Some Networking Buzzwords

Networking has its own set of buzzwords. All the buzzwords you learned in earlier chapters still apply, but you have some new words to learn, as defined here:

• Resource: Items you use on the network, including a folder, shared media, a printer, or other device.
• Shared resource: A resource accessible to other users within a network. A shared folder is often referred to as a share or a network share.
• Local computer: The computer you're currently using.
• Local resource: A folder, printer, or other useful thing on the local computer or directly connected to the local computer. For example, if a printer is connected to your computer by a cable, it's a local resource (or more specifically, a local printer).
• Remote computer: Any computer in the network other than the one you're currently using.
• Remote resource: A folder, printer, or other useful thing on some computer other than the local computer. For example, a printer connected to someone else's computer on the network is a remote resource (or more specifically, a remote printer).

Figure 34.1 shows an example of how the terms local and remote are always used in reference to the computer you're currently using.

Methods for Sharing in Windows 10

Windows 10 includes three methods for sharing resources, each of which has its own advantages. The following sections explain these different methods.

Workgroup

Although homegroups are a great new way to share resources in a network, only the Windows 7 through Windows 10 computers on the network can participate. Computers running other versions of Windows cannot participate in the homegroup. In these situations, you can use workgroups to share resources on the network.

A Windows PC, regardless of the version of Windows it's running, must be a member of either a workgroup or a domain (covered in the next section). A workgroup isn't a boundary that controls security. Instead, workgroups provide a means for organizing and discovering resources on the network.

The default workgroup name in Windows is, not surprisingly, Workgroup. Computers that share the same workgroup name and reside on the same network segment appear grouped together when you browse the network. Figure 34.2 shows a workgroup.

To access shared resources in a workgroup, you must have an account on the computer that is sharing the resource. Assuming a small home network of three computers and the desire to access resources on each one, this means that either you need to have your own account on each computer or you create a common account on each computer that everyone uses for sharing resources.

Turn On Sharing and Discovery

Before you start sharing resources on your network, you need to make sure you configure Windows 10 to enable it to share and access shared resources. By default, Windows does not make network resources available to everyone. Instead, Windows 10 requires users to explicitly share resources before others can access them.

A first step on each computer is to make sure sharing and discovery are enabled and all computers belong to the same workgroup. When you first connect to a new network, Windows asks if you want to enable sharing (see Figure 34.3). If the connection is a private one, such as your own wireless network at home, choose the option to turn on sharing by opening the Network and Sharing Center applet from the Control Panel and then clicking the Change Advanced Sharing Settings link. If you're connecting to a public network, you should not turn on sharing. The sharing options screen is shown in Figure 34.3.

All computers must belong to the same workgroup if you're going to use workgroup sharing rather than a homegroup. So, on each computer you also want to make sure Network Discovery is turned on and all computers have the same workgroup name.

In the Network and Sharing Center section of the Control Panel, click Change Advanced Sharing Settings in the left pane to open the Change Advanced Sharing Settings dialog box (see Figure 34.3). Click the arrow beside Private to access the settings for private networks. Enable the options for network discovery and file and printer sharing if they aren't already on.

If you want to use public folders for sharing, expand the options for All Networks and choose the option to turn on public folder sharing. If you want to enable people to access shared resources without a user account, located at the bottom under Password protected sharing, choose the option Turn Off Password Protected Sharing. Otherwise, turn this option on.

If your network is small and you won't use a domain for sharing, make sure all computers are in the same workgroup. On a Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 computer, open the Control Panel and then click System. In the resulting System dialog box, click Advanced System Settings to open the Computer Name tab of the System Properties dialog box (see Figure 34.4).

The Computer Name tab shows the current computer name, description, and workgroup name. If the workgroup isn't what you need it to be, click the Change button. In the resulting Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box, click the Workgroup option and type the required workgroup name in the Workgroup text box. Then click OK. Click OK again to close the System Properties dialog box.

When you've turned on all the Sharing and Discovery options and set the workgroup name, you're ready to move to the next computer in the network and repeat the process. When all the computers have sharing and discovery enabled and belong to the same workgroup, they can find each others' shared resources. But each user can decide what to share. The sections that follow look at techniques for sharing resources.

Windows 10 Homegroups

Homegroups are a feature introduced in Windows 7 and carried over to Windows 8 and Windows 10 that simplify setting up a home network and sharing resources on the network. When you set up a Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, or Windows 10 computer, Windows creates a homegroup automatically if one doesn't already exist and generates a network password for the homegroup. With that network password, other Windows 7, 8/8.1, and Windows 10 computers on the network can join the homegroup, and users on those computers can access resources that are shared by other computers in the homegroup.

Finding or changing the homegroup password

If Windows 10 doesn't find an existing homegroup, it creates one. From that point on, you can add other Windows 7, 8/8.1, or Windows 10 computers to that existing homegroup. All you need is the homegroup password, which Windows creates automatically when it creates the homegroup.

If you don't already know the homegroup password, open the Control Panel and click Network and Sharing; click the HomeGroup link at the bottom left of the dialog box. In the Homegroup applet, click View or print your homegroup password. A dialog box opens (see Figure 34.5) and displays the password. Click Print This Page if you need a printed copy.

As mentioned previously, Windows sets the homegroup password when it sets up the homegroup. If needed, you can change the password. To do so, first make sure all the computers in the homegroup are turned on. Then open the Homegroup applet as explained previously and click Change the Password. In the resulting dialog box, click Change the Password. A new window opens, allowing you to type new password. Click Next when you're satisfied with the new password.

Next, perform the following steps on each of the other computers on the homegroup:

1. Open the Homegroup applet from the Control Panel. Windows detects that the password has changed and gives you the opportunity to change it.
2. Click the Type New Password button, type the new password, and click Next.
3. After you've changed the password, click Finish.

Joining a homegroup

When you add a new Windows 10 computer to your network, you can add it to your homegroup. You don't have to do this unless you want the computer to participate in the homegroup. To add a computer to the homegroup, boot the computer and make sure the computer is on the network. Your computer's network location must also be set to private for security. You don't have to do anything here. If the computer's network location is not set to private you will be prompted to set it. (See Chapter 33 if you need help with that.)

Next, open the Control Panel and then open the Homegroup applet. Click the Join Now button (see Figure 34.6); then, in the resulting Join a Homegroup dialog box, click Next and choose which items you want to share (see Figure 34.7). Then click Next. Type the homegroup password, click Next, and click Finish.

Using Public Folders

Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 include a public folder from which files are shared automatically. This feature is similar to the Shared Documents folder in Windows XP and Windows Vista. In previous versions of Windows, even as recently as Windows 8, public folders were accessible from the Libraries node, which is no longer supported. If you wish to view the libraries, you just need to turn them on in the Navigation pane setting; which can be found from the view settings. You can simply move any files that you intend to share across all user accounts or computers in a private network to that folder. To get to that folder, start by opening File Explorer. Figure 34.8 shows the public folders.

The public folders are actually all contained in a single folder named Public in the Users folder. (The default path is C:UsersPublic.) The Public folder is organized much like your Documents folders. It contains subfolders for storing documents, downloads, music, pictures, and videos. If you have Media Center installed, it also contains a Recorded TV folder, in which Media Center–recorded TV files are stored.

Perhaps the easiest way to move files into a Public folder is to open one of its subfolders, such as Public Documents or Public Pictures. Then open the folder that contains the files you want to share. Size and position the two windows so you can see both. Then drag files from one folder to the other. See Chapter 21 for more information on moving and copying files.

The Public folder is shared in a way where every user on the computer (and in the network) has free reign over its contents. In other words, every user has equal rights to the Public folder. If you have files you want to share more selectively, such as only with certain people or only with certain permissions, use the method described previously in the section, “Sharing with individual users.”

Advanced Sharing

Advanced Sharing allows a user with administrative privileges to set custom permissions for multiple users, control the number of simultaneous connections and caching for offline files, and set other advanced properties. Some of these topics require training in or knowledge of network administration. The Public folder and selective sharing methods described in the preceding sections should be adequate for a home network and much easier to work with.

For people who understand the concepts (and potential problems) involved, we'll quickly run through the process. Locate the folder you want to share, right-click that folder's icon, and choose Properties. Select the Sharing tab and click Advanced Sharing. Elevate your privileges (if prompted) and choose Share This Folder. Then click the Apply button. Set the number of simultaneous users up to a maximum of 20 and (optionally) add a comment.

To configure sharing permissions, click the Permissions button to open the Permissions dialog box for the shared folder. Here, you can view existing sharing permissions and also add and remove users and groups. You're limited to specifying Full Control, Change, or Read permission sharing levels.

If the disk where the shared folder resides is on an NTFS volume, you can set NTFS permissions, which are more flexible than sharing permissions. To set NTFS permissions, open the properties for the folder and select the Security tab (see Figure 34.9).

On the Security tab, you can add or remove users and groups and specify the permission levels for each one. The available permissions are more granular than the sharing permissions described previously, giving you finer control over what each user or group can do in the folder. As you assign permissions, keep in mind that the most restrictive permissions apply. For example, if you share a folder and apply Full Control for all users, but then set NTFS permissions so that all users have only Read access, then the more restrictive NTFS permissions apply and users can only read items in the folder, not modify them.

Identifying Shared Folders

In Windows 10, you have a few methods for identifying which folders are shared. First, in File Explorer, open a folder. If the folder is shared, you see the words “State: Shared” in the status bar at the bottom of the window.

You can also use the Shared Folders snap-in with the Computer Management console to see which folders are shared. To open Shared Folders, click Start, right-click the Start button, and choose Computer Management. When the Computer Management console opens, expand the Shared Folders branch and click Shares. The folders that are shared, whether visible or hidden, appear in the right pane.

You can also use the NET command in a command console to see what is shared. Open a command console and type NET SHARE to see a listing of shared resources. A full discussion of the NET commands is beyond the scope of this book, but you can get the full command list by searching the web for NET SHARE.

Sharing a Printer

Printers in a LAN are usually connected to one of the computers in that network. To ensure that the printer is shared, so everybody in the network can use it, follow these steps:

1. Go to the computer to which the printer is connected by cable. If either is turned off, turn on the printer first and the computer second.
2. Open Devices and Printers from the Control Panel.
3. Right-click the printer and choose Printer Properties to open the Properties dialog box for the printer.
4. Select the Sharing tab; then select Share This Printer, type a name in the Share Name text box, and choose to render print jobs on the client, as shown in Figure 34.10.
5. Click OK.

When you click the printer's icon in Devices and Printers, the status bar indicates that the printer is shared. The printer should show up automatically in all network computers' Print dialog boxes. If it doesn't show up on a particular computer, see Chapter 25 for information on installing a shared network printer.

Wrapping Up

People create computer networks to share resources among computers. Resources include things such as an Internet connection, media files, folders, and printers. Windows 10's sharing and discovery make it relatively easy to share resources and discover them. This chapter has focused on the “sharing” part. The following are some of the key points covered in this chapter:

• To turn on sharing and discovery, open the Network and Sharing Center and choose Advanced Sharing Settings.
• Use a homegroup to easily share resources among Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10 computers on a small network.
• To share a printer, use the Sharing tab of the printer's Properties dialog box.
• One way to share files is to move them to the Public folder or one of its subfolders.
• Use the Computer Management console or the NET SHARE command to see which folders are shared.