Virtual Network

Hi!
Does anyone knows how to configure a virtual network under Windows XP? I mean one computer which acts as one server and as one or more clients.
Thank you.

Start the server. Then start one or more clients and make them connect to 127.0.0.1

Can you please tell me, step by step, how to do this? I really have no experience with networks.
Thank you.

what are you running right now... as far as OS and hardware (cabling and netcards)?

and what do you want to do... lan network or virtual (WAN) network...

--Mike

Google for something like "windows xp networking tutorial". There's a lot of helpful stuff out there! ;)

I'd like to setup a LAN; I've got Windows XP HE, a Realtek Fast Ethernet PCI card and no cable as what I want to obtain isn't a physical network but a virtual one; I want to emulate at home a project that later will be set up on a real LAN.

Thank you.

i don't understand what you mean... not a physical one, a virtual one...

there's gotta be some kinda link... either cable or wireless... is that what you are referring to...

if so, and you want a peer to peer network, with no server, then xp can handle that easy... just make sure all machines are in the same network neighborhood...

they should see each other...

--Mike

I mean that I want ONE computer to act as THE SERVER and THE SAME computer to act as ONE or MORE CLIENTS: it should emulate the presence of a physical LAN. Is it possible?

you need to install on your computer a server program like Apache Server.
Apache handles & creates 'the structures' of the network, than you can create your program and make it act as a server or a client.

Thank you degac!
I'll try your solution then I'll make you know...

So you wanted to run a web server (apache is a web server) on your computer?

Or is it any other server software you want to run, if that is so then we really could be more helpful if you told us what server and what client you want to run.

Here is a short-short tutorial about "virtual network" as you call it and as I understand your request:

* In a network, all computers got an IP adress.
* Your computer always has at least 1. Two if you are actually connected to LAN or to the Internet.
* The one adress that you always has is 127.0.0.1 and it points right back to your own computer.
* If you use a client, any client at all, it will connect back to your own computer if you tell it to connect to 127.0.0.1
* Therefore, start the server you want to run (whatever server that is, you haven't told us yet)
* Start one, or more, clients. Then tell them to connect to 127.0.0.1, and to the port the server is listening to.

To take an example using the web server Apache:

* Start the apache server. (The documentation should tell you how)
* Open up IE, firefox, Opera or whatever web browser you are using.
* Browse to: http:// 127.0.0.1
* See the apache documentation on how to change that test page into whatever you want there instead.

If all you want is to create a multiplayer game in Blitz, then follow some network tutorials that relates to blitz. When you have your homemade game server up and running and some games that can connect to it, do as I said and tell your game to connect to 127.0.0.1

Thanks deps; it's more or less what I wanted to know.

If you want to emulate multiple seperate clients originating on the same system, you can virtualize it by using a program such as VMWare or virtualPC, so you can run multiple simultaneous (sandboxed) operating systems at the same time.
At an application level, they will appear as entirely seperate machines, so great for emulating networks as well.

Thanks xlsior.
This is nice so I can interface different platforms(Win32,Linux).