by Larry Passo, et al.
Dial-Up Networking enables clients to connect through Remote Access Servers to remote networks. After this connection is made, the telephone lines become transparent to the client, and users at the remote client can access the same network resources that they could access if they were actually connected directly to the remote network. The only difference that the remote user might notice is a drop in responsiveness because a dial-up connection is much slower than a direct network connection. To achieve this remote connectivity, you must properly configure both sides of the connection.
Installing Dial-Up Networking is simply the first step in connecting to remote resources via a Remote Access Server. To access remote resources, it is also necessary to install the necessary client software and network transport protocols.
By default, Windows 98 can support the following common transport protocols:
CAUTION: The DLC transport protocol cannot be used for remote access.
Windows 98 also ships with the following networking clients:
In addition to the integrated clients and protocols, many third-party client packages are available. A few of these packages follow.
The type of network you plan to dial into determines the combination of protocols and clients required for full connectivity. It's always a good idea to ask your network administrator which combination you need.
When you installed Dial-Up Networking, Windows 98 automatically configured your machine with a Dial-Up Adapter, the Microsoft Family logon, and the TCP/IP protocol (see Figure 44.1). These components alone are enough to allow you to connect to the Internet successfully, but are not sufficient to dial into a Windows NT or NetWare network. The following procedure walks you through the installation of additional network clients and protocols.
FIG. 44.1 The Dial-Up Adapter.
FIG. 44.2 The Select Network Component Type window.
FIG. 44.3 The Select Network Protocol window.
FIG. 44.4 The Select Network Client window.
Windows 98 offers advanced telephony settings for Dial-Up Networking. These settings enable you to create multiple Dial-Up profiles to be used in various situations. For instance, some of the commonly required telephony settings are
NOTE: The Windows Telephony API (TAPI) provides a standard way for communications applications to control telephony functions for voice and data. TAPI controls all connections between a Windows 98 system and the telephone network.
Notice the Dialing From field under the phone number of the ABC Company in Figure 44.5. The Dialing Properties button is next to this field.
FIG. 44.5 Connect to ABC Company.
To manipulate your telephony, or dialing, properties, simply click on the Dialing Properties button to launch the Dialing Properties window, shown in Figure 44.6.
FIG. 44.6 The Dialing Properties window.
This page enables you to set a number of dial-out variables and save them as different profiles, or locations. The available variables are
To create a new location, click the New button next to the I Am Dialing From field. You are told that your new location was created, and all settings from the previous location disappear. Follow these steps to create a new long-distance location for using a calling card from a hotel.
FIG. 44.7 The Dialing Location Area Code Rules page.
TIP: Some PBXs have a noticeable delay before they supply a dial tone in response to the 8 or 9 that you dial to request a telephone line. If this delay prevents you from being able to establish your connections, simply type one or more commas (,) after either the 8 or the 9 in the appropriate box. Each comma delays the dialing sequence for a couple of seconds. Try adding one comma at a time until you slow down the dialing sequence enough to reliably make your connections.
TIP: If your favorite calling card type isn't listed, you can add it by clicking on the New button (see Figure 44.8) and entering the appropriate details.
FIG. 44.8 The Calling Card configuration window.
You may create as many dialing locations as necessary and use as many calling cards as required. However, each dialing location can be configured to use only one calling card at a time.
TIP: The configurations you set up for each connection are stored in the Registry underHkey_Current_User\RemoteAccess\Addresses\My ConnectionYou can predefine Dial-Up Networking connections for users by including them as part of system policies. If you enable user profiles, different users sharing the same computer can use separate dialing configurations.
When you dial into a Remote Access Server and connect to the network, your workstation is essentially a normal network client with one exception: dialing into your network through a modem is considerably slower than when you're logged on at the office--even at today's modem speeds. Although Dial-Up Networking offers a great deal of functionality, Remote Node connectivity does not enable you to run any sizable applications (such as Office) from the network or to transfer large amounts of data in short time periods. The most effective manner in which to use a dial-up solution is to have all your applications resident on your Windows 98 computer and have any large documents or files on removable media. In this case, when you access your required network resources (such as a standard Word document or a Notes Database), you need to pass only small amounts of data back and forth across the line. Some of the most common uses for Dial-Up Networking clients are
Dial-Up Networking is very practical for users who need access to centrally located resources or who need to perform remote network administration. Many client/server applications such as SNA Server or Microsoft Exchange work well over remote node connections. With Dial-Up Networking, you can connect to your office's network and map drives, navigate Network Neighborhood, or even connect to the Internet.
Many remote users require more than just remote node connectivity, and likewise, many corporations have found value in providing high-performance remote solutions for their mobile work force. Remote control applications and Windows terminal solutions can overcome many of the performance issues seen in remote node connectivity.
Remote control software enables the user to dial in to a network via Dial-Up Networking and take control of a PC on the remote network. The PC that is being managed remotely is referred to as a host. After control is taken, the remote control client can manage the host, run applications from it, or even provide technical support for it. Remote control software such as Reach Out, PC Anywhere, Timbuktoo, or Remotely Possible enables you to take control of and man- ipulate a remote computer by simply passing modifications to the screen across your dial-up connection. For instance, if you take control of a host on your remote network and launch an accounting application, the host does all the processing and the remote control software simply passes information about what is currently on the host's screen to your remote control client. To you, it seems as if you've just launched the application on your own computer. Although remote control performance is slower than performance at the actual workstation, remote performance is acceptable--especially in a situation in which remote control is the only way to access an application.
NOTE: In some cases, taking remote control of a remote host and running an application might actually be faster than running the application remotely via Dial-Up Networking. In applications where the host needs to access large amounts of data from either its local hard disk or from a network file server, only the screen updates need to be transmitted over the phone lines.
Remote control software is excellent for many applications; however, it is impractical to provide remote control solutions for a significant number of remote users. Windows terminal solutions, such as Citrix Winframe or Microsoft's Windows Terminal Server(WTS), take remote control one step further. With a Windows terminal solution, a user can dial into a network with Dial-Up Networking and use a Windows terminal client to launch a Windows session from a Citrix or WTS server. This session, which is very much in the vein of a mainframe session, provides the user with a true Windows desktop session, as well as access to almost any application at speeds approaching real-time local computing. A Windows terminal solution does not require a dedicated workstation for every remote user; instead, a single server can provide high-performance remote computing for multiple concurrent users. In addition, a Windows terminal solution enables the network administrator to create and assign profiles to individual users or groups. For instance, the administrator can create a common profile that provides access to all common corporate applications.
For most users, this profile is more than adequate; however, there may be secure applications that other users need to access. For instance, the administrator could create a secure profile for accounting users that offers access to all standard applications, as well as the corporate accounting application. When anyone from the accounting department dials in and launches a Windows terminal client, the user not only sees the standard desktop but also has access to the accounting application. Other dial-in users will not have access to the accounting application. Windows terminal Solutions are evolving rather rapidly and are well worth investigating, particularly in regards to remote employees.
CAUTION: Be careful how you deploy your Windows terminal solutions because they, like other thin clients, require powerful servers to make applications execute quickly on the remote clients.
Whenever you access a remote server over a dial-up phone line, you never really know who might be listening to your communications session. If you care about security, you can configure Dial-Up Networking to use data encryption for your password and data (see Figure 44.9).
NOTE: To use encryption, the computer that you are connecting to must support a compatible encryption format. Windows NT Remote Access Servers and many UNIX dial-up servers are compatible with the Windows 98 encryption methods.
To configure a preexisting Dial-Up Networking connection to require encryption, as shown in Figure 44.10, follow these steps:
FIG. 44.9 The Communications window.
You can use Windows 98 as a dial-up server, much like a Windows NT server or a Windows NT workstation. Unlike Windows 95, where Dial-Up Server was an extra-cost option, Windows 98 includes this feature in the standard package. To install the Windows 98 Dial-up Server component, use the following procedure:
FIG. 44.10 The Communications window.
After your computer restarts, configuring it as a dial-up server is simple. Launch the Dial-Up Networking window and go to the Connections menu. Click once for the drop-down menu and choose Dial-up Server to access the Dial-Up Server settings page (Figure 44.11).
FIG. 44.11 The Dial-Up Server Settings page. Dial-Up Server configuration options are relatively simple:
FIG. 44.12 Modifying your Dial-Up Server type.
By default, your Windows 98 computer supports standard PPP connectivity, much like a Windows NT Remote Access Server. Or you can modify your server type on the Server Types page. In most cases, you should retain the default settings.
Virtual private networking, or VPN, is a relatively new networking technology that enables you to access a remote network across the Internet or a network attached to the Internet via a secure encrypted connection. In Windows 98, VPN uses Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) to create a secure tunnel to a PPTP or VPN server over Dial-Up Networking.
NOTE: When you use PPTP, your entire communications session, not just your authentication sequence, is automatically encrypted.
With PPTP a person can easily avoid expensive long-distance calls when traveling or working from remote locations. If you use a national Internet service provider (ISP), such as MSN or CompuServe, you can access the Internet via local phone numbers from almost anywhere. From a remote location, all you need is a local access number for your ISP. After you dial your ISP, simply launch a VPN connection to connect to your corporate network across the Internet. This connection enables you to access the resources available through traditional Dial-Up Networking.
Although VPN support is native to Windows 98, it is not installed by default. To install VPN support, simply follow these instructions:
FIG. 44.13 Communications options.
After VPN is installed on your machine, two new adapters will have been added to your Network properties. Figure 44.14 shows a machine with a standard dial-up adapter (as seen in Figure 44.9), as well as an additional Dial-up adapter to provide VPN support and the Microsoft Virtual Private Networking adapter that serves as the backbone for all VPN connections.
FIG. 44.14 Network properties with VPN support.
To make a VPN connection over Dial-Up Networking, you must first be attached to the Internet or to a private network that has access to the network you want to attach to. After you make your original connection, you need to make your VPN connection. To create a VPN connection, go to the Dial-Up Networking folder and follow these steps:
FIG. 44.15 Selecting the VPN adapter.
FIG. 44.16 Entering the VPN destination.
When your VPN connection is complete, you may modify its properties much like any other Dial-Up Networking connection. Go to the Dial-Up Networking window, highlight your VPN connection, and select Properties from the right-click drop-down menu. At this time, you have the option to modify the Host name, to modify the IP address, or to manage the Server Types configuration like a normal Dial-Up Networking. When your VPN connection is completely configured, you're ready to connect.
With the Dial-Up Networking capabilities of Windows 98, you can access other computers, a LAN, or even the Internet and World Wide Web through an ISP. This section covers notebook computer techniques for defining a location, connecting to a remote system, accessing an ISP, and auto dialing.
Windows 98 provides an easy way to define your current location, which is particularly useful if you're traveling with your notebook computer. Connecting to remote locations while staying in a hotel, for example, can be done quickly by modifying your telephony location setting in the Control Panel.
To modify your location setting, use the following procedure:
You can now ready to use your Dial-Up Connections as you normally do.
You can use the Dial-Up Networking connection to access remote systems, such as your business's NT Remote Access Server, from any location. Simply double-click on your desktop's My Computer connectoid and choose the Dial-Up Networking connectoid. If you've already set up access to your remote system, it is listed among the Dial-Up Networking connectoids in this window. If you haven't already set up this connection, choose the Make a New Connection object and the wizard walks you through the steps. You end up with a Connect To dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 44.17.
FIG. 44.17 Verify your remote connection settings before choosing Connect.
Before choosing Connect, verify your username, password, and phone number settings. If you have trouble connecting, confirm these settings with your system administrator. Also double-check your location parameters as described in the preceding procedure. After you establish a connection, you can share files and data as you normally would with the remote computer.
Some ISPs require you to enter your username and password each time you access their service. Fortunately, Windows 98 supplies scripting tools for Dial-Up Networking so that you can automate this process.
You'll find details of the scripting language in a file called Script.doc, located in the directory where Windows 98 was installed (usually C:\Windows). This file contains instructions and examples for building a script that works with your service's logon screens. After you build a script, you need to assign it to a Dial-Up Networking connection.
Assigning a Script to a Dial-Up Networking Connection
After building a script, you need to associate it with the Connectoid that you've already defined. Use the following procedure to assign a script to a Dial-Up Networking Connectoid:
FIG. 44.18 Use the scripting tab of a Dial-Up Networking properties sheet to assign a script to a connection.
Your connectoid now has a script assigned to it that runs each time you activate that Dial-Up Networking connection.
© Copyright, Macmillan Computer Publishing. All rights reserved.
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