This chapter describes howto configure the network of clients to work with the FREESCO router.

These TCP/IP network settings can either be set manually or via DHCP (see next section). If none of these terms are familiar to you, I suggest you read the TCP/IP primer.

Static IP and DHCP are two very different ways of obtaining an IP address for your computer.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) allows your computer to automatically obtain a fully functional IP address from the central DHCP server. DHCP is the default network configuration for most operating systems.

Static IP is a manual way of configuring an IP address, gateway, network mask and name server (DNS) for your computer. The IP address is predetermined and always the same (a must if you are running internet services like a web or FTP server on a client). Configuring with a static IP is more work, prone to errors, and can lead to so called IP address conflicts if you do not keep track of all the IP addresses in your network.

The main benefit of dynamic over static on workstations is that it makes management much easier. If you need to make network changes, you can make them in one spot (DHCP) rather than having to make the changes on each workstation. As far as performance there is probably no difference.

The choice for dynamic vs static also depends on the number of clients in your network. If you only have a few, then you can consider using static IP configuration.

BTW: It is possible to configure the DHCP server in FREESCO to give out the same IP address to a client based on the client's MAC address. Using this feature can also be used to only allow “known” clients to your FREESCO router, although it is rather simple to 'fake' a MAC address.

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This paragraph will describe how to configure the network settings for a WinNT client for use with a FREESCO router.

• 5.4.1 Win9x TCP/IP with DHCP

Select this setup if you have enabled the DHCP server on your FREESCO box or have another DHCP server available on your LAN.

• 5.4.2 Win9x TCP/IP with static settings

Select this setup if you don't want to use DHCP but rather configure each client with a static IP address.

• 5.4.3 Win9x trouble shooting

This section contains some trouble shooting tips for Win9x clients.

This paragraph will describe how to configure the network settings for a WinNT client for use with a FREESCO router.

• 5.5.1 WinNT TCP/IP with DHCP

Select this setup if you have enabled the DHCP server on your FREESCO box or have another DHCP server available on your LAN.

• 5.5.2 WinNT TCP/IP with static settings

Select this setup if you don't want to use DHCP but rather configure each client with a static IP address.

• 5.5.3 WinNT trouble shooting

This section contains some trouble shooting tips for WinNT clients.

This paragraph will describe how to configure the network settings for a Win2K client for use with a FREESCO router.

• 5.6.1 Win2K TCP/IP with DHCP

Select this setup if you have enabled the DHCP server on your FREESCO box or have another DHCP server available on your LAN.

• 5.6.2 Win2K TCP/IP with static settings

Select this setup if you don't want to use DHCP but rather configure each client with a static IP address.

• 5.6.3 Win2K trouble shooting

This section contains some trouble shooting tips for Win2K clients.

This paragraph will describe how to configure the network settings for a WinXP client for use with a FREESCO router.

• 5.7.1 WinXP TCP/IP with DHCP

Select this setup if you have enabled the DHCP server on your FREESCO box or have another DHCP server available on your LAN.

• 5.7.2 WinXP TCP/IP with static settings

Select this setup if you don't want to use DHCP but rather configure each client with a static IP address.

• 5.7.3 WinXP trouble shooting

This section contains some trouble shooting tips for WinXP clients.