Member Avatar for kikiey

Am new to the world of networking on LAN, i need help to get me in the right direction in creating a LAN Chat that has the capability to send file across the network. i want this chat to be able to handle more than 50 connections. how to connect to another pc in LAN connection? using ip address/ localhost or what? i have created client and server connection, but i dont get the connection between two pc. im trying to use localhost but it doesnt work. Any tutorials or sample code will do. thanks...

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Short answer for : localhost (127.0.0.1) only talks to the same machine. For two different PCs on the same LAN you must use the server machine's LAN/private IP (e.g. 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x). Use ipconfig (Windows) or ip addr show (Linux/macOS) to discover that address. If both machines are behind the same router they will usually be on the same private subnet and can connect directly; a public IP is only needed when crossing the Internet (and then you need port forwarding).

Checklist to get a simple chat + file server working between PCs:

  • Make sure both machines are on the same subnet and can ping each other.
  • Start the server bound to the LAN interface (or 0.0.0.0), not 127.0.0.1.
  • Confirm the server is listening on the intended port with netstat/ss.
  • Temporarily disable or open the firewall port for testing.
  • Test connectivity with ping and telnet/nc.

Example commands and minimal pseudocode:

# find IP
Windows> ipconfig
Linux/macOS> ip addr show

# check listening
Windows> netstat -an | find "5000"
Linux> ss -ltnp | grep 5000

# test connectivity
ping 192.168.1.10
telnet 192.168.1.10 5000

# pseudocode
# server (bind all interfaces)
bind("0.0.0.0", 5000)
listen()

# client
connect("192.168.1.10", 5000)

For 50+ simultaneous users and file transfers: use TCP for files, implement a simple application protocol (small header with filename + filesize, then chunked data), and avoid thread-per-connection. Use a thread pool or an async/event-driven model so disk and network IO don’t block accept() threads. Add simple checksums (per-file) and ACKs so transfers can be verified/retried.

Note on hardware/topology and troubleshooting: ’s mention of cabling/topology touches the physical layer — modern LANs are usually switched Ethernet, so just ensure both endpoints reach the same switch/router. If you still can’t connect, paste the results of the ipconfig/ip addr output, netstat/ss showing the server listening, and the ping/telnet test — that will make it easy to pinpoint the failure.

Member Avatar for adi12 
    make lan connection between two computer use of bus cable , ring cable,hybrid,star etc.............
Member Avatar for kikiey

what connection can i use to make one computer is a server and another computer is a client? localhost or public ip or private ip?

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