Network Clients in Windows 98 Network Properties

This article details the network clients that users and administrators could configure within the Microsoft Windows 98 Network properties dialog. Windows 98 was engineered to integrate into diverse corporate and home local area networks (LANs), offering native support for Microsoft-based environments, legacy Novell NetWare setups, and specialized enterprise systems through both built-in and third-party network clients.

Accessing Network Clients in Windows 98

In Windows 98, network clients were managed through the Network applet located in the Control Panel (or by right-clicking Network Neighborhood and selecting Properties). Under the Configuration tab, clicking the Add button and selecting Client opened a list of available network client software categorized by manufacturer.

Native Network Clients in Windows 98

Windows 98 shipped with several built-in network clients designed to authenticate users, mount remote shares, and interface with directory services.

1. Client for Microsoft Networks

The Client for Microsoft Networks was the standard 32-bit client used to connect to Windows-based networks.

  • Purpose: Allowed the computer to access shared files, folders, and printers on other Windows computers (Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95/98, Windows NT, and Windows 2000) using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol.
  • Key Features: Supported logging into a Windows NT domain, executing network logon scripts, and authenticating against an NT Domain Controller for user-level access control.

2. Client for NetWare Networks

Microsoft included a 32-bit redirector specifically designed for connecting to Novell NetWare environments.

  • Purpose: Enabled access to Novell NetWare file and print servers using the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) typically layered over IPX/SPX.
  • Key Features: Supported NetWare 3.x and 4.x servers running bindery emulation. It allowed users to specify a Preferred Server, Default Tree, and Default Context for basic NetWare Directory Services (NDS) environments without requiring proprietary Novell software.

3. Microsoft Family Logon

While categorized as a client, the Microsoft Family Logon was tailored for multi-user home environments rather than remote networking.

  • Purpose: Provided a simple user selection dialog at startup instead of a network authentication prompt.
  • Key Features: Allowed different members of a household to select their profile from a list to load personalized settings, wallpapers, and desktop configurations without requiring a formal password or network domain.

Third-Party and Legacy Network Clients

Through OEM installation disks or vendor driver packages, Windows 98 supported various non-Microsoft network clients via the "Have Disk" option:

  • Novell NetWare Client (Client32): An official, full-featured client provided by Novell that superseded Microsoft’s built-in NetWare client. It delivered complete support for advanced Novell Directory Services (NDS), pure IP connectivity (NetWare 5), and robust administrative tools.
  • Banyan VINES: A client used in enterprise deployments running Banyan VINES networking software, enabling authentication with StreetTalk directory services.
  • Sun PC-NFS: Allowed Windows 98 workstations to mount Network File System (NFS) exports hosted on UNIX-based systems.
  • DEC PATHWORKS: Supported connectivity to Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VMS and OSF/1 environments.

Primary Network Logon Configuration

Once installed, network clients could be set as the Primary Network Logon in the Network properties window. This setting determined which client greeted the user at computer startup and governed the initial security credentials used for desktop profiles and shared network resources.