Configuring your public network

NOTE The configuration instructions in this chapter assume that you are using Windows 95/98/ME. If this is not the case, see your operating system help or user guide to locate the equivalent options and commands.

Configuring your public network

When you configure the public network, you establish how the SOHO communicates with your Internet service provider (ISP). This configuration is very much dependent on how your ISP distributes network addresses–using DHCP or PPPoE.

Network addressing

Each networked computer in the entire world must have an IP address to identify itself to other computers. The most common method to distribute IP addresses is to use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). When you connect your computer to the network, a DHCP server at your ISP automatically assigns it a network IP address. This eliminates the ISP from having to manually assign and manage IP addresses.

IP address assignments can be either dynamic or static. With dynamic, your ISP assigns your computer a new address every time you connect. When you power down, you release the address, and it is reassigned. An IP address that is static, on the other hand, belongs to your computer at all times whether or not you are currently using it. No other computer anywhere on the network shares the same address.

Athird way of assigning addresses is called PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet). PPPoE combines some of the advantages

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WatchGuard Technologies WatchGuard SOHO and SOHO | tc manual Configuring your public network, Network addressing