Information About the TCP/IP Options Dialog Box (306991)

MORE INFORMATION

To view the TCP/IP Properties dialog box:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Network.
3. On the Configuration tab, click TCP/IP, and then click Properties.

Note that incorrect settings in the Network dialog box may limit your ability to use TCP/IP.

DNS Configuration Tab

The following list describes the settings that are on the DNS Configuration tab:

• Enable DNS
  
  Specifies whether to configure TCP/IP for Domain Name System (DNS) support. DNS is used on the Internet to locate host names. You must also enable this option to use the Lmhosts file for network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) computer name resolution.
• Host
  
  Provides a box for you to type your host name for DNS that is provided by your administrator. The default host name is your computer name.
• Domain
  
  Provides a box for you to type the domain name for DNS.
• DNS Server Search Order
  
  Provides a box for you to type the Internet Protocol (IP) address of each DNS server. Click Add to add the IP address to the box. To delete an IP address, click the address, and then click Remove. The order in which servers appear in the box is the order in which the IP addresses are searched when running over TCP/IP.
• Domain Suffix Search Order
  
  Provides a box for you to type a domain suffix of each DNS server. Click Add to add a domain suffix to the box. To delete a domain suffix, click the suffix, and then click Remove. The order in which the domain suffixes appear in the box is the order in which they are used when running over TCP/IP.

Gateway Tab

This following list describes the settings that are on the Gateway tab:

• New gateway
  
  Provides boxess to type the IP address of a gateway. Click Add to add the address to the box.
• Installed gateways
  
  Lists the available IP addresses. The order of the addresses in the list indicates the order in which they are searched. To delete a gateway IP address from the box, click the address, and then click Remove.

WINS Configuration Tab

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) requires a Windows NT WINS server to provide NetBIOS name resolution over TCP/IP. This in turn allows computers that are running only the TCP/IP protocol to discover the NetBIOS name of any computer on the network. You can either specify a pair of WINS servers or you can specify that DHCP is to assign the WINS servers if you enable Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

The following list describes the settings that are on the WINS Configuration tab:

• Disable WINS Resolution
  
  Specifies whether to disable WINS.
• Use DHCP for WINS Resolution
  
  Specifies whether to enable WINS and instruct DHCP to assign the WINS server. This option is not available if you have not enabled DHCP to automatically assign the user's IP address as well.
• Enable WINS Resolution
  
  Specifies whether to enable WINS.
• WINS Server Search Order
  
  Provides a box for you to type the IP address of the primary WINS server after you click to select the Enable WINS Resolution check box. Click Add to add the IP address to the box. To delete an IP address, click the address, and then click Remove. The order in which servers appear in the box is the order in which they are searched when running over TCP/IP.
• Scope ID
  
  Provides a box for you to type the scope identification for a particular group of computers. Leave this option blank unless you know that a value is required.
• LMHosts File
  
  Specifies the use of the Lmhosts file. Type the name and path of the Lmhosts file. The Lmhosts file provides the same information as a WINS server, except that the information that the Lmhosts file contains is static. The Lmhosts file is in the Windows folder by default. To use Lmhosts, you must also enable DNS.

IP Address Tab

The following list describes the settings that are on the IP Address tab:

• Obtain an IP address automatically
  
  Specifies whether to enable DHCP for automatic TCP/IP configuration. A Windows NT-based server that acts as a DHCP server must be present on the network to use DHCP. If you do not intend to use DHCP, you must provide an IP address.
• Specify an IP address
  
  Specifies an IP address other than a DHCP IP address.
• IP Address
  
  Provides a box to type the appropriate IP address.
• Subnet Mask
  
  Provides a box for you to type a subnet mask, if required. As a rule, leave this box blank. This subnet mask is assigned based on your IP address during Windows 98 Setup. This option is disabled if DHCP is enabled.
• Disable Autonet
  
  Recommended for large networks.

For more information about TCP/IP settings, view Chapter 12, "Network Technical Discussion," in the Windows 98 Resource Kit. For information about how to obtain the Windows 98 Resource Kit, view the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: