This section will describe how to setup a WinNT client with DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) if this service has been enabled on the FREESCO router or you have another DHCP server available on your LAN.

The first step is to open the network properties. The fastest way to do so, is by clicking with the right mouse button on the 'Network Neighborhood' icon on the desktop (if this icon is not present, then the network software is not installed or no network interface is found). The next menu will appear, choose the 'Properties' command.

A dialog similar to the next image will popup:

Locate the Protocols tab and select it.

Locate and select the 'TCP/IP Protocol' from the list, then click the 'Properties' button. If this protocol is missing, follow this procedure to install it first.

The dialog above shows the TCP/IP settings for WinNT with DHCP. All TCP/IP information will get requested at boot time from the FREESCO router, provided of course that the DHCP server is enabled in FREESCO setup or another DHCP server in your network provides this information.

Now click on the 'Advanced' button, the next dialog will show:

As you can see this dialog confirms the DHCP enabled setup. The above image shows all the defaults, that do not need to be modified. All settings (including the gateway) will be set from DHCP. Click OK to close the dialog.

Now select the 'DNS' tab:

The DNS server addresses can be left blank, since that information is also obtained from the DHCP server. If desired you can add the domain suffixes for your ISP in the lower list box. In this example I have added my ISP domain and the local LAN domain name.

For the sake of completeness, the 'Wins' tab will show this dialog:

Only if you have a WINS server in your LAN, you can add one here. The FREESCO router can act as a WINS server when the Samba package has been installed.

The last tab 'Routing' will show this dialog:

Leave this option unchecked as in the image above. Keep clicking OK buttons to close all dialogs. A reboot may be required.

To confirm the WinNT client did in fact receive the DHCP settings correctly, open a DOS box and type the command ipconfig /all, see sample run below:

C:\> ipconfig /all

Windows NT IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . : vm-dingetje.intranet.nl
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Node Type . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
NetBIOS Scope ID. . . . . . :
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . : No
NetBIOS Resolution Uses DNS : No

Ethernet adapter AMDPCN1:

Description . . . . . . . . : AMD PCNET Family Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . : 00-50-56-40-05-4E
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.27
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . : Thursday, December 27, 2001 5:16:03 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . : Thursday, January 03, 2002 5:16:03 PM

C:\>

Tis is example output of the IPCONFIG /ALL command (YMMV). Notice the obtained IP address 192.168.0.27 and netmask 255.255.255.0, the default gateway is set to the IP address of the FREESCO router 192.168.0.1, which also serves as the DHCP and DNS server. According to the 'Lease Obtained' and 'Lease Expires' times, this WinNT client has reserved it's lease on 192.168.0.27 for a full week. This means that this IP address will not be assigned to another machine in this time frame, even when the WinNT client is powered down. When this client remains powered down for more than a week, it is not guaranteed it will obtain the same IP address. If this is not desired, than you can either configure this client with static settings or configure the DHCP server to give out a so called static lease to this client based on it's MAC address (Physical Address in above list).

To confirm the WinNT client ↔ DHCP server communication, open a DOS box and type:

C:\> ipconfig /renew

Windows NT IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter AMDPCN1:

IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.27
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

C:\>