Technical information

Reviewer’s Guide Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51 13
Enhanced TCP/IP Stack
Microsoft has been committed to TCP/IP for a number of years. In 1991, we shipped our first TCP/IP stack for
Microsoft LAN Manager 2.1. In 1992, we shipped some enhancements to this stack in LAN Manager 2.2, which
improved TCP/IP’s functionality in routed environments. In 1993, we shipped TCP/IP for Windows for Workgroups
3.1 and for both Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server. Microsoft also shipped basic connectivity
utilities including ftp, tftp, telnet, r* commands, arp, route, and finger.
There are four new key features in the new TCP/IP transport in Windows NT Workstation that provide easier
configuration and administration, as well as improved TCP/IP connectivity. The following table describes these
features.
DHCP The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) makes it easier for users to get started on a
TCP/IP network. DHCP provides safe, reliable, and simple TCP/IP network configuration,
ensures that address conflicts do not occur, and helps conserve the use of IP addresses through
centralized management of address allocation. DHCP offers dynamic configuration of IP
addresses for computers, and other features. DHCP is based on an Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF) standard. The IETF designed the DHCP protocol to alleviate configuration issues
when deploying TCP/IP in internetworks. A mechanism, such as WINS, must be available on a
TCP/IP network to resolve names to IP addresses.
WINS WINS (Windows Internet Name Service) provides a distributed database for registering and
querying dynamic computer name-to-IP address mappings in a routed network environment. It
is the best first choice for name resolution because it reduces local broadcasts for name
resolution and it is dynamically updated. When dynamic addressing through DHCP results in a
new IP address for a particular computer, the changes are automatically updated to WINS.
Neither the user nor the administrator needs to manually update the database.
PPP The Point to Point Protocol (PPP) is an industry standard protocol for framing, authentication,
and network configuration that enables remote access solutions to interoperate in a multivendor
network. PPP support in Windows NT Workstation helps to ensure that users can dial up remote
networks through any industry-standard PPP remote access server. It also enables Windows NT
Server to receive calls from and provide network access to other vendors’ remote access
workstation software.
SLIP SLIP is an older standard that addresses TCP/IP connections over serial lines only. It does not
provide automatic negotiation of network configuration without user intervention, and it does
not support encrypted authentication. SLIP is available with Windows NT Workstation for
customers who already have SLIP servers installed. A SLIP server is not provided with
Windows NT Server.
Microsoft is also one of the leaders in establishing a public standard for a sockets interface for Windows.
Windows
™
Sockets is an open specification that defines a Windows programming interface to network protocols. It
is also part of the Microsoft Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA). Essentially, WOSA enables any
compliant TCP/IP stack to host any Windows Sockets compatible application. It offers a familiar interface to UNIX
network programmers plus Windows-based extensions. It has quickly become a standard method for developers
writing Windows-based applications to do remote procedure calls, particularly to TCP/IP, but also over IPX and
NetBEUI.