Dial-Up Networking, virtual private networking (VPN), and mobile computing allow users not directly connected to the network to work as if they were. Dial-Up Networking allows them to make a dial-up connection to remote networks such as the Internet over a telephone or ISDN line. Virtual private networking allows users to connect securely to resources on a remote network by "tunneling" over an intermediary network (an existing Internet or local area network [LAN] connection) to a server on the remote network. The intermediary network is used as a substitute for a network wire, enabling you to connect to a server on a remote network even if you are not directly connected to the remote network. Finally, mobile computing tools allow intermittently-connected users to access network resources more easily.
Windows 98 Dial-Up Networking allows you to use a computer running Windows 98 as a dial-up client. From a remote site, you can use Dial-Up Networking to connect to a remote access server such as Windows NT version 3.1 or later Remote Access Service (RAS), a Windows 98 dial-up server, a Windows 95 dial-up server, any Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) server, Novell NetWare Connect version 1.0 or 1.1, or Shiva NetModem or LanRover, using the IP, IPX, and NetBEUI protocols. If the client and server are running the same network protocols, the dial-up client can connect to the network to access its resources. For information about using Windows 98 Dial-Up Networking to dial in to other remote access servers, or using other remote access software to dial in to Windows 98, contact your network vendor or software supplier.
Note
A Microsoft Windows NT Client Access License is required if the computer will be connecting to servers running Windows NT Server. For information, see Chapter 16, "Windows 98 on Microsoft Networks," or contact your Microsoft reseller.
Dial-Up Networking also allows you to designate a computer running Windows 98 as a single-connection dial-up server. A remote user can dial in to the dial-up server and access resources on the dial-up server.
For clients running the IPX or the NetBEUI protocol, the dial-up server can be used to provide access to the network. However, if you need a dial-up server that provides access to the network using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), you should use a Windows NT Server. For more information about the capabilities of the Windows 98 dial-up server, see "Configuring and Using the Windows 98 Dial-Up Server" later in this chapter.
Windows 98 provides the following tools to help users stay as functional as possible with the limited resources of a mobile site: