Finding the right bricks for a client/server app

[mikedp]

Hi,
I was hoping to get some directions to get an idea of which classes and approaches I need to use to create a client/server application with client registration and authentication. I want to create a pokerroom. All the poker related stuff will not be a problem... but I don't have any experience with client/server applications. Things I would like to know include:
- Which way is used to set up connections for this kind of app
- How to keep track of the different connections/clients
- Authentication
- ...
I don't expect code samples... rather general guidelines to the right classes, frameworks, ... to use. Then I can start with some pointed research.
I know this sounds like a very long shot, but I have the advantage that I have already a very good knowledge of networking (10 years of experience as a system and (certified) network engineer), so that probably helps to understand the network related processes involved.
Tnx!

[jmcilhinney]

Network communication is performed mainly with classes from the System.Net and System.Net.Sockets namespaces. Start by checking out the TcpListener, TcpClient, NetworkStream and Socket classes. For a simple example of a client/server app, follow the CodeBank link in my signature and check out my Asynchronous TCP thread.