CCNA-NETWORKING

Figure B: This is the main Network Center screen

The Network Map
If you look at the network map shown in Figure B, you will see that it shows the current computer passing through the local network to access the Internet. Just above the Internet icon, there is an option to view a full map. As it stands right now, if you click on the View Full Map link, you will pretty much see the same diagram except that the Network icon has been replaced by a Gateway icon.
Obviously, the current network map isn’t of much help to anyone. I have been told that as Vista gets closer to being released, that the network map will become a more comprehensive tool that displays the network in much greater detail than it does now.

Network Details

Although the network map doesn’t really do much yet, the network details option is useful right now. If you look at Figure B, you will see that there are two options in the Network Details section; Personalize and View Status.
I have to tell you that I absolutely love the Personalize option. What the Personalize option does is that it allows you to change the name and icon associated with a network connection. So why is this a big deal? Well, Microsoft created this feature for the benefit of people who connect to wireless networks. This feature gives you the ability to assign a meaningful name to various wireless networks that you connect to rather than having to be stuck with whatever name the access point might be using as its SSID. For example, I sometimes connect to a friend’s access point. The SSID for my friend’s wireless network is simply Linksys (this bothers me to no end). If I were running Vista on my laptop, I could assign a friendly name to the network instead though so that I would see a name like Phil’s House rather than Linksys.
I’m not actually running Vista on a computer that has a wireless network connection. So why do I love the Personalize feature so much? It’s because you can personalize wired connections too. Most of the computers that I buy, including the ones that I am running Vista on, have integrated network adapters. The problem is that these integrated network adapters usually have a maximum throughput of 100 Mbps. The network in my home is running at gigabit speeds, so the last thing that I want to do is to use a slow NIC just because it came with the computer. I therefore end up buying at least one NIC for each computer. Windows then displays a separate connection for every NIC that’s installed. The reason why I like the personalization feature in Vista so much is because I can assign each connection a meaningful name that helps me to keep track of which network connection I am actually using.
I mentioned earlier that the Network Details section includes a View Status option. If you click on the View Status link, you will see a screen similar to the one shown in Figure C. As you can see in the figure, this status screen provides you with information such as the connection speed, the connection’s duration, and whether the connection is using IPv4 or IPv6 (IPv6 is kind of a big deal in Vista). If you click the Details button, Windows will provide you with detailed information regarding the machine’s TCP/IP configuration.