What is DOMAIN?

“A domain is a group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures. Within the Internet, domains are defined by the IP address. All devices sharing a common part of the IP address are said to be in the same domain.” - www.murdoch.edu.au/cwisad/glossary.html There is no real limit to the amount of computers on a domain, it is common to see domains with over 2000 computers/devices (Nodes) in it. For networks with that many workstation, you will need enterprise level software such as SMS, Exchange etc. to effectively manage it. If you are using Windows XP as an OS... ONLY Windows XP Pro is capable of operating in a Domain environment. You can mix OS clients on a domain, you can have Macintosh, Windows, Linux, Unix all under the same domain sharing resources as needed. A domain usually costs more money to setup because there is more hardware and software required (Such as a Domain Controller and a Server Level OS) to get it configured properly. In a domain, all the machines have domain level admin accounts on the local administrator group. What this means is, you can effectively manage any and all of the computers on the domain as long as your user account is a member of the Domain Admin group. Workgroup: Workgroup computing occurs when all the individuals have computers connected to a network (a group of two or more computer systems linked together) that allows them to send e-mail to one another, share data files, and other resources such as printers. Normally, a workgroup is limited to 10 network devices/computers. Also, both Windows XP Pro and Home can function in a workgroup environment. Your typical "out of box" system is setup to be used on a workgroup. If you want, you can change the network type from workgroup to domain and viceversa. Machines setup in a Domain environment are much easier to manage than workgroups when it comes to network resources (Shared Files, Shared Printers, etc.) Since workgroup machines might have different account names, you really have to know the admin acccount for each specific machine in order to effectively manage the workgroup.
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