13-7LESSON 1 CONFIGURING AND TROUBLESHOOTING TCP/IPADDRESSING INFORMAT...

13-7Lesson 1 Configuring and Troubleshooting TCP/IP

addressing information. Typically, most computers on a network should be configured

to obtain IP addresses automatically because automatic addressing eliminates most of

the errors and administrative overhead associated with assigning static IP addresses to

clients. However, even in a DHCP-enabled environment, you should assign a static IP

address to selected network computers. For example, the computer running the DHCP

Service cannot be a DHCP client, so it must have a static IP address. If the DHCP Ser-

vice is not available, you can also configure TCP/IP to use a static IP address. For each

network adapter card that uses TCP/IP in a computer, you can configure an IP address,

subnet mask, and default gateway, as shown in Figure 13-2.

F13us02

Figure 13-2 Configuring a static TCP/IP address in Windows XP Professional

Table 13-3 describes the options used in configuring a static TCP/IP address.

Table 13-3 Options for Configuring a Static TCP/IP AddressOption Description

IP address A logical 32-bit address that identifies a TCP/IP host. Each network adapter

card in a computer running TCP/IP requires a unique IP address.

Subnet mask Subnets divide a large network into multiple physical networks connected

with routers. A subnet mask blocks out part of the IP address so that TCP/IP

can distinguish the network ID from the host ID. When TCP/IP hosts try to

communicate, the subnet mask determines whether the destination host is on

a local or remote network. To communicate on a local network, computers

must have the same subnet mask.

Default gateway The router (also known as a gateway) on the local network. The router is

responsible for forwarding traffic to and from remote networks.

To configure TCP/IP to use a static IP address, complete the following steps: