I forgot to add that using a static IP address for desktop/laptop PCs on your home LAN makes port
forwarding easier.
http://www.portforward.com/networking/staticip.htm
Some routers, like my Buffalo WBR-G54, allow you to assign DHCP IP addresses to clients based on the
MAC Address of the NIC in the desktop/laptop. A psuedo static IP address so to speak. So as an
example my iPAQ 5555 PocketPC client is configured to grab a DHCP assigned IP address from any
network it connects to. When it connects to my home LAN my WBR-G54 assigns the same IP address based
on the MAC Address of the iPAQ 5555.
If your router does not have that feature then a DHCP assigned IP address will cause havoc with your
port forwarding scheme...I recommend using static IP addresses on your home LAN for desktop PCs. For
laptops see this article for help with "Alternate addressing"...
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prjj_ipa_kdrl.asp
--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program -
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...