To configure the network adapter card settings, click Configure.

• Obtain DNS server address automatically: The DHCP server can also provide the address of the Domain Name System DNS server that the computer should use. Choose this option if your net- work has a DHCP server. See Chapter 25 for more information about DNS. • Use the following DNS server addresses: Choose this option if a DNS server is not available. Then type the IP address of the pri- mary and secondary DNS servers. Configuring Client Computer Identification Every client computer must identify itself in order to participate in the net- work. The computer identification consists of the computer’s name, an optional description, and the name of either the workgroup or the domain to which the computer belongs. The computer name must follow the rules for NetBIOS names; it may be 1 to 15 characters long and may contain letters, numbers, or hyphens, but no spaces or periods. For small networks, it’s common to make the computer name the same as the user name. For larger networks, you may want to develop a naming scheme that identifies the computer’s location. For example, a name such as C-305-1 may be assigned to the first computer in Room 305 of Building C. Or MKTG010 may be a computer in the marketing department. Figure 11-4: Configuring TCPIP. 152 Part II: Building Your Own Network If the computer will join a domain, you will need to have access to an Admin- istrator account on the domain unless the administrator has already created a computer account on the domain. Note that only Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows server NT, 2000, and 2003 computers can join a domain. Windows 98 or 95 users can still access the domain’s resources by logging on to the domain as users, but domain computer accounts for Windows 9x clients are not required. When you install Windows on the client system, the Setup program asks for the computer name and workstation or domain information. You can change this information later if you want. To change the computer identification, follow these steps: 1. Open the Control Panel and double-click the System icon to bring up the System Properties dialog box.

2. Click the Computer Name tab.

The computer identification information is displayed.

3. Click the Change button.

This displays the Computer Name Changes dialog box, as shown in Fig- ure 11-5.

4. Type the new computer name, and then specify the workgroup or domain information.

To join a domain, select the Domain radio button and type the domain name into the appropriate text box. To join a workgroup, select the Figure 11-5: The Computer Name Changes dialog box Windows XP. 153

Chapter 11: Configuring Client Computers