of client computers on network.
(iii) Reservation : - The IP-address of each computer change after the lease duration. If we want to reserve any address to any computer. Then we reserve it. In this we give reservation name, IP address (reserved) and Mac address of the system.

After this configuration, first client computer request for IP address to DHCP. DHCP server provides a IP address to client in specified range. Then client send a acknowledgement.
NOTE : - In case of Portable computer or Laptop, to get the new address on a new network, we use ipconfig/renew command.

WINS (Window Internet Name Service)

Before 1993, to make the networking, we use a file named LMHOSTS.SAM in folder \winnt\system32\drivers\etc . We make entry of each system on network by edit the file in command mode.

Disadvantages of LMHOSTS.SAM

1. This file has to be edited manually, which becomes a problem in a big network.
2. If a client/server changes the IP address, the entry have to be made in LMHOSTS.SAM file.
WINS resolves NetBIOS name to TCP/IP. WINS increasing network browsing (surfing) and reduced network conjunction. If our LAN has NetBEUI protocol, it can not work over router, so we use ‘ NetBIOS over TCP/IP ' utility to work over router. There is a feature ‘ Dynamic Registration ' in WINS to auto change the IP address.
The IP address of WINS must be static . We can install WINS only on Win NT server or Win 2k server . There may be any OS on client computer. There must be TCP/IP protocol on both sides. On client computers, IP address can be static or manual.
We use two WINS server on a big network.
(i) Primary (ii) Secondary
Features of two WINS are Load balancing & Fault tolerance . Both WINS server replicate with each other.

Multiple servers

In Win NT 4.0 server, we can use 2 WINS servers and we can control about 10,000 clients. But in Win 2k server, we can use 12 WINS servers and can control unlimited clients. First server is called Primary and other servers are called Secondary . There are two ways to resolve ( Only specified computer & To all ).

NODE type

• B-Node (Broadcast) : - It is used for small networks without router.
• P - Node (Point-to-point) : - It is used for small networks, can be used over networks. There is not any fault tolerance i.e. if WINS fails, there is name resolution problem.
• M - Node (Mixed) : - It first used B-Node then P-Node. If B-Node fails, request forward to P-Node.
• H-Node (Hybrid) : - It first used P-Node then B-Node. If P-Node fails, request forward to B-node.
By default Win 2k clients are installed in B-Node and WINS server use H-Node .
Win Proxy agent : - It is third party software which is used for clients, which does not support WINS.

In Win 2k, WINS features

• 12 WINS server
• Load balancing
• Fault tolerance
• Push & Pull replication
• Dynamic registration
• Faster than robust

Installation of WINS

1. Select add/remove window components from the add/remove programs of control panel.
2. Check the WINS from the Detail of Networking Services .
3. When we press OK and then Next, it configure the components. Enter the CD-ROM of Win 2k, when prompted.
4. We end the wizard or completing the installation by clicking on Finish.

To create the database

1. Select the LAN connection from the properties of ‘My network places'.
2. Select the TCP/IP protocol from the properties of ‘LAN connection'.
3. Select Advanced from the properties of TCP/IP.
4. Tab to WINS and add the IP-address of WINS server.
5. If we use LMHOSTS, then we ‘ enable LMHOSTS lookup ' option and import LMHOSTS file.
6. If DHCP is installed then check the option ‘ Use NetBIOS setting from the DHCP server '. Now we need not to confirm the IP-address of WINS server on clients.

Configure WINS server

1. Open Start à Programs à Administrator tools à WINS
2. Select ‘ Active Registration ' from the right click of the server.
3. After activation, right click the server and select find by owner .
4. It displays the list of clients on which we make entry of server.

DNS (Domain Name Service/System)

First internet is used by US army, which is called ARPANET. It has maximum 100 clients. It is used only on CUI. There is a HOST file used to internet. DNS introduced in 1984. It is based on Hierarchical structure, which is introduced in MS-DOS 2.0.

Hierarchical structure
DNS resolves host name to IP address

Advantages of DNS

• We need not to remember the IP address.
• Through name, there is a self advertisement.

Features of DNS

It is fully integrated with Active Directory service.
In a pure Win 2k network, we did not require WINS. DNS will solve the purpose of WINS.
Faster for communication.
More than one DNS solve the purpose of Load balancing & Fault tolerance .
DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name System)
DHCP and DNS integrated.

Installation of DNS server

Before installation check HUB is ON in case of 100 Mbps LAN card, it shows on taskbar. In case of 10 Mbps, no need that HUB is ON.
Select add/remove window components from the add/remove programs of control panel.
Check the DNS from the Detail of Networking Services .
When we press OK and then Next, it configure the components. Enter the CD-ROM of Win 2k, when prompted.
We end the wizard or completing the installation by clicking on Finish.

Configuration of DNS server

1. Open Start à Programs à Administrator tools à DNS
2. Now select computer name and then select New zone from the pop-up menu.
3. Click Next on Welcome screen.
4. In Zone type, select Standard primary . It stores a master copy of new zone in a text file. Standard secondary creates a copy of the existing zone.
5. In this wizard, it asks for forward or reverse lookup zone. A Forward lookup zone is a name-to-address database that helps computers translate DNS names into IP addresses and provides information about available services. A Reverse lookup zone is an address-to-name database that helps computers translate IP addresses into DNS names.
6. Enter the zone name. If we are going to install ADS then we need to add extension of 3 characters with the zone name.
7. Then the zone file name wizard will open. In this we select create a new or use exiting file. The file must be stored in %systemroot%\system32\dns folder with .dns extension.
8. In this step, it shows the description and we complete the configuring by clicking on Finish.
9. Now select the Zone in left side, then in right side select New Host from the right click menu.
10. Enter the name and IP address of computer and click on Add Host .
11. In case of reverse backup zone, we will enter the IP address of network not computer, at place of name. This file is created with name of opposite IP address with extension in-addr.arpa.dns .

To apply DNS

1. Open the properties of ‘My computer'.
2. Tab to Network identification and select the network ID.
3. Click on the DNS, and enter the DNS name.
4. Open More and enter the ‘Primary DNS suffix for this computer'.

TCP/IP Overview

The TCP/IP is a network protocol which provides communication across computers with diverse H/w architectures and various OS. It provides high-speed communication links using packet-switching networks to government agencies, universities and corporations. Microsoft TCP/IP is a routable enterprise network protocol. Mostly OS use TCP/IP protocol for communicating.

IP-address

An IP address is a unique, numeric identifier used to specify a particular host computer on a network, and it is part of global, standardized scheme for identifying machines that are connected to the internet. Each computer running TCP/IP requires IP address. IP addresses consist of four numbers between 0 to 255, separated by periods, which represent both the network and the host machine. It is 32 bits long.
If we change IP address, then after changing the IP address the network is not enabled. Then in case of Win 98 restart the system and in case Win 2k/XP, once disable the LAN and then enable again.
There are five classes of IP address.
• Class –A : - In this class first 8 bits are used for network address and the last 24 bits are used for host address. The range of first 8 bits is from 1 to 126 . The first part of the IP address is not representing by 0 and the 127 is used for loop back function. The other numbers can be between 0 to 255.
• Class –B : - In this class first 16 bits are used for network address and the last 16 bits are used for host address. The range of first 8 bits is from 128 to 191 . The other numbers can be between 0 to 255.
• Class –C : - In this class first 24 bits are used for network address and the last 8 bits are used for host address. The range of first 8 bits is from 192 to 223 . The other numbers can be between 0 to 255.
• Class –D : - This class is used for multicasting means video conferencing. The range of first 8 bits is from 224 to 239 .
• Class –E : - This class is under R & D (Research & Development).

Subnet mask
It is a network in a multiple network environment that uses IP address derived from a single network ID. Using subnet mask an organization can divide a single large network into multiple physical networks and connected them with routers. A router is a device that is used to connect networks of different types, such as those using different architectures and protocols.
A subnet mask is used to block out a partition of the IP address so that TCP/IP can distinguish the network ID from the host ID. When TCP/IP host try to communicate, the subnet mask is used to determine whether the destination host is located on a local or a remote network. Subnet mask is 32 bits.
Class – A 255.0.0.0
Class – B 255.255.0.0
Class – C 255.255.255.0
Normally Class – C subnet mask is used.

Default Gateway
For communication with a host on another network, we use gateway. Default gateway is address of router. In a network without router or in a local network, we set it blank.
We can configure TCP/IP properties manually or automatic .

To manually configure TCP/IP
1. Select properties of ‘My network places'.
2. Select properties of LAN connection.
• Select TCP/IP protocol, and then click on Properties .
• In the IP address tab, enter the IP address , subnet mask and default gateway .
To configure the TCP/IP automatically we need to install DHCP server.

2 NIC (2 LAN card)
Two LAN cards are used to connect two different class networks. One LAN card has the IP address of one network and the second has the IP address of second network. The computer, which connect two networks or which have 2 LAN card is work like a router , called MULTIHOME .


We can use a single LAN card as 2 or more LAN cards by giving it more IP address. Steps to add more IP address to a single LAN card:
1. Select the LAN connection from the properties of ‘My network places'.
2. Select the TCP/IP protocol from the properties of ‘LAN connection'.
3. Open the properties of TCP/IP protocol.
4. LAN card has an IP address of one network, click on Add to add more IP address and then enter the IP address of other network.
5. Then OK. Now when we run IPCONFIG, it show us more IP address of a single LAN card.

Internet Connection & Communication

Dial up connection
If there is internal modem, then it show at booting time and then in device manager. Internal modem always installed on COM3 automatically.

To make a connection

Right click ‘My network places' and select ‘Make new connection' from the properties.
After welcome wizard there is network connection wizard. There are five options
• Dial up to private network : - It is used for RAS (Remote Access Service).
• Dial up to internet : - It is used to connect to the internet using phone line.
• Connect to private network through the internet : - Create a VPN connection or ‘tunnel' through the internet.
• Accept incoming connection : - Let other computers connected to mine by phone line, the internet or direct cable.
• Connect directly to another computer : - Connect using my serial, parallel or infrared port.
Among all of these options, we select ‘dial up to internet' to make connection through modem.
The internet connection wizard will open. There are three options in welcome screen.
• Direct sign up for a new internet account
• Existing account to this computer
• Internet connection manually through LAN
We select the ‘Internet connection manually through LAN' option.
In setting up your internet connection there are two options to make connection
• I connect through a phone line and a modem
• I connect through LAN
We select ‘connect through a phone line and a modem' option.
In step1 of 3 of internet connection wizard, we enter the internet account connection information like area code, telephone number and country name/code.
In step 2 of 3, of internet connection wizard, we enter the internet account logon information. In this we give user name and password.
In step 3 of 3, of internet connection wizard, we configure our computer by giving a connection name.
In this option, we configure to setup an ‘internet mail account now'. If YES, then we use POP3 otherwise we select NO.
At last completing the internet connection wizard by clicking on Finish.

To check a modem is correct installed

Control panel à Phone & Modem à tab to Modem à Make speed high à tab to Diagnostics à click on Query modem

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

It is a private, encrypted connection between two computers that can communicate with each other using TCP/IP. We need to create both VPN and incoming connection for communicate. The transmission through VPN is much slow.

Requirements of both sides

1. TCP/IP protocol
2. Internet connection
3. Modem
4. VPN wizard configuration (IP address, user name, password)

To create a VPN wizard

1 . Right click ‘My network places' and select ‘Make new connection' from the properties.
2 . After welcome wizard there is network connection wizard. There are five options
(i) Dial up to private network : - It is used for RAS (Remote Access Service).
(ii) Dial up to internet : - It is used to connect to the internet using phone line.
• Connect to private network through the internet : - Create a VPN connection or ‘tunnel' through the internet.
• Accept incoming connection : - Let other computers connected to mine by phone line, the internet or direct cable.
• Connect directly to another computer : - Connect using my serial, parallel or infrared port.
Among all of these options, we select ‘Connect to private network through the internet' to make connection private network through modem.
3 . In the public network screen, there are two options
(i) Do not dial the initial connection option is used, if the other computer has a full time internet connection.
(ii) Automatic dial this initial connection option is used, if the computer has a modem and dial up connection to the internet.
4 . In the destination address screen, type the host name or IP address of the other side computer on a VPN.
5 . In the connection availability wizard, select whether the connection available to all users or currently logged on users.
6 . In Internet connection sharing wizard, check the option to enable.
7 . In completing the network connection wizard, enter the name of the connection and click on Finish.

To create a incoming wizard

1 . Right click ‘My network places' and select ‘Make new connection' from the properties.
2 . After welcome wizard there is network connection wizard. There are five options
(i) Dial up to private network : - It is used for RAS (Remote Access Service).
(ii) Dial up to internet : - It is used to connect to the internet using phone line.
(iii) Connect to private network through the internet : -Create a VPN connection or ‘tunnel' through the internet.
• Accept incoming connection : - Let other computers connected to mine by phone line, the internet or direct cable.
• Connect directly to another computer : - Connect using my serial, parallel or infrared port.
Among all of these options, we select ‘Accept incoming connection' to make connection to receive incoming on private network through modem.
3 . In Devices for incoming connection wizard, we select the device among COM, LPT or USB.
4 . In Incoming Virtual Private Connection wizard, it confirm for the virtual private network. We select ‘Allow virtual private connections'.
5 . In Allowed Users wizard, we select or check the users which allow to connect to this computer. We can add/delete any user also.
6 . In Networking components wizard, we select, enable and configure networking components which we need for networking.
7 . In completing the network connection wizard, enter the name of the connection and click on Finish.

Hyper Terminal

Hyper Terminal is used to transmit data from one computer to another computer through phone without internet connection. It is fast in communication & transmission.

Configure the Hyper Terminal

1. Start à Programs à Accessories à communication à Hyper Terminal
2. In Connection description wizard, enter the name of the connection and select the icon for shortcut.
3. In Connect to wizard, enter the country, area and phone no. and select the port.
4. Then to make connection, we select connect and then dial and enter the phone no.

Print Server

Any computer on a network, with which the printer attaches, having any OS is called Print server . To use printer on network, we need to share the printer and enable the file and print sharing in LAN properties. Printer is attached with server by a physical port and client is attached through logical port .
Note: - In Win NT/2k Printer is a S/w (driver of H/w printer) and Print Device is physical printer.
We use LPT or USB port to attach printer because of high speed. We use NIC for large network because of high speed.

HP DLC Printer (Data Link Control)

When we attach any printer on a big network then there is a special printer having NIC which is connected with HUB with a UTP wire. It is called network printer. For communicating we use DLC protocol on systems.

TCP/IP Printer

This printer is used on bulky net, so it is actually called network printer. There are RAM slots in the printer. There is also a processor in printer comes only in MHz. it also have a small HD. Its cost starts from 50,000 to 10 Lakes. Speed of this printer is 20 PPM to 100 PPM.

To install a printer on server on network

Start à Setting à Printers à Add printer
When we click on add printer then a wizard will open.
On clicking next, it asks for local or shared printer. If the system is Print server then we select local otherwise or on client we select network printer .
Now we select the printer port LPT, COM, USB. If our printer is TCP/IP printer, then we select standard TCP/IP Port from create new port.
In this step we select Manufacturers and then the model of the printer. We need the Win 2k CD-ROM to install otherwise we select ‘Have Disk' . We can select ‘ hp standard '.
We give the printer name and select it default printer or no.
If we want to share then, we give a name by which it is shared.
Then give location and comment.
Now select Test page printer or not.
At last it show the full information then click on Finish, it copies the printer file from removable media to HD.

To install a printer on client on network

Open My Network Places and open Computers near me.
Open the computer on which computer is attached.
Open the printer and it automatically install the drive.

Printer properties

General : - It shows the Printer name, Location, Comment, Model. We can also set the printing preferences and also can print test page.
Sharing : - In this option, we can select ‘ Not shared ' or ‘ shared by a name '.
Note : - If our network has computers with different OS then we install ‘ Additional drivers ' and insert the Win 2k CD-ROM.
Ports : - In this option, we ‘ enable bidirectional support ' and ‘ enable printer pooling '. We can select more than one printer from the list. We can also add port, delete port or configure port.
Advanced : - In this option, we give the time for available printer . In case of priority to give users, we give the priority. We can also do spool setting. Keep printed documents , by checking this option, it keeps the printed documents in his printing list, even after the printing also. We can also set the Printing Default , Print Processor and Separator Page options.
Color management : - In this option we select automatic or manual.
Security : - In this option, we give the security to print the document by printer. We can add/remove any user from printing. We can also give permissions to any particular user.

Features of printer in Win 2k

Spooling

Spooling is feature of printer. In this feature, a temporary directory called spooler store the printing queues on the HD, which is removed after the printing. We can change the path of print spool from one drive to another if the space on one drive is full and second is empty.

Pooling

To Pooling on print server for printing we need 1 printer and 2 print devices . Both the print devices should be identical. This feature is also helpful in load balancing and fault tolerance .

Printing priority

In this feature, we give the priority to printer. For this we need 2 printer and 1 print device . The lowest priority is 1 and the highest priority is 99 . During printing, if there are many commands of printing from low priority and a command of printing from high priority. Then the high priority command will print after the continuous command of low priority.

Network Interconnect

When we connect two or more computers to share resources (H/w & S/w), is called networking. There are different methods to make networking between different operating system. There is not any problem in Pure networking (same OS). The networking between Win 2k and 98 is easy. But the networking between Win XP and other OS is hard.

Requirement for networking

• Computer name (unique)
• Workgroup name (same)
• Anyone protocol (same)
• NIC (Network Interface Card)
• Cables
• Hub/Switch
• Connectors

Identifying system on network

Select Properties of My computer.
Tab to Network identification and go properties.
Enter a unique computer name and same workgroup on the network. The default name of workgroup in Win 2k is WORKGROUP .
Select Properties of My Network Places.
Select ‘Local Area Network' icon
NOTE: - If there is no icon, it means there is not any NIC.
The information is displayed at left side. If there is ‘ Fast Ethernet card ' then the speed display is 100 Mbps otherwise 10 Mbps.
Select Properties of LAN and configure client, sharing and protocols .
Restart the system to make on network.

To make a connection in Win 2k (pure network)

1. Open ‘My network Places' and see the computers on network in ‘computer Near Me' option.
To share any folder select the folder and select sharing from the right click menu. We can give a different name to a folder on a network, called ‘share name'. We can also limit the users to access the folder. To give the permissions we click on permissions . To configure setting for offline access to shared folder click on caching option. When we share a folder then a hand will come under the folder.
NOTE : - We can share only a folder not a file.
To see the shared folder on network, open My Network Places and then open ‘Computers Near Me', then open any computer it show the shared folders.

At Command prompt

C:\hostname Display the computer name
C:\ipconfig It show the IP address, subnet mask etc.
C:\ipconfig/all It displays all the info. Mainly it displays Mac-address.
C:\net view It display all the computers name on network.
C:\net send * message To send the message to all computers on network.
C:\net send nik message To send the message to single named nik.
C:\net stop messenger To stop the coming message.
C:\net * messenger to again start the service.

To make a connection between Win 2k & Win 98

1. At the time of login remember that ‘Don't press Esc or Cancel'. Always press OK to make the system on network. If we press Esc, then there is no networking.
2. A user which is created in Win NT, Win 2k can access resources.
3. To see the information on network in GUI on Win 9x, Me; we use winipcfg command. This command is not work in Win NT or Win 2k.
4. Mostly all commands of Win 2k also run in Win 9x. But to send or receive message, the software used in Win 98 is winpopup.exe . We open this tool from system tools at the time of chatting.
NOTE: - ipconfig command is not work in Win 95.

To make a connection between Win XP & Win 98

To make networking, we need to configure a wizard in Win XP and then run that wizard in other OS. To configure wizard we need to follow these steps:

1. Select ‘Network setup wizard' from ‘Network Neighborhood' and start.
2. After welcome wizard and before continue, install and connect everything.
3. Select a connection wizard, in other we can select network without Internet .
4. Give computer name and description.
5. Give Workgroup name, by default the name is MSHOME .
6. When we click on ready to apply network then it makes connection.
7. Then there are four options
(i) Create a network startup disk.
(ii) Use network disk, which I have.
(iii) Use Window XP CD-ROM.
(iv) Finish the wizard; I don't need to run wizard on any computer.
8. By selecting (i) from upper point, insert the floppy, which we want to use. First format the floppy then use it.
9. Then it copies the wizard files from HD to floppy.
10. To run the wizard with the network setup wizard
(i) Insert the network setup disk into computer on network.
(ii) Open My computer and then open network setup disk.
(iii) Double click netsetup .
11. Finish the network setup wizard.
12. Restart the system.

Connection configuration

(a) Client

(i) Client for Microsoft Network : - If the client service used on same network of Win 2k.
(ii) Client for Netware : - It is used to make connection of Win 2k with Novell network.

(b) Service
(i) File and print sharing : - It is used to share files and printers.
(ii) SAP Agent : - It is used for advertising the server.

(c) Protocol

(i) Apple talk protocol : - It is used to make network/connection with apple/i-mac computers.
(ii) DLC Link : - It is Data Link Control. It is used to share the ‘ hp ' printers.
(iii) TCP/IP : - It is used for communication on a network and Internet.
(iv) NetBEUI : - It is Net BIOS Extended User Interface. It is the fastest protocol. It is a non routing protocol.
(v) NWLink : - This protocol installed in Win 2k for making connection of win 2k OS network with Novell network.

Operating System

There are mainly two types of operating system.
• DOS (Desktop Operating System)
• NOS (Network Operating System)

DOS
1. It is a desktop operating system.
2. It is used in small networks.
3. In this OS, there is less security.
4. In this OS, all computers are clients.
5. In this OS, MS-DOS, GUI package Win
3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Win ME comes.
NOS
1. It is a network operating system.
2. It is used for large networks.
3. In this OS, there is more security.
4. In this OS, there are servers and clients.
5. In this OS Win NT, Win 2000, Win
2003, LINUX, UNIX, Novell and i mac
comes.

Progress of NOS

IBM OS/2
Win NT 3.5
MS NT 4.0 NT 5.0 (Win 2000) Win XP Win 2003
(1993) (98-99) (17-2-2k) (25-10-01) (24-2-03)

Win 2000 Family

Win 2000 Win 3.1 + Win 95 + Win 98 + Win ME + Win NT
Win 2k Pro : -
It is used for a client, which is used for small applications.
Win 2k server : -
It is used for small network with the requirement of server and ideal for the file and print server.

Win 2k advanced server : -
It is ideal server for web server (IIS i.e. Internet Information Server). It is idle for SQL.

Win 2k Data Centre Server: -
It is most powerful OS. It is idle for stop exchanges, Banks, Online transaction, Scientific & Engineering projects, large scale warehouses etc.

Hot features

Win 2k have many hot features over Win NT 4.0 and Win 95/98

Win 2000
Win NT 4.0
Win 95/98
1. PnP (Plug and Play)
X
v
2. Multiprocessor
v
X
3. Security
v
X
4. Support up to 32 processor
v
X
5. RAID (fault tolerance)
v
X
6. Access to Apple computer
v
X
7. Multi protocol
v
X
8. Huge RAM (64GB)
4GB
X
9. Large Partition (16EB)
v (16EB)
X (2TB)
10. More H/W support
Less
Moderate
11. Internet Printing Protocol (Printing
through Web Server)
X
X
12. Remote installation service
X
X
13. Web server (IIS 5.0)
X
X
14. Active Directory Service (ADS)
X
X
15. Unlimited SAM (Security Accounts
Manager) size
X (40MB)
X
16. Hot Swappable support
X
X
17. VPN (Virtual Private Network),
ICS (Internet Connection Sharing),
RAS (Remote Access Server)
X
X
In Win 98 SE à VPN, ICS

Multiprocessor : - This works only in NOS not in DOS. Cost of motherboard of dual processors start from 25000. Processors in dual processor motherboard must be identical. Web server does not support single processor. Mainly we use processors of Xeon category for servers.
Apple computer : - Macintosh OS of Apple computer which use processor of Motorola. It uses dedicated hardware.
Hot swappable devices : - Which devices can install/uninstall, plug and play without shut down the computer.

Upgrade conditions : -
Is the hardware sufficient?
Uninstall the anti – virus.
Always take a backup.
Is the Operating System upgradeable?
Un-installation of new OS.
Will the hardware (drivers) work properly?
Will exiting software work?

Win 2000 Family H/W requirements


Professional
Server
Advanced server
Data centre
Processor
133 MHz or high Pentium
PIII Xeon processor or higher
Memory
32MB – 64MB
128MB – 4GB recommended 256
128MB – 8GB recommended 256
256MB – 64GB
Hard Disk
2GB
Free space
650MB
1GB
Video
VGA or higher required
CD – ROM
Required
Multiprocessor or support
2
4
8
32

Features of Win 2000 Professional

It is created by 2000 professional programmers of 24 companies and it takes about 2 years to complete. It has many features, which are given below: -
Support more than 6500 h/w devices (USB, digital camera, infrared, scanner)
Win NT 4.0 does not support USB ports. Infrared used in Laptop computers to make connection between two laptop computers on a up to 3 – 4 m. Its network speed is 4 – 6 Mbps.
Support about 2500 printers.
PnP (Add remove hardware wizard)
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Offline folders
Driver signing
It is the new feature of Win 2000. It contains HCL (Hardware Compatibility List), which have the list of devices, which are recommended by Microsoft for installing Win2000. it store in HCL.TXT file which is about 250 pages long.
Power option (Stand by, Hibernate, Low battery alarm, UPS)
A new type of UPS, which have a COM port. It is connect with COM port of CPU, which auto shut down the system and show the remaining power in taskbar. It is manufactured by APC and TVS.
WDM (Window Driver Model), drivers written in WDM will work both in Win 98 and Win 2000.
Support up to 10 monitors.
This means a picture is shown on multiple monitors. For this we use LCD monitors to split a big picture.
IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) à Print to URL over an Internet or the Intranet.
Support Smart Card
It is a card having a chip. It is read by a device called Smart Card Reader.

Installation

There are two types of installation.
(i) Attended or (Manual) (ii) Unattended or (Automatic)

ATTENDED installation of Win 2k Pro. by bootable CD - ROM : -
First of all, we go in CMOS setting and make first boot from CD –ROM and second from HDD.
Now insert the bootable CD – ROM of Win 2000 Pro. Computer asks for boot from CD – ROM. We press Enter to boot from CD – ROM in 5 sec .
System loading the hardware configuration files from CD – ROM to RAM.
Then the license agreement will display and we press F8 to agree the agreement.
In this step, it will come on welcome wizard :-
• To install window press Enter.
• To repair window press R.
• To Quit press F3.
Now the partition screen will display, where we can see the partition and the free space on the HDD.
• To install the window press Enter.
• To create Partition press C.
• To delete partition Press D.
When we delete partition, for conformation it ask to press L.
We select the partition and press Enter. It asks for format the partition with NTFS or FAT f/s.
Now the system formats the partition with selected file system.
Firstly it creates the list of files to copy. Then the system files copy from CD – ROM to HDD.
Then the system will Restart.
Now pull out the CD – ROM from drive and the system will boot from HDD and a welcome wizard will come.
Now it installs devices like keyboard and mouse. During this time screen may flicker for a few sec. to detect monitor.
Regional setting wizard will display, in which it ask for location and keyboard layout of the computer system and user both.
Now it ask for personalize information, in which we write name and organization.
Now enter the product key.
RDBC9 – VTRC8 – D7972 – J97JY – PRVMG
After product key we enter the computer name and administrator password.
Now we set the date & time of system according to location.
Window installs networking components during network setting.
Now it asks for typical or custom settings of networking.
After this it asks for 2000 components.
In final task performing it
Install start menu items
Registers components
Save settings
Remove any temporary files used
Now click finish to complete the installation.
System will restart.

ATTENDED installation of Win 2k Server by bootable CD - ROM: -
First of all, we go in CMOS setting and make first boot from CD –ROM and second from HDD.
Now insert the bootable CD – ROM of Win 2000 Pro. Computer ask for boot from CD – ROM. We press Enter to boot from CD – ROM in 5 sec .
System loading the hardware configuration files from CD – ROM to RAM.
Then the license agreement will display and we press F8 to agree the agreement.
In this step, it will come on welcome wizard :-
To install window press Enter.
To repair window press R.
To Quit press F3.
Now the partition screen will display, where we can see the partition and the free space on the HDD.
To install the window press Enter.
To create Partition press C.
To delete partition Press D.
When we delete partition, for conformation it ask to press L.
We select the partition and press Enter. It asks for format the partition with NTFS or FAT f/s.
Now the system formats the partition with selected file system.
Firstly it creates the list of files to copy. Then the system files copy from CD – ROM to HDD.
Then the system will Restart.
Now pull out the CD – ROM from drive and the system will boot from HDD and a welcome wizard will come.
Now it installs devices like keyboard and mouse. During this time screen may flicker for a few sec. to detect monitor.
Regional setting wizard will display, in which it ask for location and keyboard layout of the computer system and user both.
Now it ask for personalize information, in which we write name and organization.
Now enter the product key.
RDBC9 – VTRC8 – D7972 – J97JY – PRVMG
16. It asks for licensing modes to attach no. of concurrent connections. We can enter any no. of connections in case of CD – ROM, which is not original.
After product key we enter the computer name and administrator password.
Now it asks for Win 2000 components, we can add or remove any component, for this we simply click check box.
Now we set the date & time of system according to location.
Window installs networking components during network setting.
Now it asks for typical or custom settings of networking.
After this it asks for 2000 components.
In final task performing it
Install start menu items
Registers components
Save settings
Remove any temporary files used
Now click finish to complete the installation.
System will restart.
After full installation, Win 2000 configure your server wizard will display.
• This is the only server in my network.
• One or more servers are already running in my network.
• I will configure this server later.

ATTENDED installation of Win 2k by non - bootable CD – ROM: -
First start the system by bootable disk and choose with CD – ROM support option.
Now enter the Win 2k folder there is a directory i386 . Enter in i386 folder, there is a file named Winnt.exe .
NOTE: - setup.exe & winnt32.exe does not run on DOS mode. It can run only in GUI mode.
When we press Enter, there is a message
“There is no smart drive active in system.
NOTE: - Without smart drive, installation of win 2k Pro. will take app. 1 hour. But with the help of smart drive Win 2000 Pro is installed in about 30 min. So we must install smart drive before installation.
Now we press Enter. System show from where the files copy on system hard disk that folder is G:\Winnt\i386 .
In this process the files are stored in 2 temporary directories, which will delete after installation. These directories are
C:\$win_nt$ ~ LS
C:\$win_nt$ ~ BT
Now the files copied from CD – ROM to hard disk.
Restart the system and remove the CD – ROM.
Then the same steps in bootable CD – ROM installation.
Dual Booting of Professional – Professional
After license agreement, it asks for
• Repair the current window press R .
• To install fresh window press Esc .
Chose Esc to install a new window for dual booting and the portioning screen will display and then the same steps.

Dual Boot by WINNT32 in GUI mode
• Welcome wizard and we select Upgrade from the options.
• The license agreement screen will display.
• Product key screen will display.
• select special options (Language options, Advanced option, Accessibility options)
In advanced option check mark the following options
• Copy the setup files from CD-ROM to hard disk
• Ask for the partition before installation
• Format option with NTFS or FAT.
• Coping installation files from CD – ROM to HD in two temporary folders.
• Restart the system.
• After license agreement, it asks for
• Repair the current window press R .
• To install fresh window press Esc .
Chose Esc to install a new window for dual booting and the portioning screen will display and then the same steps.

File Systems

A file system is the method used by an OS to manage the data on a drive. To make different drive or partitions, we use FDISK command. To make tracks & sectors on a drive, we use FORMAT command. The OS uses only one file system for an entire logical drive.

Types of file system

CDFS : - It is Compact Disk File System. It is read only and used to read the contents of CD – ROM. It is supported by all OS. In some OS we need to install it like in DOS but in OS like 9x it automatically installed.
UDF : - It is Universal Disk Format and read only file system used to read the contents of DVD.
HPFS : - It is High Performance File System which comes only in Win NT 3.5.
FAT 16 : - FAT is File Allocation Table and 16 means it used 16 bits or 2 Bytes to make each entry. It is supported by all OS so it is also called universal file system.
FAT 32 : - This f/s use 32 bits to make each entry. But it is not supported by DOS, Win 95 and Win NT.

Difference between FAT 16 & FAT 32

FAT 16

1. Hard Disk Size
in Win 98 à Up to 2GB
in Win NT/2k à Up to 4GB
2. Cluster size
in 2GB à 32KB
in 4GB à 64KB
3. It is slow in speed.
4. It is supported by all OS.
FAT 32

1. Hard Disk Size
in Win 98 à Up to 2TB
in Win NT/2k à Up to 32GB
2. Cluster size
in 8GB à 4KB
in 16GB à 8KB
3. It is fast in speed.
4. It is don't supported by DOS, Win 95,
Win NT.

Cluster size : -
It is one or more sectors that constitute the smallest unit of space on a disk for storing data also called FAT, files are written to a disk as groups of whole clusters.
Mainly we use FAT32, because of small cluster size to reduce the wastage of HD space called slacks . To see the cluster size, we use CHKDSK command.
In some cases, like in installation of win 2k, system does not ask about format with FAT 16 or FAT 32. Then it checks the partition size, if the size is less than 4GB, it format with FAT 16 otherwise with FAT 32.

NTFS : - It is New Technology File System.
In Win NT 4.0 à NTFS 4.0
In Win NT 5.0 à NTFS 5.0
NOTE: - Floppy can not be format in NTFS file system, because in NTFS it requires 25% of partition total space for directory overhead.

Features of NTFS
There are many hot features of NTFS file system over FAT. Comparison of NTFS, FAT 32 and FAT 16 in case of Win 2k is displayed on next page: -

Feature

1. File level security
2. Speed to access files
3. Huge partition
4. Compression (file level)
5. Long file name
6. Local security
7. Cluster size
8. POSIX support
9. Support Macintosh files
10. Volume set extension
11. Hot fixing
12. Recoverable f/s
13. Encrypting f/s
14. Disk Quota
NTFS

v (12 permissions)
v
16EB
2:1
v
v
64 bits
v
v
v
v (chkdsk)
v
v
v
FAT 32

X
v
32GB
X
v
X
32 bits
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
FAT 16

X
X
4GB
X
X
X
16 bits
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

Compression: - It is a feature of NTFS. We need not to uncompress the folder to open like Win Zip. But the speed goes slow due to background process of uncompressing. When we copy a file from FAT to NTFS, it automatically compressed. When we copy a file from NTFS to FAT, it automatically uncompressed. We can do it with a file, sub-directories, directories and drives. The color of compressed folder is changed in blue, if there is check on ‘Display compressed files with alternate color' in the view tab of ‘folder options'.
POSIX support: - POSIX is Portable Open System Interface. There is case sensitive in LINUX. But in window case is not sensitive. But if we install Win 2k with NTFS f/s then it can open LINUX files.
Support Macintosh files: - Apple computer have different h/w devices and files stored in different format. But Win 2k with NTFS f/s can open Macintosh files on a network.
Volume set extension: - In Win 2k with f/s NTFS we can extend the size of partition without deleting any partition.
Hot fixing: - In FAT f/s we can only check error with the use of SCANDSK command but in NTFS we can check and fix errors or bad sectors of hard disk.

Use in Different OS
All the OS does not support all f/s. The table of support ness of f/s of each OS is given below: -

OS
FAT 12
FAT 16
VFAT
FAT 32
NTFS
CDFS
DOS
v
v
X
X
X
v
Win 95
v
v
v
X
X
v
Win 98
v
v
v
v
X
v
Win ME
v
v
v
v
v
v
Win 2k
v
v
v
v
v
v
Win NT
v
v
v
X
v
v

Converting FAT f/s to NTFS

There are fewer features in FAT f/s rather than NTFS. We can convert FAT f/s to NTFS by using the following command on Command Prompt.
CONVERT :/FS : NTFS
But we can not convert NTFS partition to FAT. It can corrupt the data.

Delete a partition

There is no problem to delete FAT 16/ FAT 32 f/s partition. We can delete it with FDISK command on Command Prompt.
We cannot delete a NTFS partition with FDISK. To delete a NTFS partition, there are many options.
• Disk Manager
• Bootable Win 2k CD-ROM
• Computer Management
• By FDISK, we can delete only primary NTFS partition not logical.

Network Cabling

Cabling
In cat-3 we use 2 pairs or 4 wires, which is used in telephone. In cat-5 there are 4 pairs or 8 wires. In a pair of wire there is one wire, which is fully colored called solid and second is color with white color called stripe . We measure the cable length in 10 base 5 form, in which 10 means speed, base means band and 5 means 500 m. In 8 pin connector pin no. 1,2,3,6 are used for transmit data on a network.

Connection : -
• Hub- to- PC: - To transmit data from a Hub to PC, we use straight cabling.
• PC- to- PC: - To transmit data from a PC to PC, we use cross cabling.
• Hub- to- Hub: -
• In this type of attachment we attach two hubs, to transmit data from a Hub to Hub, we use cross cabling. But we can attach only 14 PCs with two 8 ports Hub i.e. 2 ports are wasted.
• In this type, we use uplink to attach/connect two hubs. It is a extra port in a hub. In this we attach an uplink to a normal port. When we attach any PC to uplink, we use cross cable, instead of straight because uplink is cross by default which change it into straight.

In straight cabling we connect wires straightly but in this only 10 MBps data can be transmit not 100 MBps. In cross cabling 1 st wire is attached with 3 rd (1-3)and 2 nd with 6 th (2-6). We can also called it rule 13 – 26.

Standards of cable

Cabling standard is defined by the US Telecom .
(i) 586 –A (ii) 586 –B

original changed original changed
1. Green – White (GW) GW OW OW
2. Green (G) G O O
3. Orange – White (OW) OW GW GW
4. Orange (O) B G B
5. Blue – White (BW) BW BW BW
6. Blue (B) O B G
7. Brown – White (Br W) BrW BrW BrW
8. Brown (Br) Br Br Br

Wire attached with pin no. 1 is called TIP . For wiring we use Crimping tool.
Normally we use 586 – A Changed standard because changed sequence support all the networks but the original standard does not support networks, which have used all wires.

Model of Networking

Model means the connectivity of two computers. We have many types of networking models.
(i) Client – Server Model
(ii) Peer to Peer Model (Workgroup Model)
(iii) Domain Model

Client – Server Model

In a Client server model we have one server and many clients. A Client can share the resources of server, but a server cannot share the resources on clients.
On the point of view of administrator it's very easy to control the network because we combine with the server also at security point of view. It is very useful because it uses user level security in which users have to remember only one password to share the resources.

Peer – to - Peer (Workgroup Model)

In this model every computer is capable to share its resources with each other. There is no client and no servers. Every computer share resources with each other.
On the point of view of administrator it's very difficult because every computer shares their resources with each other and they are dependent on each other. Also at security point of view its not safe because it used share level security in which every recourse have their own password and every user have to remember all passwords of all the devices which is very difficult.

Domain Model

It is a mixture of client server and peer-to-peer model. In this clients can share their resources as peer-to-peer but with the permission of the server as in client server model therefore it is commonly used model because in this security is more as we can put restriction on both server and clients. Difference between Workgroup & Domain

Workgroup

1. It is used for small networks
recommended up to 10 computers.
2. Each computer is server as well as client.
3. It contains decentralized user account.
4. It is also known as Peer- to- Peer
networking.
Domain

1. This type of networking support more
than 10 or unlimited clients.
2. It use dedicated server.
3. It contains centralized user account.
4. It is also called domain based
networking.

Role of computer

CLIENT : - On a network, a system which can access resources is called client.
SERVER : - On a network, a system which can provide resources is called server.
PEER : - On a network, a system which can both provide and access resources is called peer.

LOCAL USER : - A user, which can only log on to the workstation where its user account is created.

DOMAIN USER : - A user, which can log on to any of the workstation whose computer account created on domain controller.
In DOS, there is peer to peer networking (workgroup) i.e. they are server and client both. But NOS there is domain based networking.

Network Essentials Notes

It is an interconnection of computers to share resources (H/w & S/w). There are many types of networks.
• LAN (Local Area Networks)
• MAN (Metropolitan Area Networks)
• WAN (Wide Area Networks)

LAN : - When the computers connected with in a building or in a campus is called LAN. This type of networking used up to 1 Km. Mostly we used twisted wire to connect computers.
MAN : - When the computers connected in a big city or which connect two LAN's is called MAN. We use coaxial or fiber optic to connect.
WAN : - When the computers all over the world are connected to each other is called WAN. It has wireless connection it is generally used to communicate with other countries and at long distances. We use satellites to communicate with each other.

Topology

It is a geometric representation of computer networks. There are many topologies in computer networks.
• Bus Network Topology
• Ring Network Topology
• Star Network Topology
• Tree Network Topology
• Mesh Network Topology
• Hybrid Network Topology

Bus Network Topology

In bus topology all the computers are connected with a single wire for a network. The message is broadcast on the network. There is a T-connector to attach wires. To attach each computer with network there is a BNC (Barrel Knack Connector, Bottle Knack Connector, British Nabel Connector) connector. In this we use coaxial cable .
We use 2 50 ? connectors called terminators at both ends to stop the data signal. If the signal travels continuously on the network it is called bouncing .


Advantages
1. The main advantage of a broadcasting network is the reduction of physical lines.
2. The reliability of the network is high because the failure of a computer in the network does not affect the network functioning for other computers.
3. Addition of new computers to the network is easy.
Limitation
1. Each computer connected to the line must have good communication and decision making capability.
2. If the communication line fails, the entire system breaks down.

Star Network Topology

In star topology all the computers are connected to each other through a centralized device called HUB . Maximum distance of a client from a hub is 100 m. In star network we use RJ – 45 connector and Twisted Pair cable.
There are two types of twisted pair:-
• STP (Shielded Twisted Pair)
• UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)

Normally we use UTP cable but in area, where the EMI is more, we use STP cable. For example in Factories and Industries, where data wires and electricity wires are wired together. There are five categories of STP/UTP cable. Those are from cat -1 to cat -5. In telephone lines we use cat -3 cable, which is three twisted per feet and its speed is 10 Mbps and the connector is RJ – 11 . To data transfer we use cat -5 cable because its speed is 100 Mbps .


Advantages
1. This topology has minimal line cost because only n-1 lines are required for connecting n nodes.
2. Transmission delays between two nodes do not increase by adding new nodes to the network because any two nodes may be connected via two links only.
3. If any of the local computers fail, the remaining portion of the network is unaffected.
Limitation
1. The system crucially depends on the central node. If the host computer fails, the entire network fails.

Networking Media

To do networking we need to use some type of media. There are many types of media.
(i) Twisted pair cable
(ii) Coaxial Cable
(iii) Fiber optic cable
(iv) Microwave
(v) Satellite

Twisted Pair Cable

There are two wires, which are twisted with each other to avoid EMI. There are two types of twisted pair. This cable comes in 7 categories. We generally use the Cat 5 cable of speed 100 Mbps in networking.

SHIELD TWISTED PAIR CABLE (STP) : - In this an extra wire which is called shielded wire is wrapped over the inner cover which holds copper in pairs.
UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE (UTP) : - In this type of wire no shielded cover is there for extra protection from noise.

Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable consists of an insulated copper conductor surrounded by a tube shaped copper braid outer copper tune and the inner conductor have the same axis of curvature hence it called coaxial cable. It is basically of two types
• BROADBAND SIGNAL CABLE (RG – 59)
• BASEBAND SINGLE CABLE (RG – 58)
We used Baseband signal cable in Networking of Computers. Its speed is 10 Mbps and impedance is 50 ?.

Fiber Optical Cable

Fiber optic cable consists of a very fine fiber made from two types of glass, one for the inner core and the other for the outer layer. That is transmitted as light through it. It is a costly but more secure transmission media.

Types of HUB/Switch

Hub/Switch is a device, which is used to connect more than two computers with each other to use resources and to communicate. There are many types of Hub/Switch

• Passive Hub : - In this type of hub, there is no electricity in hub, this hub does not regenerate/amplify the data. It simply pass the data.
• Active Hub : - It is a combination of passive hubs and repeater. In this type of hub, we need to give electricity. This hub is also called Multiport repeater . This hub also regenerates the signals.
• Switch : - Switch is actually hardware based.
Standard ports of HUB/SWITCH are 8/16/24/48/72 ports.

Difference between HUB & Switch

HUB

1. It use broadcast message.
2. It has no memory.
3. It is a slow device.
4. It is not a sensitive device.
SWITCH

1. It use point to point message.
2. It has small memory in KB.
3. It is a fast device.
4. It is a sensitive device.

NIC

NIC is Network Interface Card. It is also called LAN card or Ethernet card . It is inserted in extension slots of motherboard. In old NIC both BNC and RJ-45 connector attached, so it is called COMBO . If we attach NIC of different speed on a network, then there is Bottle Neck Problem .

Mac Address

MAC is Media Access Control. It is a 48 bit unique number which is given by the company in the time of manufacturing. Switches work on Mac address. The Mac address of each network card is stored in MAC- Table of switch.

Some Important Tips For Linux

Fix i586/i686 Kernel issue
Under some circumstances the Fedora Core 6 installer (called Anaconda) will mistakenly install the i586 version of the Kernel rather than the more appropriate i686 version for Pentium 4 and newer 32-bit processors. This is not a problem on x86_64 and non-Intel/AMD processors.
To find out if your system has this problem type the following command:
$ rpm -qa --queryformat "%{NAME}-%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE}.%{ARCH}\n"grep kernelsort
If you have a Pentium 4 or newer processor and the kernel version ends in i586 then your system and affected and needs to be updated to function at it's best. There are many ways described to do this on various forums but by far the easiest is the Kernel Fix Script on the Bugs/FC6Common site:
Fedora Core 6 - Common Bugs and Known Issues
Script down and find the script. Download it to your hard drive and run it as root:
# mkdir /tmp/kernel-fix # cd /tmp/kernel-fix # sh kernel-fix.sh
Then just follow the prompts and it will update your installed kernel. Using kernel-fix.sh sould be with care as it runs all the *.rpm at current directory (see line 32).
Add support for other repositories
Fedora core 6 has one major problem where on some systems it installs the i586 version of the kernel instead of i686. What this means is that those systems will be a little slower and will lack CPU frequency scaling. If you are running an i686 based system you can force the installation of the correct kernel by booting the installer with the following command:
linux i686
Fedora comes with a ton of software but there are still plenty of packages of interest to most users that are not included for a variety of reasons. This is where you find the MP3 plug-in and a ton of other packages.
These instructions can vary depending on 32bit or 64bit architecture. If there is a difference it will be noted. If you don't know which architecture you're running you can run the following command:
$ uname -m x86_64 ...or... i686
I'm still working on the 64 bit specific instructions so your feedback is very important.
Before you add repositories it's probably a good idea to make sure your system is fully updated first. It's still early but right now the Livna and freshrpms repositories seems to be the most useful. The easiest way to get started is to install the freshrpms-release packages:
Both 32 and 64 bits: # rpm -ihv http://ayo.freshrpms.net/fedora/linux/6/i386/RPMS.freshrpms/freshrpms-release-1.1-1.fc.noarch.rpm 32 bit version: # rpm -ihv http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/i386/livna-release-6-1.noarch.rpm 64 bit version: # rpm -ihv http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/x86_64/livna-release-6-1.noarch.rpm
To automatically install/update the Macromedia Flash version 9.0 plug-in copy This File to your /etc/yum.repos.d directory. You can browse the packages available there at http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/6/i386/ and http://zod.freshrpms.net/ .
Install MP3 Plug-in
Since you've been following along this next step is about as easy as it gets. Just use yum to automatically install the MP3 plug-ins for xmms and Rhythmbox like this:
# yum -y install xmms xmms-mp3 xmms-faad2 gstreamer-plugins-ugly libmad libid3tag
While you're here you might as well install my personal favorite (this week at least) music player Banshee :
# yum -y install banshee
The -y flag is to automatically answer yes to any question. If you want to be able to say no you can ignore that flag.
While you're there I highly recommend the grip CD ripper which supports both MP3 and Ogg formats. Once again installation is quite simple:
# yum -y install grip

Install Macromedia Flash/Shockwave plug-in
Flash Plug-in 9.0 If you set up the repositories correctly above you should just need to do this to install the Flash plug-in version 9.0:
# yum -y install flash-plugin
You can get more information about this plug-in at http://macromedia.mplug.org/ . Before the plug-in gets installed you'll need to agree to the terms of the license.
Special 64-bit instructions: Now the problem with 64 bit, even on Windows, is that most plug-ins are still for some reason only available in a 32 bit version. This is a problem because a 64 bit version of Firefox can only use 64 bit plugins. There are several ways to solve this but by far the easiest is to just force the use of the 32-bit Firebox. Both versions are installed by default, you just need to make a little change to make sure only the 32-bit version gets run.
As of firefox-1.5.0.10-5.fc6 the method of selecting the 32-bit version has been simplified. Now you simply create a file called /etc/sysconfig/firefox-arch containing the following lines:
MOZ_LIB_DIR="/usr/lib" SECONDARY_LIB_DIR="/usr/lib64"
The remainder of these instructions are only for people who have not updated lately and still have an older version of Firefox . These instructions will go away soon:
Edit the file /usr/bin/firefox as root and go down to about line 40 and comment out the following code:
# Force 32 bit version #if [ -x "/usr/lib64/firefox-1.5.0.8/firefox-bin" ] #then # MOZ_LIB_DIR="/usr/lib64" #fi
Then when you restart Firefox you'll be running the 32 bit version and the plug-ins you installed above will work just fine.
Install DVD player
Currently I find the DVD player that works best is the Xine Multimedia Player which is found in the Livna repository so installing it is just this simple:
# yum -y install xine xine-lib xine-skins xine-lib-extras-nonfree libdvdcss
This will install the xine DVD/VCD/CD player. Now to get xine to automatically play a DVD upon insertion instead of the Totem player which can't actually play DVDs, you can simply use the gconftool-2 utility as follows:
$ gconftool-2 --set /desktop/gnome/volume_manager/autoplay_dvd_command \ 'xine --auto-play --auto-scan dvd' --type='string'
Install MPlayer Media Player
At some point you're probably going to want to play a QuickTime, AVI or ASF file so you'll want the MPlayer media player. Fortunately with the FreshRpms repositories it's also very easy to download and install. Once again there are conflicts between the Livna and FreshRpms repositories and you'll have to disable one of them.
To prevent potential problems of updates in the Livna repository from messing up the mplayer and mencoder packages add the following line highligted in bold to the file /etc/yum.repos.d/livna.repo :
gpgcheck=1 gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-livna exclude=mplayer* mencoder* ffmpeg* [livna-debuginfo]
Then you can go ahead and install mplayer and all it's dependencies:
# yum -y install mplayer mplayer-skins mplayer-fonts mplayerplug-in
This command line will download the whole kit and kaboodle. that if you want to play content from a command line that you use the gmplayer version which will include a skin-able control panel. This will install the plug-in to play a wide variety of media within your browser window. Restart your web browser after that whole mess is done installing and you'll also have a plug-in for Mozilla so you can play embedded content. While you're at it be sure to configure mplayer to use the ALSA sound system rather than the default. It just works better. Edit the file ~/.mplayer/config and add the following line:
ao=alsa
Special 64-bit instructions: This installs the 64-bit version of everything but because your other plug-ins are 32-bits you need to run the 32-bit version of Firefox, which won't be able to use the 64-bit version of the plug-in you just installed. The plug-in can use the 64-bit version of the mplayer application just fine so all you need to do then is to install the 32-bit mplayerplug-in plus a dependency it requires. If you know of any easier way to do this please let me know below.
# rpm -ihv http://ftp.ndlug.nd.edu/pub/fedora/linux/core/6/i386/os/Fedora/RPMS/libXpm-3.5.5-3.i386.rpm # rpm -ihv http://ftp.freshrpms.net/pub/freshrpms/fedora/linux/6/mplayerplug-in/mplayerplug-in-3.31-2.fc6.i386.rpm
And finally you'll probably also want some additional codecs to play all that proprietary video that seems to have infected the Internet. Go to the MPlayer Download page and download the essential Binaries Codec Package . You'll need to install those files in /usr/local/lib/win32. Here are the steps. Remember the exact file names may change at some point.
# gtar xjvf essential-20061022.tar.bz2 # mkdir /usr/local/lib/win32 # mv essential-20061022/* /usr/local/lib/win32
Install VLC (VideoLAN Client)
Multimedia can be the achilles heel of Linux, but with just a little work you should be able to play just about anything your friends can. Besides Mplayer the other great video player is called VLC. It too is trivially easy to install once you have your repositories set up:
# yum -y install videolan-client
Once the client and a zillion dependencies get installed you can play a huge variety of video formats easy with the command vlc
Install RealPlayer 10 Media Player
If you have a better way of installing a Real Medial player please let me know if in the comments section below. Thanks to Chandra Shekhar for this great tip for making RealPlayer actually use ALSA instead of OSS . I've incorporated the changes into the guide below but here is a link to the original document.
http://docs.google.com/View?docid=ddt5bn9t_4c9238p
Before you install the play you'll need to make sure the compat-libstdc++-33 module is installed. Download the RealPlayer10 package from the following location:
RealPlayer10GOLD.rpm
First install the dependencies.
32 bit version # yum -y install compat-libstdc++-33 alsa-oss 64 bit version There really MUST be an easier way! # rpm -ihv ftp://fedora.cat.pdx.edu/linux/extras/6/i386/alsa-oss-1.0.12-3.fc6.i386.rpm
Then install the RPM:
# rpm -ihv RealPlayer10GOLD.rpm
The other thing you'll need to do is prevent the mplayerplug-in you installed above from trying to handle Real Media. I don't know why it's included because it almost never works correctly. The easiest way to disable it is to remove the appropriate plugin files:
# cd /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins # rm mplayerplug-in-rm.so
Then whenever you want to view something just use /usr/bin/realplay . Here is a link to a cute test video to make sure it's working for you.
If audio is working but you have a black screen then it's possible your video card doesn't support XVideo. You can turn it off by clicking on Tools -> Preferences then choose the Hardware tab and disable Use XVideo .
If the video doesn't play properly the first thing to check is to make sure you're not running SElinux , it seems to prevent the RealPlayer from getting access to the drivers. I currently run with SElinux disabled but I recommend you run it in the Targeted mode rather than the most secure mode.
Now a bit of a tricky part. You'll need to edit the executable /usr/bin/realplay as root and locate the section below around line 56. Then add the code that's highlighted and save the file back.
. . export HELIX_LIBS fi LD_PRELOAD="$LDPRELOAD:/usr/lib/libaoss.so.0.0.0" export LD_PRELOAD # See if LD_PRELOAD contains any of the sound server libs. If so, remove them. LD_PRELOAD=`echo $LD_PRELOAD sed -e 's/\([^:]*libesd[^:]*\[^:]*libarts[^:]*\):\?//g'` . .
After you've run it the first time and gone through the configuration screens edit the ~/.realplayerrc file and add the following line in the [helix] section of the configuration:
[helix] SoundDriver=2 . .
For some reason on my system RealPlayer uses the the old and virtually obsolete OSS sound driver. The line above tells it to use the newer ALSA sound driver instead.
Install Java J2RE and Mozilla Plug-in
It's also very handy to have the Java run-time environment available and most importantly a Mozilla plug-in so you can view dynamic content. It's unfortunate that Mozilla will actually crash if you go to a site containing Java and you don't have the plug-in installed.
For now there is no easy way to do this but I found the following instructions on FedoraForums.org . Basically, start by downloading the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 Update 9 (at the time I wrote this) from Sun.com . You'll want to grab the Linux RPM in self-extracting file. Then you want to install it with:
# sh ./jre-1_5_0_09-linux-i586-rpm.bin
Then you'll probably want to enable Java Plug-ins and here once again there is no easy way:
# ln -s /usr/java/jre1.5.0_09/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins
And finally you'll need to tell Fedora that you wish to use this version of Java as the preferred interpreter rather than the Open Source version that's installed by default. You'll of course need to adjust the full pathname if you install a newer version of the jre than the one in this example:
# /usr/sbin/alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/jre1.5.0_09/bin/java 1509 # java -version java version "1.5.0_09" Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_09-b05) Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_09-b05, mixed mode, sharing)
If you know of an easier way please post it to the Comments section below.
Install NTFS driver
With repositories like Fedora Extras it's now very easy to add NTFS support to Fedora:
# yum -y install ntfs-3g
Then you can simply mount NTFS file systems using the option -t ntfs-3g. You can find more detailed information about this driver at http://www.ntfs-3g.org/
Install Internet Explorer
I know what you're saying, why would I ever want Internet Explorer installed on my perfectly good Linux system? If you don't have your own answer to that question, feel free to just skip this section. For everyone else, it's actually quite easy thanks to some very handy scripts from IEs4Linux . Before you start you'll need to make sure you have wine and cabextract installed:
# yum -y install wine cabextract
Then just download the latest script , extract and run it. The example below is based on version 2.0.5 , just adjust the version number as necessary. Please note that you will want to install and run this as your own user, NOT as root . I used the defaults except that I installed all the versions of IE. I do some web development and I always find myself needing to resolve some goofy incompatibilites with older versions of IE.
$ gtar xzvf ies4linux-2.0.5.tar.gz $ cd ies4linux-2.0.5 $ ./ies4linux Welcome, greg! I'm IEs4Linux. I can install IE 6, 5.5 and 5.0 for you easily and quickly. You are just four 'enter's away from your IEs. I'll ask you some questions now. Just answer y or n (default answer is the bold one) IE 6 will be installed automatically. Do you want to install IE 5.5 SP2 too? [ y / n ] y . . . IEs 4 Linux installations finished! To run your IEs, type: ie6 ie55 ie5
You can read more about this feature on my Internet Explorer with ActiveX on Linux page. It goes into a little more detail about using IE on Linux.
Install Other Odds and Ends
Add MS TrueType Fonts (TTF)
Many people will find it handy to have MS TrueType fonts available to make sure many websites render correctly. You can download the latest RPM from http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-fc5.html#ttf and install it as follows:
# wget --referer=http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-fc6.html \ http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/files/msttcorefonts-2.0-1.noarch.rpm # rpm -ihv msttcorefonts-2.0-1.noarch.rpm # service xfs restart
Turn off the ANNOYING Spatial Nautilus Behavior
I don't know if it's the worst feature of Fedora but it's definitely in the top 5. You can get the old more sane behavior by bringing up nautilus then choose Edit -> Preferences then select the Behavior tab. Near the top find the option for Always open in browser windows and make sure it is checked.
Other Handy Utilities
Here are a few other tools that aren't installed by default but a lot of people find handy:
# yum -y install bittorrent-gui gnomebaker testdisk thunderbird \ audacity-nonfree screen cups-pdf
audacity-nonfree - A version of the excellent Audacity sound editor which includes MP3 support bittorrent-gui - Simple Gnome based BitTorrent client cups-pdf - Add-on to CUPS which creates a PDF Printer which you can use to print any document in PDF format. The file is written to your Desktop. gnomebaker - GTK based CD/DVD burning utility screen - If you do a lot with the command line you'll find screen invaluable testdisk - Two command line utilities to recover lost partitions and undelete files on FAT filesystems. VERY handy for undeleting files on flash memory cards. thunderbird - Excellent E-mail client that complements Firefox

How to install FTP Client (gFTP)
yum -y install gftp