You can use a wizard to help configure Dial-Up Networking on a Windows client. The particular dialog boxes displayed vary from one version of Windows to another. This example uses Windows XP Professional to show how to configure a simple dial-up connection to the Internet. You can also set up more complex configurations using the wizard.
First, obtain from your ISP the telephone number that you'll need, your username and password that will be used to authenticate you on the ISP's server, and info on whether the ISP uses dynamic addressing (DHCP) or assigns you a static address.
1. | Click on Start and select Control Panel and then Network Connections.
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2. | Under Network Tasks on the left pane on the window, select Create a New Connection. The New Connection Wizard pops up. Click Next to continue.
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3. | The next dialog box the wizard displays gives you the option of selecting the type of connection you want to create. In Figure 14.3, you can see these choices. For the purposes of this example, the radio button Connect to the Internet has been selected. Click Next to continue.
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4. | The next dialog box enables you to choose what kind of connection you want to create. You can choose from a list of ISPs, which will let you select Microsoft's MSN, or obtain a list of other ISPs. The last selection lets you use a CD from your ISP, such as AOL. For the purposes of this example, the radio button Set Up My Connection Manually has been selected to show the options available.
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5. | You next choose a type of Internet connection (dial-up broadband service that requires a password, or broadband that is always on). Select the first option, which is to use a dial-up modem connection.
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6. | You can enter a name for this connection in the next dialog box. This can be useful if you create multiple connections. For example, you might use a broadband connection to connect to your business network. Yet you can still use a dial-up phone-line connection as a backup should the broadband service become unavailable.
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7. | The Phone Number to Dial dialog box is used for just that purposeenter the telephone number used to dial into your ISP's network.
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8. | Figure 14.4 shows the next dialog box: Internet Account Information. Use this to enter the username and password assigned to you by your ISP. You can also use the other dialog boxes to select other features, such as the Internet Connection Firewall that Windows XP provides.
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9. | The last dialog box lists the choices you made during the connection setup process. In addition, you can choose to add a shortcut to the desktop. Click Finish to exit the wizard. |
After you have finished entering the configuration information for the dial-up connection, the Connect dial-up pop-up will appear. You can use this to test the dial-up connection you have just created.
Note
The preceding example showed you how to set up a Windows XP Professional client for a basic dial-up Internet connection. If you're using Linux at home, it's recommended that you check the documentation your vendor provides because each distribution of the operating system might have different configuration examples. It's also a good idea to review any documentation available on the Internet.
