Workgroup name, Small network with shared folders, I am confused

Hello!

I have a small network, composed by a Tv Cable, a Modem (high speed cisco), a Router(belkin_f5d7230), 2 computers and 2 cellphones.

Then internet connection is working ok on all of them but I am having problems understanding how
to safety connect the devices between them trough lan and with different internet connection
setup scenarios.

The Scenarios are this:

All devices are connected to the internet, trough the router as in the picture below.
The internet connection is working on all of them.

Computer A- a new and fresh install of windows xp
B- a new and fresh install of windows 7
C- Java phone with the sdcard and phone memory shared
D- Android phone, nothing shared on it yet maybe sometimes in the far future
A router, a modem, cables.

-I wish to share some folders on the computer A, that I can see them from computer B
-I wish to share some folders on computer B, that I can see them from computer A
-The mobile phone C is having wireless and is always sharing all it contents when is connected,

...with no settings done on the phone or in windows I am able to see it in the network and

copy-transfer-delete files on it from the computer B (windows7) but sometimes I have problems

from computer A (windowsXp)
-I wish to use RDP on computer A (Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection) and to be accesibile only

in Lan.
-I wish to use RDP on computer B and to be accessible In LAn and Over the Internet
-I wish to be able to use TeamViever on all computers, available over the Internet.

1) Now, I am curious, why is so damn hard to "see" the phone C from the computer A? Is XP Lan

somehow messed up? It always laggs and hangs and damn freeze when I go to the netwok places in

contrast to windows 7 which is running fast as a rabbit with no lag, hangs, freeze.
If I will share stuff on computer B (win7) when I will access them from the computer A(winxp) I

will always have this freeze, hangs and lags?

2) In this scenario I assume that the shared folders will not be accessible from the internet

and will be visible only in the lan network, right? I don't wish to make the folders public like

a ftp server, just to be visible in the network which is after the router.

3) Sometimes when the internet connection is down, the Internet Service Provider is asking me to

connect the cable which is from the modem directly to the computer A or B, bypassing the router

for making a diagnosis, getting mac and so on which is perfectly normal.

Now, in this moment when the computer is connected directly to the internet, (network scenarios

is like this: TvCable->Modem->Computer) the RDP will be visible from the internet, which is okay

for few minutes but what about the shared folders?

a) If the computer A and the computer B is having shared stuff as folders and partitions on
them, in that moment, when I connect directly to internet they will be available over the
internet?

b) They will be available only to the computers that are using the same ISP or the same Ip
Range-Class etc?

c) They will be availeble only to the people which is having the same "lan workgropup name"
which is called "WORKGROUP" or "MSHOME" or a "CUSTOMONE"?

d) Or They will not be available at all?

e) When I take the computer B out which is having shared folders on a public wifi hotspot, will
the shared folders be available?

f) When I connect the computer B on this small network but trought wifi will be the shared
folders available?

g) What workgroup name should I choose, "WORKGROUP" "MSHOME" "CUSTOMZIEDANDACOOLONE"?

h) Should I use Network Wizzard on Xp or "just share folders" Is there any difference?

i) What is the propose of "Local Domain Name" in the router settings?

j) Why I am able to use team-viewer and connect over the internet with no need to open and forward ports in the router but for the RDP, ftp, etc need the ports to be open and forwarded?

k) I don't know how a VPN is working or what exactly is but it will be better and more secure for rdp, shared folders etc.? Should I try to study and learn about it?

I know that here are a lot of quiestions but I wish an answer to all of them to clarify my network confusions and understand how things work

doctortonic said:

Hello!

1) Now, I am curious, why is so damn hard to "see" the phone C from the computer A? Is XP Lan

somehow messed up? It always laggs and hangs and damn freeze when I go to the netwok places in

contrast to windows 7 which is running fast as a rabbit with no lag, hangs, freeze.
If I will share stuff on computer B (win7) when I will access them from the computer A(winxp) I

will always have this freeze, hangs and lags?

2) In this scenario I assume that the shared folders will not be accessible from the internet

and will be visible only in the lan network, right? I don't wish to make the folders public like

a ftp server, just to be visible in the network which is after the router.

3) Sometimes when the internet connection is down, the Internet Service Provider is asking me to

connect the cable which is from the modem directly to the computer A or B, bypassing the router

for making a diagnosis, getting mac and so on which is perfectly normal.

Now, in this moment when the computer is connected directly to the internet, (network scenarios

is like this: TvCable->Modem->Computer) the RDP will be visible from the internet, which is okay

for few minutes but what about the shared folders?

a) If the computer A and the computer B is having shared stuff as folders and partitions on
them, in that moment, when I connect directly to internet they will be available over the
internet?

b) They will be available only to the computers that are using the same ISP or the same Ip
Range-Class etc?

c) They will be availeble only to the people which is having the same "lan workgropup name"
which is called "WORKGROUP" or "MSHOME" or a "CUSTOMONE"?

d) Or They will not be available at all?

e) When I take the computer B out which is having shared folders on a public wifi hotspot, will
the shared folders be available?

f) When I connect the computer B on this small network but trought wifi will be the shared
folders available?

g) What workgroup name should I choose, "WORKGROUP" "MSHOME" "CUSTOMZIEDANDACOOLONE"?

h) Should I use Network Wizzard on Xp or "just share folders" Is there any difference?

i) What is the propose of "Local Domain Name" in the router settings?

j) Why I am able to use team-viewer and connect over the internet with no need to open and forward ports in the router but for the RDP, ftp, etc need the ports to be open and forwarded?

k) I don't know how a VPN is working or what exactly is but it will be better and more secure for rdp, shared folders etc.? Should I try to study and learn about it?

1) - The freezes are hard to determine and may be caused by incompatible software/firmware. XP is 12 years old and most likely losing support from hardware manufacturers especially since it is losing support as of next year.

2) - You are correct. Your router has something called NAT which essentially hides your network from the internet. Internet connections can only enter your home network is a device requests it. For example if you request a webpage then it is able to enter.

3) - Shared folders should be protected from the internet if your configuration is setup correctly. When connecting straight to the modem ensure that your connection is set as Public. This tutorial should provide more information on how to do that.

Network Location - Set as Home, Work, or Public Network

a) - As long as it is set as public there will be no connection to your shares from the internet.

b) - IP address does not come into it. If one was to connect to your share then yes they would need your IP address however since your connection would be set as public they would be denied access.

c) - Workgroups are only valid between local subnets. They will not be relevant on direct connections to the internet so the name won't matter.

d) - They won't be available at all

e) - As stated before, if you ensure that the connection is set to public when connecting to a public hotspot your shared folders will not be accessible.

f) - Yes they will be, shared folders are shared across wired and wireless connections.

g) - The workgroup name can be whatever you want. For optimal security I would pick a custom one however understand that you will need to change the workgroup on all devices that you wish to share folders to.

h) - There should be no difference, personally I don't use the wizard as I feel the other method offers more granular control and is easier for managing multiple shares. The choice is yours.

i) - The local domain name is similar to a workgroup in that every device on the network is assigned to it. Unless sharing services it shouldn't matter what you put. I normally use something that is seen as internal. For example: home.local or home.internal.

j) - This is because the session is going through team viewers servers. The relevant ports have already been opened before the session began. With RDP you need to open the ports since there is direct communication between the two hosts and no server in the middle.

k) - VPN is more secure than RDP however a lot of people mix the two up. VPN establishes a LAN connection so that the remote device is seen as a part of the LAN. RDP establishes a direct connection to a device within the LAN. Personally I would stick with RDP since VPN configurations can be complex and cause a lot of network issues if your not careful.

Hopefully this answers all your questions! :)

Hope This Helps,
Josh