Telnet

Windows comes with a Telnet client. Although Windows XP does not come with a Telnet server application, you can add this functionality by installing Services for Unix (SFU version 3). SFU can be installed on Windows NT, 2000, 2003, and XP. So, for those who operate a small LAN, you can install a Telnet server on Windows XP Professional, along with many other Unix utilities and commands, for a small fee.

Windows XP, which has now been available for about five years, has gone through two major service packs and is now widely replacing older Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 9x clients.

Tip

If you're considering an upgrade to Windows Server 2003, you might want to wait before jumping onto the bandwagon. When any new major version of an operating system is released, there are problems. This is inevitable due to the complexity of writing code for an operating system, much less performing extensive beta testing for a wide variety of applications. It's best to wait until at least the first service pack is released. It's also a good idea to subscribe to the many Windows/Unix/Linux newsgroups so that you can find out about features/bugs early adopters are experiencing.

Server versions of Windows NT, 2000, and 2003 do provide a Telnet service, but it isn't enabled by default. You must have the TCP/IP protocol networking components installed in order to use the server. This can be done during the system installation or by using the Components button in the Add/Remove Software Control Panel utility. To start the service on a Windows Server 2003 computer, use the following steps:

Note

Click Start, All Programs, Administrative Tools, and then Services. A list of services available on the computer is displayed in the right pane.

Scroll down in the right pane until you find the Telnet service.

Right-click on the Telnet service and select Properties (or just double-click on the Telnet service).

From the General properties tab you can select how you want to start the Telnet service. The drop-down menu labeled Startup Type enables you to select Automatic (start when the system is booted), Manual (start the service when you want to use it), or Disabled (to prevent the Telnet service from being used). In this example, the Automatic option has been selected.

If you've selected either Automatic or Manual to start the service, you must start the service by clicking on the Start button. If you have chosen the Manual option, then you can close the dialog box and then re-open it and start the service when you wish by using the Start button. If you've chosen the Automatic option, the service will automatically start the next time you reboot the server. Notice also that there are Stop/Pause and Resume buttons on this General tab. The Start and Stop buttons do exactly what they say: They stop and start the service. However, if you use the Pause button, administrators and members of the Server Operators group can still use the service and establish a Telnet connection with the server. This can be useful when you don't want ordinary users making Telnet connections to the machine while you're performing maintenance chores, for example. Use the Resume button to allow the service to continue servicing other users (provided you haven't stopped the service).

Tip

If one or more of the options (start, stop, pause, and so on) appear grayed out (unavailable), it's because the current state of the Telnet server does not enable you to make the selection. For example, if the Telnet service has already been started, the Start button will not be available. Similarly, if the service is stopped, the Stop button will be grayed out and not available.