To work with most of the Internet components discussed in this and the next two chapters, you'll need access to at least two networked computers running the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Windows 95 and Windows NT include the TCP/IP protocol, but you should check to make sure it is installed. To do this, double-click the Network icon in the Control Panel, and then click on the Protocols tab in Windows NT or the Configuration tab in Windows 95. Windows lists the protocols that are installed on your computer, as shown in Figure 7-2 below.
Figure 7-2. The TCP/IP protocol must be installed in order to use the Winsock control.
If you don't have a full-blown network, you can use Windows NT Server Remote Access Service (RAS) to create a dial-in server and dial in to that machine using the Dial-Up Networking utility. RAS is installed as an option of Windows NT Server and the Dial-Up Networking utility is an accessory included with both Windows NT and Windows 95.
If you are using RAS and dial-up networking, you probably won't be able to use "friendly names" when connecting to other computers on the network. Instead, you'll have to use a fixed Internet Protocol (IP) address, which can be set using the TCP/IP Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 7-3.
The IP address can be used anywhere a friendly name is expected. For instance, you can use it with the Winsock control's RemoteHost property, in the IE's Address text box, or with the Internet Transfer control's OpenURL (Uniform Resource Locator) method.
You will probably also want to install Microsoft Personal Web Server (PWS) or Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) in order to publish files on one machine and view them from another using IE. This is handy for transferring files from one machine to the other and allows you to debug Active Server Pages (ASP) and test the installation of Internet components before deploying them. PWS and IIS are installed as part of the server components available with Microsoft Visual Studio.
Figure 7-3. The TCP/IP Properties dialog box lets you set a fixed IP address to which you'll be able to connect using RAS and Dial-Up Networking.