1. Joining a Windows Domain Network
If your computer is to be part of a domain
network run by a version of Windows Server, it has to be “joined” to
the domain so that Windows will delegate its security functions to the
network. Your network administrator should take care of this for you.
If you have to do it yourself, you will need four pieces of information:
• The name to be given to your computer.
• The domain name for your network.
• Your domain logon name and password.
• Any specific configuration
information for the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). In most cases, it is
not necessary to make any changes in the default settings.
Use the following procedure to make your computer a member of your network domain:
1. Log on to Windows with a Computer Administrator account.
2. Right-click the
very bottom-left corner of the screen and select System. In the
Computer Name, Domain, and Workgroup settings section, click Change
Settings. Then, click the Network ID button.
3. Select This
Computer Is Part of a Business Network; I Use It to Connect to Other
Computers at Work, and then click Next. Select My Company Uses a
Network with a Domain, and then click Next twice.
4. Enter the network login name, password, and network domain name supplied by your network administrator. Then click Next.
5. If the network
administrator prepared the domain to accept your computer, a box will
pop up saying “An account for this computer has been found....” Click
Yes.
6. You will be
prompted for the credentials for an account that has domain
administrator privileges. An administrator may have to assist you here.
7. The next prompt asks, “Do you want to enable a domain user account to this computer?” You have two choices:
• If you want your domain account to
be able to manage hardware, software, and files on your own computer,
select Add the Following Domain User Account and then enter your domain
logon name and domain name. Click Next. Select Administrator and then
click Next.
• If you want to manage your computer
using your original “local” account, select Do Not Add a Domain User
Account, and then click Next.
8. Click Finish. Click OK to close the System Properties dialog and then click Restart Now.
When your computer has been joined to the
domain and restarted, the login process may be slightly changed. If the
Welcome screen says Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to Sign In, type this key
combination. (Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys, press the Del key, and then release all of the keys.)
Note
If your computer is disconnected from the
network or you want to install new hardware, you can still log on using
a local account. At the Welcome screen, select the icon for your
original local account, or click the left arrow and select Other User.
The first time you sign in, the icon
for your original non-domain (“local”) account will still appear. If an
icon for your domain account does not appear, click the left arrow and
select Other User. Then, enter the username and password for your
domain account.
2. Bridging Two Network Types
A Windows 8 computer can connect or bridge
two different network types through software, letting the devices on
both networks communicate with each other. This can eliminate the need
to buy a hardware device to connect two disparate networks (although it
only works when your Windows 8 computer is turned on). Figure 1
shows an example of what bridging can do. In the figure, one Windows 8
computer serves as a bridge between an Ethernet LAN and a phoneline LAN.
Figure 1.
Bridging a phoneline and Ethernet network with Windows 8. Computers on
either network can communicate as if they were directly connected.
Bridging is similar to routing, but it’s more
appropriate for small LANs because it’s easier to configure and doesn’t
require different sets of IP addresses on each network segment.
Technically, bridging occurs at the physical level of the network
protocol stack. Windows forwards network traffic, including broadcasts
and packets of all protocol types received on either adapter, to the
other. In effect, it creates one larger network.
To enable bridging in your Windows 8 computer, install and configure two or more network adapters. However, don’t worry about setting up the
Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) parameters for either of the adapters yet.
Then do the following:
1. Go to the Desktop
screen. At the right end of the taskbar, right-click the network icon
and select Open Network and Sharing Center. (You can also get there via
the Control Panel entry by selecting View Network Status and Tasks). In
the left panel, select Change Adapter Settings.
2. Select the icons you want to bridge by clicking the first, holding down the Ctrl key, and clicking the second.
3. Right-click one of the now-highlighted icons and select Bridge Connections.
4.
A new icon named Network Bridge appears. Select this new icon and, if
you want, rename it appropriately—for example, “Ethernet to Phoneline
Bridge.”
5. Double-click the
new Network Bridge icon. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and
configure your computer’s TCP/IP settings. You must do this last
because any TCP/IP settings for the original two adapters are lost.
When you’ve created a bridge, your two
network adapters function as one and share one IP address, so Microsoft
disables the “network properties” of the individual network adapters.
You must configure your computer’s network properties with the Network
Bridge icon.
Remember that the connection between the two networks depends on the computer with the bridge being powered on.
You can remove the bridge later by right-clicking the Network Bridge icon and clicking Delete.
