| Hey, you know your way around a desktop-now dig into the Windows XP operating system and really put its networking features to work! This supremely organized reference packs hundreds of timesaving networking solutions, checklists, network troubleshooting tips, and workarounds-all in concise, fast-answers format. Learn the tools and techniques for configuring and managing networking with Windows XP-including workgroup, domain, Internet, and remote networking, plus every network component and feature in between.
Networks have been around since the early days of computing— even before the PC appeared on the scene. After all, the importance of networking—to share information and manage a computing environment—was evident even when computers used vacuum tubes and filled an entire room. The computing world has changed drastically since then, and it continues to rapidly change and evolve as networking and computing technology continues to grow.
Microsoft designed Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition with networking in mind, although Windows XP Professional is considered the networking platform. With the tools Windows XP Professional provides, you can use it in a small network or in a network with thousands of computers. Before getting too far ahead, let’s first consider some networking background information and review all that Windows XP has to offer. If you have a limited amount of experience with networking, this chapter serves as a great primer. If you are experienced with Windows networks, this chapter serves as a review as well as a guide to Windows XP. |