Windows 2003 - Network

• Adding FTP server / WebDAV folder as a network place

  Use Windows Explorer to browse a remote internet server by adding it as a network place.

• Compound TCP (CTCP) can speed up TCP Slow Start

  Compound TCP (CTCP) can improve the throughput for high bandwidth and high latency connections, by improving TCP slow start.

• Configure Max Transfer Unit (MTU) size for the TCPIP stack

  Changing the Max Transfer Unit (MTU) to avoid packet fragmentation and loss of VPN connection.

• Configure SMB use of Netbios

  How to configure which port number to use for Netbios communcations.

• Configure TCPIP settings for better performance

  Increase the speed of the network connection by changing the TCP/IP settings.

• Configure TCPIP stack settings in Windows NT

  Description of the registry keys used for configuring the TCP/IP stack in Windows NT.

• Configure host name resolution order in Windows NT

  Configure the priority of how it should lookup the physical network address of a computer.

• Configure how long to cache negative DNS replies

  By not caching negative DNS lookups then one will quickly recover in case a domain is unregistered and registered again.

• Configure the max limit for concurrent TCP connections

  Windows is configured by default to handle 1000 to 2000 concurrent tcpip connections.

• Configure the priority of networks known by the MUP

  Change which network redirector to use first when looking for a resource on the network.

• Configure the priority of protocols bound to the network

  Change which network protocol to use first when looking for a resource on the network.

• Configure the winsock default send- and receive-buffer size

  Most Windows applications uses Winsock to perform TCPIP communication, and many of these applications uses the default send- and receive-buffer size, which by default isn't adapted to the available network connection.

• Creating a Local Area Network (LAN)

  Setting up a computer network, and steps for troubleshooting errors in the computer network.

• Description of Automatic TCP/IP Addressing

  Details of how the Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) takes over if no DHCP server is found.

• Description of host name resolution order

  Description of the different ways Windows can convert a logical network name to a physical address.

• Diagnose performance issues with network hardware

  Description of different causes and solutions to network problems.

• Display detected network errors in connection status

  Network connection status can be extended to also show errors besides bytes/packets received and sent.

• Faster boot times by using static IP instead of DHCP

  Description of how to configure a computer network without a DHCP server.

• Finding the optimal TCPIP max transfer unit size

  Using PING to test the network connection and finding the best TCP/IP max transfer unit (MTU).

• Finding the optimal TCPIP receive window size

  Using PING to test the network connection and calculating the best TCP/IP receive window.

• Improve latency for TCP by not waiting for Push flag

  Description of how the Push Flag in the TCP Header can optimize network buffer usage, but can increase latency.

• Install the deprecated NetBEUI protocol

  How to install the NetBEUI protocol eventhough no longer a supported network protocol.

• Load balancing over several Network Adapters

  Configure how the TCP/IP should respond when multiple network adapters are installed.

• Lock down the network connection

  There are several security issues one should take care of when having a network connection.

• Mapping FTP server as a network drive letter

  Utilities for mounting a FTP folder as a mapped netwok drive.

• Mapping WebDAV folder as a network drive letter

  Mount a Web Folder as a mapped network drive with help from the Webclient service.

• NDIS 5 hardware features that increases network performance

  Windows can activate NDIS 5 network hardware features for offloading the system processor.

• NDIS 6 hardware features that increases network performance

  Windows can activate NDIS 6 network hardware features for offloading the system processor.

• Reset WinSock/TCPIP or manage several network configs

  How to use the utility Netsh to reset or change the network configuration.

• Setting up Internet Connection Sharing

  How to configure Internet Connection Sharing to configure a gateway to the Internet for other computers.

• Setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

  Virtual Private Network makes it possible to make a secure connection to another network through an insecure network.

• The TCPIP nagle algorithm can slow down network

  Description of the nagle algorithm effects on the network throughput, and how to configure the delayed ACK.

• Use HOSTS file to ban ads and speedup DNS lookups

  How the HOSTS file can be used to customize the host name resolution.

• Using TCP/IP Version 6 (IPv6) can make network slow

  Before activating TCP/IP Version 6 then one should make sure that the DNS server is able to handle IPv6 properly.

• Using router metric to specify primary gateway

  Description of how router metric works, and how to use it to prioritise gateways and perform simple load balancing.