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tbu3 · #1 Post by **tbu3** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:10 pm

My TP and desktop connects thru a LAN cable for transfering files. My desktop runs on XP Pro SP1 while my TP on XP Home SP2. Whenever I connect them an icon appears on my TP's taskbar indicating on status "acquiring network access". It takes about half a minute before it connects directly to my desktop, which in contrast connects immediately. Is there a way to reduce the time it takes for my TP to connect to my desktop or to disable the acquiring network access thing and connect in an instant like that of my desktop?

#2 Post by **Kyocera** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:27 pm

If you are connecting with a crossover cable to your desktop pc it is acting as a dhcp server and issuing you the default windows ip address, something like 169.xxx.xxx.xxx. This does take a while because your laptop is looking for a dchp server. If you do an ipconfig and find the ip address of your desktop and manually input a static ip address in the same subnet your laptop it will connect immediately, well in the 10 or less second range. If you are connecting through a wired lan with a router running dhcp or a server running dhcp it will take a few moments for you laptop to retreive an ip address/subnet mask/default gateway/dns/ etc. etc..

tbu3 · #3 Post by **tbu3** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:11 am

Whoa! That explanation is quite too technical for me. I guess this means its a normal thing for XP SP2 to do that? And I have to get some lessons in networking if I am to do something about it. Nonetheless thanks for the response.

doppelfish · #4 Post by **doppelfish** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:58 am

OK, lemme rephrase what Kyocera said: If You hook up two Windows machines without further configuration, they 'agree' on a set of 'private' IPs. That takes some 30 seconds. If DHCP were in the game, one machine would act as the server and the other one would get its IP within a matter of seconds (I'm getting a sub-second delay here).

If the LAN you describe is the only network you use your machine on, I'd do as Kyocera said: Hand out static IP addresses to the players ... 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2 would be the canonical choices here.
Behind a broadband connection, where you plug all machines into a router, that router will likely do dhcp for you, so configure that (on all machines) instead.
If you hook up your TP to the office network (which has either dhcp or static IP addys), set up two network profiles, 'Office' with dhcp, and 'Home' with the 10.0.0.1.

And, just to show off, RFC 1918 tells us in section 3 which private IP spaces you can (and should) use: 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255, 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255 or 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255, with the last one commonly used for dhcp-enabled networks. These addresses are guaranteed to never be used on the 'real' internet, only in private networks that are not connected to the internet, or that are connected through a router.

cheers,
-- fish

#5 Post by **Kyocera** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:12 am

Just for the sake clarity, if you set up a private network that will not connect to the outside world you can use any ip address configuration you want. Class A, B, C, are set up as guidelines for public (paid for) and private (usable by everyone as long as you do not connect to the internet). There are also reserved for testing ip addresses. There are no adverse effects if you use any configuration of IP on your lan if you are using NAT, none of the machine ip's ever make it to the internet. If you do an ipconfig you will see the ip address your ISP has issued and it is the only one actuall talking to other routers and usually is not anywhere close to the local network. So in this case the class of ip address you use to connect these two machine is not important, if they are in the correct subnet. When the two machines hook up they will fight to see who becomes the "master browser" and will eventually decided on that and issue ip addresses. I troubleshoot network issues, and 9 out of 10 use 192.169.xxx.xxx because most router software, servers, use this as the defualt, makes life easier. And just to show off I did not read the Request for Comment.

NaNeNaNe. And to the OP sorry for the technical explanation, really did not think about that aspect.

dr_st · #6 Post by **dr_st** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:31 am

Yep, the DHCP is probably the culprit. I've set all my LAN adapters on the network to static IP addresses and turned off the DHCP server of my router. (A) it's faster. (B) it makes sure that all stations have the same IP all the time, so no problems with identities, port forwarding etc.

However, if you sometimes connect the adapter to more than one network, then either you need to leave it at dynamic IP, or use dynamic IP with "alternate configuration", as I did with the wireless adapter on my T42 - I often connect to networks in my institute, so I cannot use static IP. However, at home, when it attepts to contact a DHCP server and finds none, it reverts to the static "alternate" IP I set for it - configured for my home network. This doesn't save time, though - it still takes it around 30 seconds of waiting for the DHCP server before it gives up, but it's a no biggie.

#7 Post by **Kyocera** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:51 am

In a way it is best to leave it alone especially with no experience, the machine will configure and connect, and this way your are assured if you do try to connect to another network somewher else you don't have to re-enable "obtain IP address automatically".

#8 Post by **GomJabbar** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:48 am

Just to fill in one of the blanks that I think these network whizzes left out.......
(I'm learning something on this thread too!)

If you are using Windows to set up your connection, go to Start > Connect To > Show all connections. Right-click on the Local Area Connection (LAN), choose Properties, then highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Choose Properties, and from there you will see the places to put in the IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS, etc.

You can also do this with Access Connections under Manage Location Profiles > Edit or New.

#9 Post by **Kyocera** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 1:48 pm

Gomjabber, it has to be the sea air!! Trade you jobs for a while>>

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