Setting up TCP/IP

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Setting up TCP/IP

By default, computers running Windows Server 2003 operating systems are configured as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) clients, which means they can accept leases from any available DHCP server. TCP/IP computers (hosts) on a DHCP network automatically obtain TCP/IP configurations from DHCP servers that are located elsewhere on that network. This is the most common scenario for mid-sized and large TCP/IP networks. For more information about DHCP, see DHCP.

In certain cases, you will need to configure TCP/IP for static addressing. Configuring TCP/IP for static addressing is the process of manually assigning unique, permanent addresses to network devices, and providing static address information about other network resources (for example, DHCP servers, routers, and default gateways). If you are setting up a computer to run on a network that does not have a DHCP server, but that does provide Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), you will need to configure TCP/IP to use WINS. For more information about WINS, see WINS.

Some of the most common tasks for setting up TCP/IP are configuring TCP/IP for static addressing, and configuring TCP/IP to use WINS. You can also set up TCP/IP from the Managing TCP/IP from the command line. For more information about other tasks for setting up TCP/IP, see TCP/IP How To....

To configure TCP/IP for static addressing

  1. Open Network Connections.

  2. Right-click the network connection you want to configure, and then click Properties.

  3. On the General tab (for a local area connection) or the Networking tab (for all other connections), click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.

  4. Click Use the following IP address, and do one of the following:

    • For a local area connection, in IP address, Subnet mask, and Default gateway, type the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway addresses.

    • For all other connections, in IP address, type the IP address.

  5. Click Use the following DNS server addresses.

  6. In Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server, type the primary and secondary DNS server addresses.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.

  • To open Network Connections, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.

  • If your network does not have a DNS server, you can skip steps 5 and 6.

To configure TCP/IP to use WINS

  1. Open Network Connections.

  2. Right-click the network connection you want to configure, and then click Properties.

  3. On the General tab (for a local area connection) or the Networking tab (for all other connections), click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.

  4. Click Advanced, click the WINS tab, and then click Add.

  5. In TCP/IP WINS server, type the IP address of the WINS server, and then click Add.

  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each WINS server IP address you want to add, and then click OK.

  7. To enable the use of the Lmhosts file to resolve remote NetBIOS names, select the Enable LMHOSTS lookup check box. This option is enabled by default.

  8. To specify the location of the file that you want to import into the Lmhosts file, click Import LMHOSTS, and then select the file in the Open dialog box.

  9. To enable or disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP, do the following:

    • To enable the use of NetBIOS over TCP/IP, click Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.

    • To disable the use of NetBIOS over TCP/IP, click Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.

    • To have the DHCP server determine whether NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled or disabled, click Default. For more information, see Notes.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.

  • To open Network Connections, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.

  • If you are using a DHCP server to allocate WINS server IP addresses, you do not need to add WINS server addresses.

  • You can no longer configure the NetBIOS scope ID on the WINS tab (previously available in Windows NT 4.0). To configure the NetBIOS scope ID, set the following registry value to the name of the scope ID that you want to use:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters\ScopeID

Caution

  • Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.