The protocol wars are over and TCP/IP won. TCP/IP is now universally recognized as the preeminent communications protocol for linking diverse computer systems. The importance of interoperable data communications and global computer networks are no longer debated. But that was not always the case. A few years ago things were different. IPX was far and away the leading PC communications protocol. Microsoft did not bundle communications protocols in their operating systems. Corporate networks were so dependent on SNA that many corporate network administrators had not even heard of TCP/IP. Back then it was necessary to tout the importance of TCP/IP by pointing out that it was used on thousands of networks and hundreds of thousands of computers. How times have changed! Today we count the hosts and users connected to the Internet in the tens of millions. And the Internet is only the tip of the TCP/IP iceberg. The largest market for TCP/IP is in the corporate intranet. An intranet is a private TCP/IP network used to disseminate information within the enterprise. Today, the competing network technologies have shrunk to niche markets where they fill special needs, while TCP/IP has grown to be the communications software that links the world.
Windows NT and TCP/IP have a close association. Windows NT was the first Microsoft operating system that included TCP/IP as part of the basic system. And TCP/IP has been a part of NT from the very first release of the operating system. The availability of TCP/IP for Windows NT has helped to make NT a popular choice as a network server.
The acceptance of TCP/IP as a worldwide standard and the size of its global user base have created an explosion of books about TCP/IP and the Internet. Today, NT administrators can choose from a large number of books that have TCP/IP and the Internet as a theme. However, there are still too few books that concentrate on what an NT system administrator really needs to know about TCP/IP administration and too many books that try to tell you how to surf the Web. In this book we strive to keep focused on TCP/IP and NT, and not to be distracted by the phenomenon of the Internet.
This book is the combined effort of Craig Hunt and Robert Bruce Thompson. Craig is an expert on TCP/IP and is the author of the best-seller TCP/IP Network Administration. Robert is an expert on Windows NT. He is the author of several books, three of which are books on Windows NT including the recently released Windows NT Server 4.0 for NetWare Administrators.
This new book is the Windows NT version of TCP/IP Network Administration: the book that Byte magazine called “the definitive volume on the subject” of creating your own TCP/IP network. If you’re familiar with that book you will see the similarities, particularly in the background material about the TCP/IP protocols. However, all of the examples are Windows NT-specific.
On the other hand, this new book is much more than an NT version of an existing book. Extensive amounts of Windows NT-specific material have been added. Coverage of NetBIOS, Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS), Internet Information Server (IIS), and Microsoft’s implementations of Domain Name Service (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) all combine to make this a unique book in its own right.
The combination of Windows NT and TCP/IP expertise provides the perfect blend for a book about TCP/IP for Windows NT. This book covers the issues that are most important to the Windows NT system administrator who is building a TCP/IP network.
The use of Windows NT systems to provide TCP/IP network services is growing rapidly. This book provides practical, detailed TCP/IP network information for the NT system administrator. It is a book about building your own network based on TCP/IP and NT servers. It is both a tutorial covering the why and how of TCP/IP networking and a reference providing the details about specific network programs.
This book is intended for everyone who has an NT computer connected to a TCP/IP network. This obviously includes the network managers and the system administrators who are responsible for setting up and running computers and networks, but the audience also includes any user who wants to understand how a computer communicates with other systems. The distinction between a system administrator and an end-user is a fuzzy one. You may think of yourself as an end-user, but if you have an NT workstation on your desk, you’re probably also involved in system administration tasks.
We assume that you have a good understanding of computers and their operation, and that you’re generally familiar with NT system administration. In recent years there has been a rash of books for “dummies” and “idiots.” If you really think of yourself as an “idiot” when it comes to NT, this book is not for you. Likewise, if you are a network administration genius, this book is probably not suitable. However, if you fall anywhere in between these two extremes, this book has something to offer you.
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