Microsoft® Windows® XP Unleashed

Workgroups and Domains

This chapter covers the topics you need to know in order to make a physical (network card) and logical (IP address) connection to a network. In a managed network, you will find two basic methods used in Windows networking for allowing computers to share information with each other. The first is called a workgroup, which is nothing more than a group of computers with a common name for using as a workgroup name. In this case, each computer in the workgroup can decide which other computers or users are allowed to access resources on the local computer. In Chapter 28, “Joining a Domain and the Active Directory,” you will learn about a more secure network. Joining a domain and using the Active Directory allow for much more control ...