Changing Network Settings in C#

Generating GS1 - 12 in C# Changing Network Settings

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You can change the name and the icon for your network. This information appears in Network And Sharing Center and in the information that pops up when you point to the Network icon in the taskbar notification area. The network initially takes on the name of the wireless SSID or, if you join a domain, the domain name. (The default name of a wired network is Network.) To make the change, in Network And Sharing Center, to the right of the network name, click Customize. Type the name you want in the Network Name box. If you want to select a different icon, click Change Icon, where you ll find icons suggestive of a library, office building, park bench, airport, coffee shop, and more.

The Manage Wireless Networks window (Figure 12-9), can be a more convenient place to change the network name, as it lets you rename networks to which you re not currently connected . Simply right-click a network and choose Rename .

A computer that travels often is likely to accumulate settings for a large number of networks. Although these collected settings don t have any significant impact on performance or disk space, you might find it helpful to remove from the list entries that you don t plan to use again, such as one for a network at a hotel you don t expect to revisit. To remove a wireless network, in Network And Sharing Center, click Manage Wireless Networks. Select a network to delete and click Remove.

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Windows Vista includes another tool that lets you delete wired networks as well as wireless networks. To use it, in Network And Sharing Center, click Customize. In the Set Network Location dialog box, click Merge Or Delete Network Locations. In the Merge Or Delete Network Locations dialog box (Figure 12-10 on the next page), select the networks to remove and click Delete.

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After you ve installed your networking hardware (wired or wireless) and configured drivers and other supporting software, Windows creates a local connection that includes the following networking components:

Client For Microsoft Networks A network client provides access to computers and resources on a network; this client allows you to connect to computers running any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows version. QoS Packet Scheduler This component enables Quality Of Service features provided on corporate networks and by internet service providers. For the most part, these advanced features will not be widely used until Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is also widely used. File And Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks This service allows other computers on your Windows-based network to access shared resources on your computer. Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) TCP/IP is the default network protocol in Windows Vista, and IPv6 is the latest incarnation. For more information about IPv6, see Understanding IPv6, later in this chapter. Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) The ubiquitous TCP/IPv4 provides easy connectivity across a wide variety of networks, including the internet. Although TCP/IP has plenty of options you can configure, most users can safely accept the default settings without having to make any configuration changes.

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Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver The Link-Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) protocol is used to create the network map, which provides a graphical view of the devices on your network and shows how they are connected. The LLTD mapper is one of two components required for creating a network map. Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder Besides the mapper, LLTD also relies on a responder, which answers requests from the mapper component.

For more details about TCP/IP configuration, see Setting IP Addresses, in this chapter, and Troubleshooting TCP/IP Problems, in 14 . For information about network mapping, see Diagnosing Problems Using Network Map, 14 .

This default collection of clients, services, and protocols is generally all you need to work with a Microsoft network (that is, one where all computers are running 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows). To see information about currently defined network connections, in Network And Sharing Center, click Manage Network Connections. Figure 12-11 shows the information and configuration options available from this window.