Windows NT TCP IP Network Administration

342 Pages·1998·2.76 MB·English

by  Craig Hunt

Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration

Craig Hunt & Robert Bruce Thompson
First Edition October 1998
ISBN: 1-56592-377-4, 503 pages

Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration is a complete guide to
setting up and running a TCP/IP network on Windows NT.
It starts with the fundamentals - the protocols, routing, and setup.
Beyond that, it covers all the important networking services provided as
part of Windows NT, including IIS, RRAS, DNS, WINS, and DHCP.
This book is the NT administrator's indispensable guide.
Table of Contents

Preface 1

1. Overview of TCP/IP 5
TCP/IP and the Internet
A Data Communications Model
TCP/IP Protocol Architecture
Network Access Layer
Internet Layer
Transport Layer
Application Layer
Summary

2. Delivering the Data 19
Addressing, Routing, and Multiplexing
The IP Address
Subnets
The Routing Table
Address Resolution
Protocols, Ports, and Sockets
Summary

3. Network Services 35
Names and Addresses
The Host Table
LMHOSTS
Domain Name System
Windows Internet Name Service
Mail Services
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
Summary

4. Getting Started 53
To Connect or Not to Connect
Basic Information
Planning Routing
Planning Naming Service
Other Services
Informing the Users
Summary

5. Installing TCP/IP 67
Windows NT Networking
Configuring the TCP/IP Protocol
Summary

6. Using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol 85
Why DHCP Is Needed
How DHCP Works
Planning for DHCP
Installing the DHCP Server Service
Installing and Configuring the DHCP Relay Agent
Managing DHCP with DHCP Manager
Maintaining and Troubleshooting DHCP Server
Summary
Table of Contents (cont...)

7. Using Windows Internet Name Service 111
Why WINS Is Needed
How WINS Works
Installing the WINS Server Service
Managing WINS with WINS Manager
Troubleshooting WINS
Summary

8. Configuring DNS Name System 138
The Microsoft DNS Server
Planning Your DNS Service
Installing the DNS Server
The DNS Manager
Creating a New Zone
Building the DNS Database
The DNS Files
Using nslookup
Summary

9. Microsoft Routing and Remote Access Service 156
Routing and Remote Access Service Features
Installing Microsoft Routing and RAS
Administering Microsoft Routing and RAS
Using Dial-Up Networking (DUN)
Summary

10. Internet Information Server (IIS) 194
IIS Components
Installing IIS
Configuring IIS
Managing IIS
Summary

11. Troubleshooting TCP/IP 247
Approaching a Problem
Diagnostic Tools
Testing Basic Connectivity
Troubleshooting Network Access
Checking Routing
Checking Name Service
Analyzing Protocol Problems
Protocol Case Study
Simple Network Management Protocol
Summary

12. Network Security 270
Security Planning
Firewalls
Encryption
User Authentication
Software Security
Security Monitoring
File Security
Words to the Wise
Summary
Table of Contents (cont...)

13. Information Resources 290
The World Wide Web
Anonymous FTP
Retrieving RFCs
Mailing Lists
Newsgroups
The White Pages
Summary

A. PPP Scripting Languages 302

B. DNS Resource Records 312

C. Microsoft DHCP Option Support 323

D. Routing Protocols 329

Colophon 336
Description
Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration is a complete guide to setting up and running a
TCP/IP network on Windows NT. Windows NT and TCP/IP have long had a close association, and
this is the first book to focus exclusively on NT networking with TCP/IP. It starts with the
fundamentals--what the protocols do and how they work, how addresses and routing move data
through the network, and how to set up your network connection. Beyond that, all the important
networking services provided as part of Windows NT - including IIS, RRAS, DNS, WINS, and DHCP -
are presented in detail. This book is the NT administrator's indispensable guide.
Contents include:
• Overview
• Delivering the data
• Network services
• Getting started
• Installing and configuring NT TCP/IP
• Using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
• Using Windows Internet Name Service
• Using Domain Name Service
• Configuring Email Service
• Using Microsoft routing
• Using Remote Access Service
• Troubleshooting TCP/IP
• Network Security
• Internet Information Server
• Appendixes on the TCP/IP commands, PPP script language reference, and DNS resource
records
Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration
Preface
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.
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Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration
Audience
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.
Conventions
This book uses the following typographical conventions:
Italic
is used for the names of files, directories, host names, domain names, URLs, and to emphasize
new terms when they are first introduced.
bold
is used for command names.
constant-width
is used to show the contents of files or the output from commands.
constant-bold
is used in examples to show commands or text that would be typed literally by you.
constant-italic
is used in examples to show variables for which a context-specific substitution should be
made. (The variable filename, for example, would be replaced by some actual filename.)
[ option ]
When showing command syntax, we place optional parts of the command within brackets.
For example, ls [ -l ] means that the -l option is not required.
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Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration
Organization
This book is divided into three parts: fundamental concepts, tutorial, and reference. The first three
chapters are a basic discussion of the TCP/IP protocols and services. This discussion provides the
fundamental concepts necessary to understand the rest of the book. The remaining chapters provide a
how-to tutorial. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 discuss how to plan a network installation and configure the
basic software necessary to get a network running. Chapter 6 through Chapter 10 discuss how to set
up various important network services. The final chapters, Chapter 11 through Chapter 13, cover how
to perform the ongoing tasks that are essential for a reliable network: troubleshooting, security, and
keeping up with changing network information.
This book contains the following chapters:
Chapter 1 gives the history of TCP/IP, a description of the structure of the protocol architecture, and a
basic explanation of how the protocols function.
Chapter 2 describes addressing, and how data passes through a network to reach the destination.
Chapter 3 discusses the relationship between clients and server systems, and the various services that
are central to the function of a modern internet.
Chapter 4 begins the discussion of network setup and configuration. This chapter discusses the
preliminary configuration planning needed before you configure the systems on your network.
Chapter 5 provides details of how NT TCP/IP is installed and configured. This chapter describes the
various dialogues used to configure TCP/IP, and the meaning and use of all of the configuration
choices available in those dialogues.
Chapter 6 describes how to install and configure the Windows NT DHCP server.
Chapter 7 describes how to administer the WINS name server program that converts NetBIOS
computer names to Internet addresses.
Chapter 8 describes how to configure the Microsoft DNS name server program that converts TCP/IP
host names to IP addresses.
Chapter 9 describes how to install and configure the RRAS software that permits a Windows NT
server to run a wide variety of TCP/IP routing protocols. In addition to providing advanced routing
support, RRAS is used to turn an NT server into a PPP server for remote dial-up Internet access.
RRAS also provides the security protocols needed to create encrypted connections.
Chapter 10 describes how to install and configure the IIS software. IIS is the heart of any Internet
server built on a Windows NT system. The Internet Information Server software provides Web
services, an FTP server, an SMTP email server, and more.
Chapter 11 tells you what to do when something goes wrong. It describes the techniques and tools used
to monitor the system and troubleshoot it when problems develop.
Chapter 12 discusses how to live on the Internet without excessive risk. This chapter covers the
security threats brought by the network, and the plans and preparations you can make to meet them.
Chapter 13 describes the information resources available on the Internet and how you can make use of
them.
Appendix A is a reference guide to the scripting language used on a Windows NT system to create dial-
up serial connections for PPP.
Appendix B is a reference for the records used to build a Domain Name Service database.
Appendix C is a reference for the configuration parameters that a Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) server can provide to configure a client.
Appendix D provides a detailed description of the interior routing protocols most commonly used on
enterprise networks.
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Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration
Acknowledgments
In addition to thanking the O'Reilly production folks, who are listed individually in the Colophon, we
want to thank Mark Friedman, who reviewed most of the manuscript and made numerous helpful
corrections and suggestions. We would also like to thank Cricket Liu for his help in improving the
DNS material. No one knows DNS better than Cricket! Their efforts allowed us to catch and fix
outright errors and ambiguous statements that would otherwise have appeared in print. Any errors
that remain are ours alone.
We also want to single out one of our technical reviewers for special thanks. AEleen Frisch, the author
of several O'Reilly Unix and Windows NT books, went far above and beyond the call of duty. In
addition to devoting a great deal of time and effort to doing a detailed technical review, AEleen made
many valuable suggestions about the overall content and structure of the book. This is a better book
because she took the time to help us make it so.
Finally, we want to thank our editor, Robert Denn. Robert initiated the project, drove it through the
rough patches, and co-ordinated the work of two authors who had not worked together previously.
Robert is the best editor that any author could hope for. Without his efforts, you would not be reading
this book.
We'd Like to Hear from You
We have tested and verified the information in this book to the best of our ability, but you may find
that features have changed (which may in fact resemble bugs). Please let us know about any errors you
find, as well as your suggestions for future editions, by writing to:
O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
101 Morris Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472
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email to:
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To ask technical questions or comments on the book, send email to:
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If you want to contact one of us directly, we can be reached at:
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
We also have a web site for the book, where we'll list errata and plans for future editions:
• http://www.ttgnet.com/rbt/books/nttcp/nttcp_error.html
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