Hi, I was wondering if all the protocols are necessary in a windows lan still? IPX/SPX is this really still necessary? I have no netware servers on my lan. If I must use it, for say, printer and file sharing then must I also adjust the network address for this protocol on all my machines instead of leaving the default auto. "NetBIOS is best thought of as a set of services provided to applications, with NetBEUI being a protocol that implements those services."` --`is this stuff still necessary and for what exactly? To my understanding this is the protocol to file and printer share, also wasn't it used for winpopup? do I need to enable this? I thought tcp/ip is now mainstream and should be the only protcol used unless in situation like where netware or such came into play. Furthermore, I figured that if fundenmental parts of these services would now be built into tcp/ip? Exactly what should be enabled on my home lan? Thanks

I was wondering if all the protocols are necessary in a windows lan still? Generally speaking no....not unless you have a specific requirement for them. IPX/SPX is this really still necessary? IPX/SPX is only necessary for Novell and some games. Most modern games can use TCP/IP as well as IPX/SPX but there may still be a few games out there that use only IPX/SPX. --`is this stuff still necessary and for what exactly? NETBIOS is necessary, NetBEUI isn't. I thought tcp/ip is now mainstream and should be the only protcol used unless in situation like where netware or such came into play. TCP/IP is probably the only protocol you'll need in a home LAN unless you have games that only run on IPX/SPX (as I mentioned previously). Since you're not going to be running any Novell, and not many games are manufactured for only IPX/SPX, you'll likely never need it. NetBEUI was originally designed for small peer-to-peer LAN's like at home. But it's simpler these days to use TCP/IP as the internet runs on it (TCP/IP) and you're likely going to want at least one (if not all) your home PC's to be able to access the internet. If you have no plans to use the internet then you could use only NetBEUI and forego both IPX/SPX and TCP/IP. Personally, I would use only TCP/IP (and I do at home, but all my PC's access the internet so it's required) and forget about the others.

Thank you very much curt r, I have one more question can you think of any other app's that are fairly common that could possibly use these services like ... would the linux server samba need any of these services while managing windows shares? Thanks again.