IT Project Work

PROJECT WORK

OF

Adarsha Information Technology College

Biratnagar-9, Morang

2070

 

This project work is presented under the

Program of ANNEX

Of

Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training

For

Junior Computer Technician

 

Presented by:

Krishna Mohan Rajbanshi

Kanchan Tajpuriya

Sushil Shah

Pradip Karki

Bipin Mehta

Adarsha Information Technology College

Biratnagar-9

Table of Content

• Introduction
• Architecture
• Layers
• Physical
• Data Link
• Network
• Transport
• Session
• Presentation
• Application
• Practical Systems
• Adapter
• Protocol
• Service
• Client
• Topologies
• Linear
• Ring
• Star
• Hierarchies
• Client-Server
• Peer-to-Peer
• Standards
• Ethernet
• Token Ring
• Asynchronous Transfer Mode
• FDDI
• AppleTalk
• Arc net
• Zero-Slot LANs
• Cabling
• 10 Base-5
• 10 Base-2
• 10 Base-T
• Setup
• Preparation
• Host Adapters
• Wiring
• Hubs
• Cable Installation
• Configuration
• Enabling Sharing
• Resource Sharing

Introduction

Networking

Networks link from two to thousands of PCs together, enabling them to share files and resources. In addition, a network can centralize the management of a huge base of PCs, providing one location for coordinated security, backup, upgrades, and control. Networking now is so essential to regular PC operations that it is built into new operating systems and serves both in the home and office. [/block]

By themselves, PCs might never have usurped the role of the mainframe or other large computer systems. Big systems would hold an important business advantage: they are able to link all the workers at a facility. Because the mainframe holds the data (as well as all the computing power) in one centralized location, its storage is easily shared. All workers can have access to the same information and can even work together on projects, communicating with one another through the central computer.

The network provides connectivity that gives the entire web of PCs collective power far beyond that of the mainframe. Anywhere two or more PCs are present, the features and facilities added by a network can make using PCs easier, more accommodating, and more powerful.

Nearly every aspect of networking has spawned its own literature covered by dozens of books. This single chapter cannot hope to discuss all aspects of network technology. Consequently, we'll restrict ourselves to a practical approach. From a foundation of basic terminology and concepts, we'll work our way to wiring together a small office or home network and setting up the necessary software. In the end, you won't be an expert, but you will have a working network that you can use for exchanging files, sharing printers, and making backups.

Architecture

The biggest issue in building a network is getting everything to work with everything else—in other words, basic compatibility. By its very nature, a network embraces a more diverse array of species than Noah escorted into his ark. Besides different brands of PCs, networks have to have some provisions to accommodate printers, modems, CD ROM players; fax systems, computers, and workstations that follow their own standards; access to mainframes and remote data bases; cellular systems; and whatever else anyone might want to plug in. Although some of these devices might naturally communicate, other combinations turn cacophony into chaos. Not only are there enough differences in the hardware interfaces to keep you

Stripping and soldering cables until the next technology comes home, you need to translate command sets, data formats, and even character codes.

Layers

In 1984, the International Standards Organization laid out a blueprint to bring order to the nonsense of networking by publishing the Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model. The approach was much like that used for PC intercompatibility: layering. Just as a PC has a software layer (the operating system) and a firmware layer (the BIOS) to link your application software to your underlying hardware (the PC), the ISO built a network compatibility system from seven layers ranging from the connecting wire to software applications. These layers define functions and protocols that enable the wide variety of network hardware and software to work together. The standard was adopted worldwide, including in the United States and by major organizations such as IBM.

Physical

The first layer of the OSI Reference Model is the Physical layer, which defines the basic hardware of the network, which is the cable that conducts the flow of information between the devices linked by the network. This layer defines not only the type of wire (for example, coaxial cable or twisted pair wire) but the possible lengths and connections of the wire, the signals on the wire, and the interfaces of the cabling system. This is the level at which the device that connects a PC to the network (the network host adapter) is defined.

Data Link

Layer 2 in a network is called the Data Link layer. It defines how information gains access to the wiring system. The Data Link layer defines the basic protocol used in the local network. This is the method used for deciding which PC can send a message over the cable at any given time, the form of the messages, and the transmission method of those messages.

Network

Layer 3 in the OSI Reference Model is the Network layer, which defines how the network moves information from one device to another. This layer corresponds to the hardware interface function BIOS of an individual PC, because it provides a common software interface that hides differences in underlying hardware. Software

Of higher layers can run on any lower layer hardware because of the compatibility this layer affords. Protocols that enable the exchange of packets between different networks operate at this level.

Transport

Layer 4 is for the control of data movement across the network. This Transport layer defines how messages are handled, particularly how the network reacts to packets that become lost or other errors that may occur.

Session

Layer 5 of the OSI Reference Model defines the interaction between applications and hardware much as a PC BIOS provides function calls for programs. By using functions defined at this Session layer, programmers can create software that will operate on any of a wide variety of hardware. In other words, the Session layer provides the interface for applications and the network. Among PCs, the most common of these application interfaces is IBM's Network Basic Input/output System or NetBIOS.

Presentation

Layer 6, the Presentation layer, provides the file interface between network devices and the PC software. This layer defines the code and format conversions that must take place so that applications running under a PC operating system, such as DOS, OS/2 or Macintosh System 7, can understand files stored under the network's native format.

Application

Layer 7 is the part of the network that you deal with personally. This Application layer includes the basic services you expect from any network including the capability to deal with files, send messages to other network users through the mail system, and to control print jobs.

Practical Systems

Although the seven layers of the OSI may be useful to engineers designing network systems, they don't have any particular relevance when you're setting up a small network in your office or even home. Instead, you face four practical levels when configuring your network using network or operating system software. Under Windows 95, these levels include the adapter, protocol, service, and client software, as shown in Figure 1.1, the Windows 95 Select Network Component Type menu.

Component menu. Figure 1.1. The Windows 95 Select Network  

In this model, the network has four components: the client, the adapter, the protocol, and the service. Each has a distinct role to play in making the connection between PCs.

Adapter

Is the foundation of the physical layer of the network, translating the bus signals of your PC into a form that can skitter through the network wiring. The adapter determines the form and speed of the physical side of the network.

From the practical perspective, the network adapter is generally the part of the network that you must buy. You plug the network adapter into your PC to provide a port for plugging into the network wire.

Protocol

The protocol is the music of the packets, the lyric that controls the harmony of the data traffic through the network wiring. The protocol dictates not only the logical form of the packet—the arrangement of address, control information, and data among its bytes—but also the rules on how the network deals with the packets. The protocol determines how a packet gets where it is going, what happens when it doesn't, and how to recover when an error appears in the data as it crosses the network.

Support for the most popular and a useful protocol for small networks is included with today's operating systems. It takes the form of drivers you install to implement a particular networking system. Windows 95, for example, includes several.

Service

The service of the network is the work the packets perform. The services are often several and always useful. Network services include exchanging files between disk drives (or making a drive far away on the network appear to be local to any or every PC in the network. It can be the sharing of a printer resource so that all PCs

Have access to a centralized printer, or electronic mail passed from a centralized post office to individual machines.

Most networking software includes the more useful services as part of the basic package. Windows 95 includes file and printer sharing as its primary service. The basic operating system also includes e-mail support.

Client

To the network, the client is not you but where the operating system of your PC and the network come together. It's the software that brings you the network resources so that you can take advantage of the services.

Topologies

The topology of a network is the lay of the cables across the land. Most networks involve cables, lots of them, with at least one leading to every PC. Like the proverbial can of worms, they can crawl off in every direction and create chaos.

If PCs are to talk to one another, however, somehow the cables must come together so that signals can move from one PC to another. If network cables were ordinary wires, you might splice them together with the same abandon as making spaghetti, and the results might have a similar aesthetic.

Designers have developed several topologies for PC networks. Most can be reduced to one of three basic layouts: linear, ring, and star. The names describe how the cables run throughout an installation.

Linear

The network with linear cabling has a single backbone, one main cable that runs from one end of the system to the other. Along the way, PCs tap into this backbone to send and receive signals. The PCs link to the backbone with a single cable through which they both send and receive. In effect, the network backbone functions as a data bus, and this configuration is often called a bus topology. Figure 1.2 illustrates a simple network bus.

Figure 1.2. Simple bus network  topology.

In the typical installation, a wire leads from the PC to the backbone, and a T-connector links the two. The network backbone has a definite beginning and end. In most cases, these ends are terminated with a resistor matching the characteristic impedance of the cable in the background. That is, a 61 ohm network cable will have

A 61 ohm termination at either end. These terminations prevent signals from reflecting from the ends of the cable, helping assure signal integrity.

Ring

The ring topology looks like a linear network that's biting its own tail. The backbone is a continuous loop, a ring, with no end. But the ring is not a single, continuous wire. Instead it is made of short segments daisy chained from one PC to the next, the last connected, in turn, to the first. Each PC thus has two connections. One wire connects a PC to the PC before it in the ring, and a second wire leads to the next PC in the ring. Signals must traverse through one PC to get to the next, and the signals typically are listened to and analyzed along the way.

Star

Both linear and ring topologies sprawl all over creation. The star topology shines a ray of light into tangled installations. Just as rays blast out from the core of a star, in the star topology connecting cables emanate from a centralized location called a hub, and each cable links a single PC into the network. A popular image for star topology is an old-fashioned wagon wheel—the network hub is the hub, the cables are the spokes, and the PCs are ignored in the analogy. Try visualizing them as clumps of mud clinging to the rim (which, depending on your particular network situation, may be an apt metaphor). If you can't, Figure 1.3 illustrates a simple star configuration of a network.

Figure 1.3. Simple star network topology.

Hierarchies         

Topology describes only one physical aspect of a network. The connections between the various PCs in a network also can fit one of two logical hierarchies. The alternatives form a class system among PCs. Some networks treat all PCs the same;

Others elevate particular computers to a special, more important role. Although the network serves the same role in either case, these two hierarchical systems enforce a few differences in how the network is used.

Client-Server

Before PC networks, mainframe computers extended their power to individual desks through terminal connections. By necessity, these mainframe systems put all the computer power in one central location that served the needs of everyone using the system. There simply wasn't any other computer power in the system.

Most modern servers are designed to be fault-tolerant. That is, they will continue to run without interruption despite a fault, such as the failure of a hardware subsystem. Most servers also use the most powerful available microprocessors, not from need but because the price difference is tiny once the additional ruggedness and storage are factored in—and because most managers think that the single most important PC in a network should be the most powerful.

Peer-to-Peer

The client-server is a royalist system, particularly if you view a nation's leader as a servant of the people rather than a profiteer. The opposite is the true democracy in which every PC is equal. PCs share files and other resources (such as printers) among one another. They share equally, each as the peer of the others, so this scheme is called peer-to-peer networking.

Standards

A network is a collection of ideas, of hardware and software. The software comprises both the programs that make it work and the protocols that let everything work together. The hardware involves the network adapters, the wires, hubs, concentrators, routers, and even more exotic fauna. Getting it all to work together requires standardization.

Ethernet

The progenitor of all of today's networks was the Ethernet system originally developed in the 1970s at the Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center for linking its Alto workstations to laser printers. The invention of Ethernet is usually credited to Robert Metcalf, who later went on to found 3Com Corporation, an early major supplier of PC networking hardware and software. During its first years,

Ethernet was proprietary to Xerox, a technology without a purpose, in a world in which the PC had not yet been invented.

Token Ring

Another way to handle packets across a network is a concept called token passing. In this scheme, the token is a coded electronic signal used to control network access. IBM originated the most popular form of this protocol, which after further development, was sanctioned by the IEEE as its 802.5 standard. Because this standard requires a ring topology, it is commonly called Token Ring networking. Although once thought the most formidable competitor to Ethernet, it is now chiefly used only in large corporations. Other networking systems such as FDDI (see the "FDDI" section that follows) use a similar token passing protocol.

The original Token Ring specification called for operation at 4 MHz A revision to the standard allows for operation at 16 MHz The specification originally required the use of a special four-wire shield twisted pair cabling, but current standards enable several types of cabling, including unshielded twisted pair wires.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode

One of the darling technologies of new networking, Asynchronous Transfer Mode or ATM is fundamentally different from other networking systems. It is a switched technology rather than a shared bus. Instead of broadcasting down a wire, a sending PC sets up a requested path to the destination specifying various attributes of the connection, including its speed. The switch need not be physical. In fact, ATM is independent of the underlying physical wiring and works with almost any physical network architecture from twisted pair to fiber optical. Its performance depends on the underlying physical implementation, but its switched design assures the full bandwidth of the medium for the duration of each connection.

ATM is part of a network. By itself it does not make a network. Because of its high speed potential and versatility, it is becoming popular in large businesses where it neatly sandwiches between other network standards.

FDDI

Although many publications use the acronym FDDI to refer to any network using optical fibers as the transmission medium, it actually refers to an international networking standard sanctioned by the American National Standards Institute and the International Standards Organization. The initials stand for Fiber Distributed Data Interface. The standard is based on a dual counter rotating fiber optic ring topology operating with a 100 MHz data rate. The FDDI standard permits the connection of up

To a maximum of PCs or other nodes with a distance up to 2 to 3 kilometers between PCs and an entire spread up to 100 kilometers.

AppleTalk

Apple Computer developed its own networking scheme for its Macintosh computers. Called AppleTalk, the network is built around an Apple-developed hardware implementation that Apple called Local Talk. In operation, local Talk is similar to Ethernet in that it uses probabilistic access with Carrier Sensing, Multiple Access technology. Instead of after the fact collision detection, however, Local Talk uses collision avoidance. Originally designed for shielded twisted pair cable, many Local Talk networks use unshielded twisted pair telephone wiring. The Local Talk system is slow, however, with a communication speed of 230.4 KHz (that's about one quarter megahertz).

Arc net

Another token passing network system, Arc net, pre-dates IEEE 802.5 Token Ring. Arc net was developed in 1977 by Data point Corporation. In an Arc net system, each PC is assigned an eight-bit address from 1 to 255. The token is passed from one PC to the next in numerical order. Each PC codes the token signal with the value of the next address in the network, the network automatically configuring itself so that only active address numbers are used.

Zero-Slot LANs

When you need to connect only a few PCs and you don't care about speed, you have an alternative in several proprietary systems that are lumped together as Zero-Slot LANs. These earn their name from their capability to give you a network connection without requiring you to fill an expansion slot in your PC with a network host adapter. Instead of a host adapter, most Zero-Slot LANs use a port already built into most PCs, the serial port.

Cabling

One of the biggest problems faced by network system designers is keeping radiation and interference under control. All wires act as antenna, sending and receiving signals. As frequencies increase and wire lengths increase, the radiation increases. The pressure is on network designers to increase both the speed (with higher frequencies) and reach of networks (with longer cables) to keep up with the increasing demands of industry.

Figure 1.4 shows the construction of a typical coaxial cable.

The primary alternative is twisted pair wiring, which earns its name from being made of two identical insulated conducting wires that are twisted around one another in a loose double-helix. The most common form of twisted pair wiring lacks the shield of coaxial cable and is often denoted by the acronym UTP, which stands unshielded twisted pair. Figure 1.5 shows the construction of a typical twisted-pair cable.

Figure 1.5. Components of a twisted pair wiring cable.

Most UTP wiring is installed in the form of multi-pair cables with up to several hundred pairs inside a single plastic sheath. The most common varieties have 4 to 25 twisted pairs in a single cable. . The same type of wiring also corresponds to IBM's Type 3 cabling specification for Token Ring networking.

Table 1.6. Unshielded Twisted Pair Color Code.

Pair Number	Color Code	Pair Number	Color Code
1	White/Blue	16	Yellow/Blue
2	White/Orange	17	Yellow/Orange
3	White/Green	18	Yellow/Green
4	White/Brown	19	Yellow/Brown
5	White/Slate	20	Yellow/Slate
6	Red/Blue	21	Violet/Blue
7	Red/Orange	22	Violet/Orange
8	Red/Green	23	Violet/Green
9	Red/Brown	24	Violet/Brown
10	Red/Slate	25	Violet/Slate
11	Black/Blue
12	Black/Orange
13	Black/Green
14	Black/Brown
15	Black/Slate
Key: First color is the body of the wire, second color the stripes. The mate of the wire pair has the color scheme (body/stripe) reversed.

Linking the transceiver and the PC is another special cable called the Attached Unit Interface cable. The AUI cable can be up to 50 meters (164 feet) long. Under the IEEE 802.3 specification, you can connect up to 100 transceivers to a single 10 Base-5 backbone.

10 Base-5

Under the IEEE 802.3 specification, wiring for 10 Base-5 networks uses thick coaxial cable with a characteristic impedance of 50 ohms. The standard permits the bus to be up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) long with a 50 ohm terminating resistor at each end. The AUI cable can be up to 50 meters (164 feet) long. Under the IEEE 802.3 specification, you can connect up to 100 transceivers to a single 10 Base-5 backbone.

10Base-2mo

In the IEEE 802.3 scheme of things, 10 Base-2 is called thin wire or thin net. It uses a double shielded 50 ohm coaxial cable that's similar to but not identical with R G-58/U, another 50 ohm cable that's used for a variety of applications including Citizens' Band radio. Under the IEEE specification, the 10 Base-2 bus cable should not exceed a length of 185 meters (about 600 feet) but some host adapter manufacturers allow runs of up to 300 meters (about 1,000 feet). You can connect up to 30 transceivers to a single 10 Base-2 backbone.

10 Base-T

Because of its star topology, 10 Base-T networks use point to point wiring. Each network cable stretches from one point (a PC or other node) to another at the hub. The hub has a wiring jack for each network node; each PC host adapter has a single connector. Figure 1.7 shows the correct wiring for a hub to workstation 10 Base-T cable.

Figure 1.7. Wiring for a hub-to-workstation 10Base-T cable..

Patching between hubs may require crossover cables that link pins 1 to 3 and 2 to 6.

Setup

Certainly everyone doesn't have the need for a network. If you have only one PC, you have nothing to connect. If you have more than one PC, you probably would like to link them together, but you may be afraid of the work involved. You can meet all of those requirements with the networking that's built into Windows 95.

Preparation

The first step in installing any network is planning—deciding on exactly what you want to accomplish, then figuring out how to do it. Under Windows you'll also need a name for your workgroup—another chance to demonstrate your imagination or lack of same.

Host Adapters

The hardware for putting together a peer to peer 10 Base-T network comprises three parts—the network/host adapters in each PC, a hub, and the wire that links them

Together. You'll need one 10 Base-T network adapter for every PC you want to add to the network. Some network adapters allow for optional boot ROMs, which allow PCs to boot up using a remote disk drive, but this feature is more applicable to client-server rather than peer to peer networks.

Wiring

The twisted pair cabling for 10 Base-T has a few of its own requirements. The most important is that it must be truly twisted to properly minimize noise and interference. Ordinary modular telephone cables are inappropriate for 10 Base-T because these cables are flat and lack the needed twists.

Hubs

You'll need at least one hub for your network. A hub is simply a box with circuitry inside and a bunch of jacks for RJ-45 plugs on the back. The circuitry inside links the 10 Base-T cables together. Hubs are distinguished by the number of features they offer. But most of those features are designed to make the network administrator's job easier and are unnecessary in a small (say five or fewer PCs) peer to peer network. For such smaller systems, the minimal hub will be all you need.

Cable Installation

Once you've set a location for each PC and the hub, you can configure the wiring. You need run only one cable from each PC node to the hub.

How you run the wiring and what wire to use is another matter entirely. The easiest route is to strew about ready-made cables. Otherwise you'll need a special tool to crimp modular connectors on the cables.

Configuration

Once the wiring is in place, prepare the network adapter for each peer. Typically, a network adapter requires an interrupt and base address from your system resources. If you have a Plug-and-Play network adapter, Windows will recognize it when you install it inside your PC, automatically assigning resources. From the first screen, click on Add, and you'll see a menu like the one shown in Figure 1.8?

Figure 1.8. Selecting a network component type.

 

Select Adapter and click the Add button. Windows will then let you choose a manufacturer and model of network adapter to install. Select the board you've chosen or a suitable emulation, as shown in Figure 1.9.

Figure 1.9. Selecting a network adapter emulation.

Once you've selected an adapter, click OK. Windows will immediately swing into action and install all the drivers required not only by the host adapter but also all the services and protocols you'll need to get your network working.

When Windows finishes with this part of the installation, you'll see a revised Network sheet listing everything that the operating system has installed, as shown in Figure 1.10.

Figure 1.10. Clients, services, adapters, and protocols installed.

If Windows doesn't prompt you for the names you've decided to use for your network and node, select the Identification tab and enter the names.

The next step finally assigns resource values to your network host adapter. Highlight the host adapter and click on the Properties button. Windows will reply with a screen like that shown in Figure 1.11.

Figure1.11. Assigning resources to your network host adapter.

On this screen, Windows will suggest the setting to use for your network host adapter's resources. You can choose alternate values to resolve conflicts or to suit the settings you prefer. Once you've finished, click OK. Click OK on the next screen, and Windows will tell you to reboot your system.

Enabling Sharing

Before you can begin thinking about setting up your network software for resource sharing, you must have a working network. Installing the network hardware is only the first step. You must then configure your network workstations and servers to use the hardware you've installed.

You'll see a screen that tells you about all the network components that Windows has installed for you, which will look something like Figure 1.12.

Figure 1.12. The Windows 95 Network dialog.

If your network is operating, you don't have to worry about all the obscure entries on this screen. For your purposes, its only important aspect is the File and Printer Sharing button about two-thirds the way down the screen. Clicking on it will open a small window giving you the choice of whether to share system resources, as shown in Figure 1.13.

Figure 1.13 The file and printer sharing menu of Windows 95.

Your choices are twofold, sharing files and sharing printers. In most cases, you'll want to share files as well to put the machine to work as a server.

Once you've made your choices, clicking on OK will take you back to the previous screen, the Network folder. Click on OK again to exit back to Control Panel.

To enable sharing for a disk drive, be it a hard disk, floppy, or CD drive, highlight the drive's icon in My Computer window. Then choose Sharing from the File menu. You'll see a display like that shown in Figure 1.14.

Figure 1.14. Windows 95 disk properties sheet.

Once you've enabled a disk for sharing, its icon will appear in the Network Neighborhood of all the PCs that have access to it on the network.

Once you select the Sharing tab, you'll see a screen like that shown in Figure 1.15.

Figure 1.15. The Sharing tab of the Printer Properties folder.

When this tab initially pops up, it will default to Not Shared, and the lower part of the screen will be grayed out. Selecting Sharing will activate your other choices. You must give the printer a name by which PCs in the network will refer to it. You can optionally supply a comment so you can remember what you've done. This tab also provides for password protection for printer access. If you want to restrict printer access, you can enter a password here; otherwise, printer access won't be limited.

When you're finished with your entries, click on OK, and you're done. Your printer can now be shared with other workstations attached to your network.

Resource Sharing

After you've enabled sharing from the system that is to act as your file and print server, you must individually connect each PC to it through Windows 95. Although shared drives automatically appear under Windows, if you want to use them as drive letters through a DOS box, you will have to map them to the workstation. To share a printer, you must install the network printer exactly as you would install a local printer.

If you've not previously installed a printer in the workstation, you'll see a screen like that shown in Figure 1.16.

Figure 1.16. The Windows 95 Printer folder.

Double click on Add Printer from the Printers folder. This will activate the Add Printer Wizard, which will step you through the installation process.

When the Add Printer Wizard starts, your first choice will be whether to install a local or networked printer, as shown in Figure 23.16. The wizard defaults to installing a local printer, so you'll want to select Network printer. Then click on the Next button.

Figure 1.17.The first screen of the Add Printer Wizard.

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In order to install a printer, you have to tell the Wizard which printer to use. The Wizard identifies a printer by its assigned name, and it prompts you to type in the name of the printer to install, as shown in Figure 1.18.

Figure 1.18. The Add Printer Wizard prompting for a network printer name.

This screen also gives you the choice of routing the print commands from your DOS programs to the networked printer. If you're going to use DOS at all, you'll want to use one printer for all your output needs. To do so, select the Yes button.

The Wizard will respond by listing the shared printers attached to that server, as shown in Figure 1.19. You only need to click on the printer that you want.

Figure 1.19. Browsing through your network for a printer.

The Wizard is not done with you yet. If you've told it to route your DOS print jobs to print through the network, the Wizard will want you to decide whether you want to capture a printer port. You'll be staring at a screen like that shown in Figure 1.20.

Figure 1.20 Selecting to capture a printer port.

Because most DOS applications send their output directly to a printer port, you'll need to enable capture to allow them to print. When you click on the Capture Printer Port button, the Wizard will ask which port to capture with a screen like that shown in Figure 1.21.

Figure 1.21 Selecting a port to capture for DOS printing.

You'll have to install all your DOS applications to use the port you choose for printing. The Wizard's default choice, LPT1, is a good one. After you make your choice, click on OK to finish the networked printer installation.

The Wizard takes care of all the details for you, automatically copying to your local PC the driver files necessary for your applications and printer. Your networked printer will then act as if it were locally connected to your PC—only you'll have to walk farther to fill the paper tray.

Reference

1)     Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible, Premier Edition by Winn L. Rosch.