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Step 1
Choose a network address. Network address is the address you use to recognize the two computers. One computer is named as the network portion and the other computer is called the host portion. The address will look something like 172.16.25.0 and the first three numbers i.e. 172.16.25 will be the same whereas the last digit will differ. The lowest digit will belong to the network portion and the other number will belong to the host portion. We shall assume that the address 172.16.25.2 for the first computer and 172.16.25.3 for the second computer.
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Step 2
Connect the computer with a crossover cable. You need a crossover cable to connect the two computers. This is the simplest method of connecting two computers. Plug one end of the cable to the Ethernet port of the first computer and the other end should be plugged to the other end of the computer. You can connect the two computers with the help of a hub or switch also.
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Step 3
Once you have done the hardware part, open the internet options in the first computer. Open the dialog box that says TCP/IP protocol. The option "Obtain from DHCP server automatically" will be selected by default. Now change it by clicking on the radio button adjacent to "Use the following IP address:"
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Step 4
Give the addresses 172.16.25.2 for the computer you are working with and the address 172.16.25.3 for the computer you are trying to connect.
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Step 5
The Default Gateway field should be left blank and the DNS server field should also be left blank.
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Step 6
The computer will prompt you for a subnet mask. Give the subnet mask address as 255.255.255.0
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Step 7
Now the two computers are connected. To verify the connection open MS-DOS and type ping 172.16.25.3.
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Step 8
Thus we have successfully connected two computers.
