Chapter 15. Building a Peer-to-Peer Network

As noted in Chapter 13, Windows 2000 is all about networking; most of the world's Windows 2000 Pro computers are connected to a network in some way. Big corporate networks require the purchase of Windows 2000 Server, a computer or two that do nothing but run the network, and the services of a professional network guru.

If you're running a small business—or even a household—on Windows 2000, however, you're still invited to the network party. Without having to buy extra computers, operating systems, or staff, you can create a smaller, less complex kind of network called a peer-to-peer network. It's ideal for setting up several PCs to perform the convenience tricks that make networks so attractive:

  • Opening drives and folders on one computer while seated at another.

  • Sharing a single printer among all of your computers.

  • Installing programs from shared CD-ROMs.

  • Communicating with other users on the network using email, chat, and even (with the proper hardware) audio and video. (NetMeeting, described on Section 9.2.3, makes many of these features possible.)

  • Sharing a single Internet connection.

  • Running your own personal intranet Web server (that is, create a "Web site" that only the other machines on your network can visit).

  • Backing up your files to a single network tape or disk drive.

  • Venting your aggressions on your family and co-workers with multiplayer games.

Once you get used to having a network in your home or office, you'll wonder how you ever lived without one. Gone will be the days when you had to use the "sneakernet" to print out a file by copying it to a floppy disk and carrying it to another machine.

Peer-to-Peer Networking

In a peer-to-peer network, the computers function as equals. Unlike a Windows 2000 Server network, where a central computer maintains the list of passwords for everyone on the network, each peer-to-peer network PC maintains its own security settings, list of authorized users, and so on.

When only a handful of computers are involved, the maintenance tasks aren't overwhelming. But when the network grows larger than about ten computers, peer-to-peer networking becomes unwieldy, because each user must have an account on each computer that he wants to access over the network. At that point, it's a good idea to start thinking about adding a Windows 2000 Server system.

On a peer-to-peer network, each person decides which files and folders to share, and who should be able to use them. This method of networking is simpler but less secure than a Windows 2000 Server network, where all of the security data (such as who can access what) is stored in a central location.

In other words, you won't find peer-to peer networks at the Pentagon, but they're fine for your home or a small office.

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