| Written by: Christopher Bradley and Jayson Sakata | Date: 05/05/97 |
| Revised: 03/02/00 |
Problem:
Connecting a Windows machine to a remote network using IP can be a confusing task, however, it is possible. This Technical Note is meant to be used as a general Windows configuration reference to show what is required for remote Microsoft network sharing via two Netopia Routers, and will most likely have to be modified to suit individual users needs. For more specific Windows configuration information or help, please consult your Windows users guides or contact Microsoft Technical Support directly.
Notice:
This document is provided to you as an added service by Netopia Technical Support. Although the configurations described below have proven successful in many instances for doing Microsoft Networking across a WAN or VPN connection, we cannot guarantee success in all circumstances due to the many variables and unpredictable behavior common to Windows OS. If the following suggestions do not provide the results you desire, please contact your MIS Department, or Microsoft Technical Support directly as Netopia cannot further support the features of Windows OS.
Parameters:
To complete this technote we used the following equipment:
| Hardware | Firmware/Version | Installed Options |
| 2 Netopia Routers | 3.1.3 or later | none |
| 2 Windows 9X Machines | none |
Network Configuration:
Background:
The file that is important in this configuration should be in the Windows directory listed as lmhosts.sam. To access this file you can use the notepad or wordpad programs that come with Windows, or any other text editor. This technote assumes that you already have IP setup on your Windows workstation, and that it is functioning correctly. If you do not, please refer to technote NQG_100. Do not continue until you have consulted the technote and have a connection established.
Configuration:
Both Netopia Routers are running firmware 3.1.3 or later and are routing IP only. The following gives the basic steps necessary, for most (not all) systems to access remote networks.
Open the lmhosts.sam file. After reading and acknowledging all the information that Microsoft has provided in the lmhost.sam file, it is best to delete all unnecessary comments beginning with the pound sign (#) as this will improve performance. Next, add the IP address of the remote machine you are trying to connect to followed by a tab and the remote computer name. Then add another tab and type #PRE (see example). The #PRE tag is so the lmhosts file is preloaded into the name cache. This is only necessary if you have DNS enabled. This is a known Windows issue, discussed in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q137856.
Note: Using a #DOM:<domain> tag will associate the remote computer with the specified <domain> you enter. The #PRE tag is required to preload a #DOM entry as well, and should be entered before the #DOM tag. For more information on the rules of configuring lmhost files, please refer to Microsoft's online document: How to Write an LMHOSTS File.
Here is what the lmhosts files for each computer in the example network will look like:
Windows Machine (192.168.3.10): thinkpad192.168.1.2 wincwb #PREWindows Machine (192.168.1.2): wincwb
192.168.3.10 thinkpad #PRE
*** Important: After editing the lmhosts.sam file, you must rename it to lmhosts without the extension. The .sam extension stands for sample file and it will not work unless the lmhosts file has no extension after it. To do this, open Windows Explorer, select the View menu, and choose Options. Next select the View tab and uncheck the box marked "Hide MS-DOS file extensions for file types that are registered".
Now select the lmhosts.sam file in the Windows directory and press the F2 key to edit the file name. Delete the .sam and press return. Windows will ask if you are sure you want to change the file name. Select yes and then restart.
To access a remote Windows computer you must have file and printer sharing on, just like the workstation on the local LAN. The only difference in a remote computer connection versus a local computer connection is that the remote machines do not appear in the Network Neighborhood. You must go to the Start Menu select Find and then Computers. Then you can enter the remote computer name and it will find it and open a window as if it had been in the Network Neighborhood. You can mount drives, print to printers, reconnect at login and maintain all of the functionality of the remote machines, as if you were on the local LAN.
With drives mounted, file and printer sharing turned on, there is one problem that arises. The connection will never get dropped. There is a way to fix this problem however. By going to the Control Panel and then opening up the Networking icon, you can select the file and printer sharing properties, and then select the advanced tab and set the Browse Master to Disabled and the LM announce to No. This will prevent the Windows machine from polling the remote network and bringing up a spurious connection. Your screen should look like this:
Summary:
As you can see the major point to remote Windows Networking is the lmhosts file, and ensuring that it is setup properly. Although this does not allow you to browse the Network Neighborhood because of limitations in Windows Networking, it does give you remote functionality. The ability to mount remote folders to drives, print to remote printers, and access all of the LAN resources are easily accomplished through a Netopia Router.
