A+ Certification / Beginners

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Network client

A network client is no different than a client or customer in the real world. A client in the real world visits your company because you provide some sort of service. For example, you might run a tailor shop, which provides a particular service to customers who drop off pants or dresses that need tailoring. In a sense, the customer is a client of the tailoring service.

Computer networks work the same way. On your computers, you must run a client for the type of service you are requesting on the network. For example, if you work for a medium-sized company that runs Novell's NetWare as the server operating system, then you must load a client that will connect your computer to the Novell server. Or, if you want to connect to a Windows 2003 server, you have to load a Microsoft client on your system to do so.

The Windows operating systems come with two major clients already installed: Client for Microsoft Networks and Client Service for NetWare. When you want to connect to a Microsoft server, you need to have the Client for Microsoft Networks software loaded, and when you are connecting to a Novell server, you load the Client Service for NetWare (CSNW).

Tip: If you are running Windows operating systems in a Novell environment, you will probably decide not to load the Client Service for NetWare, the client that Microsoft has built in to its operating system to connect to Novell networks. Microsoft has built that client with limited capabilities, so most networks that run Novell actually load Novell's Client on the Windows desktops instead.

To return to the tailor shop example, remember that your client has asked your service to tailor some pants. When the client finally receives the mended pants, that client is pleased - however, the pants have to be drycleaned before they are used. Unfortunately, your business doesn't offer drycleaning services, so your client has to request the service from a third party. The point is that your client can be a client of tailoring and a client of dry cleaning at the same time. There is no rule that says you can be a client of only one particular service at a time.

This applies to the network as well. A lot of companies run both Windows servers and Novell servers on the same network and at the same time. Maybe they use the Novell server for file sharing and use the Windows server for e-mail services. In this instance, the desktop computers on the network would have to run two clients, Client Service for NetWare - or the Novell client software, and Client for Microsoft Networks.

To install a network client for Microsoft networks in Windows 2000/XP/2003, follow these steps:

1. If you're using Windows 2000, choose Start → Settings → Control Panel → Network and Dial Up Connections. If you're using Windows XP/2003, choose Start → Control Panel → Network and Internet Connections → Network Connections.
2. Right-click your local area connection and choose Properties.
3. If it isn't already selected, click the General tab.
4. Verify that Client for Microsoft Networks appears in the list of components and has a check mark beside it.
   If the check box is not selected, click the check box beside Client for Microsoft Networks to enable the Microsoft networking client. If the Client for Microsoft Networks is not in the list, install it by clicking the Install button and choose Client from the Network Component Type dialog box. After choosing client and clicking Add, you choose Client For Microsoft Networks and then click OK.

The steps are very similar to install Client Service for Netware and to have a Windows system connect to the Novell server on the network. To install Client Service for Netware, follow these steps:

1. If you're using Windows 2000, choose Start → Settings → Control Panel → Network and Dial Up Connections. If you're using Windows XP/2003, choose Start → Control Panel → Network and Internet Connections → Network Connections.
2. Right-click your local area connection and choose Properties.
3. Click the Install button to install a network component.
4. From the Network Component Type dialog box, select Client and then click Add.
5. Select Client Service for Netware and then click OK.
6. Click Yes to restart the system.

When you reboot after installing Client Service for Netware, you need to configure the client for your Netware tree and the context within that tree. The Client Service for Netware dialog box, appears on reboot or can be configured later through the Client Service for Netware applet in the Control Panel.

The tree setting is the name of the Netware tree that holds your user accounts, and the context setting is the Organizational Unit (OU) in that tree that holds your user account. Organizational units are containers that hold objects in the directory.

At this point, you should have your network card and its driver installed, and you should also have installed the appropriate client. Unfortunately, you are still unable to communicate with someone on the network because you still have to install the appropriate protocol. In the following section, we talk about the purpose of protocols and what common protocols are running on networks today.