Use Windows XP bridge to achieve three-host Interconnection

I wrote an article for a magazine, but unfortunately they didn't want it ~~~

====

In real life, especially on campus, three computers are often connected to form a small LAN to share system resources and network resources. Generally, there are two methods: one is to install a network card on each computer and connect them with a hub. The disadvantage of doing so is that the price of M hubs is really expensive for students, so they can only buy 10 m hubs and cannot enjoy high-speed Ethernet. Another method is to connect three machines with four NICs, install two NICs on one computer, and install the corresponding gateway routing software to interconnect the three machines. The disadvantage of this is that the installation and setup are troublesome, and the two computers with only one Nic installed cannot access each other through "Network neighbors.
Now with Windows XP, its Integrated Network Bridge Function perfectly solves this problem. Windows XP bridges provide a simple and cost-effective function for connecting two CIDR blocks.
Assume that there are three computers A, B, and C. Two NICs and a modem are installed on machine A as servers, the two computers B and C are connected to the two NICs of machine A to form a LAN with two network segments. The Windows XP operating system is installed on server A, while the operating system on server BC is not limited. We hope that we can use such equipment to achieve three-host interconnection and sharing resources and surfing the Internet.
First, configure the internet server and open the network connections window of server a, which lists the current network connections (1), including a 163 dial-up connection for Internet access and two LAN connections. We first open the Properties dialog box for two LAN connections (that is, corresponding to two NICS), and configure their Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol. Set the IP addresses of the two NICs to 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3, And the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Leave the gateway and DNS blank. Close the Properties dialog box and save the settings.
Next, configure machine B and machine C. Set the IP addresses of the two computers to 192.168.0.4 and 192.168.0.5, and set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. The Gateway and DNS can be left blank.
After the above operations, even if the small LAN between the three ABC machines is initially established, A and B, A and C can communicate with each other, but the BC machines cannot communicate with each other, you cannot share the internet. Here we will show you how to use Windows XP bridge, the main character of this article.
In the network connections window, hover the mouse over and drag the mouse to select the two LAN connections at the same time, just like selecting a file on my computer. Right-click the LAN connection and a shortcut menu is displayed, there is only one "bridge connections" available, select it!
After a period of waiting, a new network connection named Network Bridge is established (2 ). Next, we need to make a small configuration for it. Right-click the Network Bridge Connection and choose Properties to open its properties dialog box, we also need to configure its TCP/IP protocol. Set its IP address to 192.168.0.1, And the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Just disable it. Note that the IP address must be 192.168.0.1, which is necessary to ensure the normal operation of Internet Connection Sharing. In this case, the IP address of host a is the same as 192.168.0.1 from 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3, just as if only one network card is installed.
Okay. Open the network neighbors on the three computers respectively! How about the communication between the three computing units! If you cannot see yourself or others in the network, you can refresh the page several times. If there is no effect, check whether the settings are correct, you can use the ping command in the DOS window to test the network disconnection. Do not forget to check whether the file sharing function is enabled. If the connection between Windows 98/me and Windows 2000/XP is enabled, do not forget to open the Guest account in user management of Windows 2000/XP.
The remaining task is to share the Internet. Windows XP and Windows 2000 also integrate the network sharing function, this allows us to easily share Internet resources without having to install additional gateway or proxy server software. Similarly, in the network connections window, open the Properties dialog box for the dial-up Internet (163) connection, click the Advanced page, and go to Internet Connection Sharing (Internet Connection Sharing) select allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection (allow other network users to connect to the Internet through the local machine ). Based on your actual needs, you can also select the following two options, which implement the following functions: 1. if other computing tasks attempt to access the Internet through the local machine but the local machine is not connected to the Internet, do you want to enable automatic dialing? 2. are other network users allowed to control Internet shared connections on the local machine?
Finally, on the two computers B and C, change the Internet access method to LAN connection, set the gateway and DNS on the two computers, and set them to 192.168.0.1.
So far, the interconnection between the three computers through the Windows XP bridge has been completed. The three computers are connected just like through the hub and can access each other and share resources.
When you want to disconnect the connection between B and C, you can directly Delete the gateway connection on computer A, because we have set an IP address for each network card in the previous operation, therefore, the connection between A and B, and between A and C can still work. To restore the connections between B and C, you just need to re-build the bridge and set the IP address.
Windows XP not only supports three-host connection, but also connects more machines. The operations are also consistent with those of the Three-host connection. Of course, if there are more than four machines, this method will not be practical. Instead, you can buy so many NICs (and the number of PCI slots on the machine is also limited ), it is better to directly use a hub or vswitch to achieve better network performance.
For more details about the bridge function, you can also refer to the Windows XP online help, which details the use and settings of the bridge and other issues.