We soon learned error of our ways - TCP/IP is far more complex than we had originally believed. However, after some head scratching and a few phone calls, we managed to get our network up and running.

We didn't know any better, so we simply hard coded TCP/IP address into each workstation and server. In fact, we hard coded everything, including DNS and WINS server addresses, subnet and gateway address.

For our purposes, this worked great for several years. We added machines slowly and planned everything far in advance, so it was no big deal to just add a new machine to network. A few simple edits to network control panel was all that was needed, and since our network was very static, we didn't have to visit those setting very often at all.

As our company grew this scheme started to get more and more awkward. Originally we had a nice, isolated, self-contained network, but now we needed to get on internet, we were adding not only new workstations and servers at a furious rate, but we had to deal with PDAs, handheld systems, standalone file servers and hundreds of other computers.

To make matters even worse, where our network was very static, now it was becoming dynamic. Computers would be added and removed constantly - someone would plug his handheld into an ethernet jack, get their email, unplug and be gone.

The static TCP/IP scheme that we had been using (a spreadsheet with a list of machines and related addresses) was simply no longer working. Fortunately, there was an answer - DHCP.

On top of that, our systems are spread all over country, in a dozen states on east and west coast. There is no possible way we could manage those computers effectively without some kind of help. And if you've ever attempted to talk a user through an operating system installation or a debug session, then you will understand that this just does not work in a corporate environment.

Fortunately, we found one of most useful products available anywhere at any cost. This little gem is called PcAnywhere, and it is sold by Symantec (the vendor most famous for it's antivirus software).

PcAnywhere allows my staff to "take over" a system, just as if they were sitting at keyboard and staring at monitor. Since PcAnywhere does depend upon operating system, it cannot be used to control system boot and console, but it can do just about anything else imaginable.