Before going into detail on how to setup "Dial-Up Networking/Remote Access services DUN/RAS" for Dial-In connections, be aware about a limitation:
RAS allows Dial-In connection to a Network !
(not just a system)
What does this mean ?
If your NT4 system (to which you like to dial-in) does NOT have a Network-board installed, try to browse the "Network Neighborhood":
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although you defined your system to be part of a workgroup (in this example: APPL_BRX) and although you put a Sharing on your disk, your "Network Neighborhood" either shows NOTHING or (even worse) does not allow to browse. |
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Although your Network Bindings show the proper logical connection, it seems that this is NOT good enough to qualify as a REAL network. |
Before you continue with RAS Server, make sure, that you can browse your own "Network Neighborhood", because if you cannot do that yourself, then also the dial-in connections will NOT be able to do that !
On Windows95, I only got it to work by installing a REAL network-board, setting up a ONE-system network (see: Dialup-Networking Server ).
But again, WindowsNT turns out to be a little better than Windows95:
Select in the "Control-Panel" "Network"-applet the tab: "Adapters", then "Add":
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Select from the list of available Network adapters the: "MS Loopback Adapter", which is a software-emulation of a network-board,NOT requiring to open the computer and to install a REAL board. |
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You will be prompted for a "Frame-Type". I have not found any good explanation for that in the Online-Helps, so I kept the default setting for : 802.3 |
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When now checking the "Bindings" in the "Network"-applet, the TCP/IP protocol is "bound" to both the "Dial-Up Adapter/Modem" ("Remote Access WAN Wrapper") and to the emulated Network-board "MS Loopback Adapter" |
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You need to configure the "TCP/IP" properties for the "network-board". I suggest to configure it with a static IP-address. |
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Lets make the check by browsing now your own "Network Neighborhood": your systems with its shares should now display. |
Now, that the system is ready to become a RAS server, lets configure it by calling up in the "Control-Panel" "Network"-applet tab:"Services" the properties of "Remote Access Service":
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Select the "Configure"-button to allow "Dial out and Receive calls".
Select the "Network"-button to define now the Server settings:
- which protocols are allowed to be used for a Dial-In connection.
(in my case, I allow dialing-out with TCP/IP (to the Internet) and IPX (to connect to the office system), but IPX and NetBEUI for dial-in (also from the office system)).
For both IPX and NetBEUI, we need to define, whether an incoming connection is to be limited to just the NT4-system or whether access to the "Entire Network" is allowed:
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There could be the need to read the WinNT4 CD-ROM, but for sure, you need to reboot to have the new settings take effect.
However, NT4 is carefully: although the dial-in feature is now installed, it is NOT started up automatically, as shown in the "Remote Access Admin":
Select from the Menu:"Server" the option to start the Dial-In server:
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It takes a little to start up this service, you need to be patient ! |
Once the service is started, the Status is displayed, you can also ask for a list/display of connected users:
Something NOT to forget:
Windows NT is a SECURE Operating system and does NOT allow anybody to dial-in without proper authorization.
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You need to give Users EXPLICITLY the permission to be able to dial in via RAS, either in the "Remote Access Admin" menu:"Users" or by using the "User Manager", by selecting the "Dialin"-button. In both cases, you can also define, whether "Call-Back" is allowed or a MUST (to ensure that users can only connect from pre-defined locations, giving an additional security against un-authorized dial-in attempts) |
If you like to start up the "Dial-In/RAS Server" automatically (avoiding that you forget it before going home), it can be configured in the "Control-Panel" in the "Services"-applet:
Select the "Remote Access Server" from the list, then "Start-Up" to define "automatic" Startup.
Now, we are ready to connect:
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Dialing in to an NT4 Remote Access Server |