Most new computers are "intranet-ready" out of the box.

If your computer is already setup to access the Internet then you already have all the software you need to access an Intranet.

If not, then you need to:

• configure TCP/IP to access your network,
  
  
• configure a web browser to access the Intranet contents stored on your web server.
  
  
  
  

All browsers, (Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc) can be setup to provide a "transparent" interface between your Intranet and the Internet.

Similarly, all e-mail clients can be setup to access a local mail server, in the same way that these clients can be setup to access Internet e-mail.

Most computers are now supplied with all the software you are likely to need to access Intranet web pages or mail services.

Setting up software on clients for browsing Intranet web pages involves no more than:

• Setting up TCP/IP for network access;
  
  
• Entering the intranet web server address in a web browser window;
  
  
• Setting this address as the default home page.

If you need an Intranet e-mail system in a school environment, webmail access is probably the most useful option on computers used by lots of people.

Mac OS X Server (10.4) includes SquirrelMail for webmail access to users' mail accounts, using a web browser (Mac or PC). See Wazza's OSX Server Mail Setup for details.

Alternatively, any standard POP3 e-mail clients - Apple Mail, Entourage, Outlook, etc - can be used to read e-mail from an Intranet mail server.

Use these settings on each client:

• Incoming mail server: Use the IP address of the computer on which the mail server is running (eg 10.x.x.21)
  
  
• Outgoing mail server (SMTP): Use the IP address of the computer on which the mail server is running (eg 10.x.x.21)
  
  
• UserID: Setup users on the mail server.