Some time ago I was asked to make a video instruction on setting up a network in the DOS operating system. Unfortunately, I’m not good at shooting video, so I’ll try to write down this process in as much detail as possible (and with pictures).

Once, I myself had to deal with this problem, because for my home computer collection the process of exchanging files using a local FTP server has already been established. (If it is interesting, I can tell you more about this in one of the following articles)

Introduction

So, let's go a little from afar: from a network card. Unfortunately, not every network card can work in DOS. In such old systems it is never easy. When writing this article, I used the very common Realtek RTL8139. I also know that the old Realtecs on the ISA bus and 3com cards will work.

The second point: why did I choose mTCP? After all, there is, so to speak, the “miserable” Microsoft LAN Manager, written specifically for DOS. There is one, but first of all it provides the work of only its own utilities. Third-party programs like the same FTP client still require a separate batch driver. And secondly, 200 kilobytes of main memory eats up (a terrible figure) and working with a running network becomes impossible. mTCP is a set of network applications such as DHCP, TELNET, NETCAT, etc. For its work, it requires only a batch driver and does not hang in memory. Yes, LAN Manager has an advantage. In addition to TCP, it supports the IPX needed for network play. So an important clarification is required: This article is not suitable for those who want to use the network for games.

Preliminary Actions

. mTCP. , . . , Vogons. - . , .

, - , . Dos Navigator', Edit, . Autoexec.bat. . , . , Plug&Play, ( ). mTCP. - . , DHCP-. , DHCP , .

. . . 10 , 100? , , Fast Ethernet 150 . 10- , 4 . , , ( ). , - .

mTCP. , Autoexec.bat. PACKETINT. , .

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Now you can reboot with peace of mind. And if everything is done correctly, then after loading DHCP, observe something like this