4.6.6 Lab – View Information on Wired and Wireless NICs Objectives
Part 1: Recognise and Work with Personal Computer Network Interface Cards
Part 2: Recognise and Utilise Network Icons in the System Tray
Context / Scenario
This lab asks you to identify the availability and status of the network interface cards (NICs) installed on the personal computer (PC) you are using. Windows offers a variety of methods for seeing and working with your network interface cards.
In this lab, you will get access to your computer's network interface card (NIC) information and modify the state of these devices.
Ressources Required
1 personal computer (Windows with two NICs, wired and wireless, and a wireless connection)
At the start of this experiment, the wired Ethernet network interface card in the PC was connected to one of the integrated switch ports on a wireless router. Then, the Local Area Connection (wired) was activated. Initially, the wireless NIC was deactivated. If both the wired and wireless network interface cards are activated, the PC will get two different IP addresses, with the wireless network interface card taking priority.
Instructions
Part 1: Recognise and Work with Personal Computer Network Interface Cards.
In Part 1, you'll learn how to recognise the many kinds of NICs on the computer you're using. Then, you will investigate several methods for extracting information about these NICs and for activating and deactivating them.
Nota bene: This lab was conducted on a personal computer running the Windows 10 operating system. While you should be able to complete the lab using one of the other Windows operating systems mentioned, menu options and screen layouts may change.
Utilise the Network and Sharing Center as the first step.
a. Open the Control Panel. Then, click View network status and tasks under the Network and Internet header in the Category View.
b. Click the Change adapter settings link in the left pane.
c. The results display a list of accessible network interface cards (NICs) on this computer in the Network Connections pane. Locate your wireless adapters.
Nota bene: This window may also show Virtual Private Network (VPN) adapters and other sorts of network connections.
Step 2: Configure your wireless network interface card.
a. Determine the location of the wireless network connection. If your wireless NIC is disabled, right-click and choose Enable to enable it.
a. If the wireless network connection is not active, right-click and choose Connect/Disconnect to connect to an SSID for which you have been granted access.
c. Right-click a wireless network connection and choose Status from the context menu.
d. The wireless network connection Status pane provides access to information about your wireless network connection.
What is the Service Set Identifier (SSID) for your connection's wireless router?
The responses will vary.
How fast is your Wi-Fi connection?
The responses will vary.
f. To open the Network Connection Details window, click Details.
What is the MAC address of your wireless network interface card (NIC)?
The responses will vary.
Do you have a list of several IPv4 DNS servers? If it is the case, why are numerous DNS Servers listed?
The responses will vary according to on the number of DNS servers. Multiple DNS servers are mentioned in the event that the primary DNS server becomes unavailable. For example, the server may be unavailable due to maintenance or may be experiencing a problem. If the first DNS server is unavailable, the second is utilised, and so on.
f. Type ipconfig /all in a Windows Command Prompt.
Note that the information presented here is identical to the information displayed in Step e. g.'s Network Connection Details box. First, close the command window and the window showing the Network Connection Details. This should restore your connection to the Wi-Fi Status page. Next, select Wireless Properties from the context menu.
h. Click the Security tab in the Wireless Network Properties box.
i. The level of security implemented by the connected wireless router. To show the real Network security key rather than the concealed characters, tick the Show characters check box and then click OK.
j. Close the Wi-Fi Status and Wireless Network Properties windows. Select the Wi-Fi option and right-click it > Connect/Disconnect. A pop-up window should appear in the bottom right corner of your desktop, displaying your current connection and a list of available SSIDs for your PC's wireless NIC. If the right side of this window has a scrollbar, you may utilise it to see other SSIDs.
k. To connect to one of the several wireless network SSIDs mentioned, select the desired SSID and then click Connect.
l. If you have chosen a secure SSID, you will be requested to input the SSID's security key. Type the SSID's security key and click OK. Tick the Hide characters check box to prevent others from seeing what you put in the Security key area.
Step 3: Work with your wired network interface card.
a. Select and right-click the Ethernet option in the Network Connections window to see the drop-down list. Enable the NIC if it is deactivated and then choose the Status option.
To see the Status, you must have an Ethernet connection connecting your PC's NIC to a switch or equivalent device. For example, numerous wireless routers have an integrated 4-port Ethernet switch. In addition, a straight-through Ethernet patch cable may connect to one of the ports.
a. The Results window displays information about your wired LAN connection.
c. Click Details... to examine the LAN connection's address information.
d. Type ipconfig /all in a command window prompt. Locate the information about your Ethernet adapter and compare it to the information presented in the Network Connection Details box.
C:\Users\ITE> ipconfig /all
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-VITJF61
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (4) I219-LM
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 08-00-27-80-91-DB
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::d829:6d18:e229:a705%5(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.10(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, September 4, 2019 1:19:07 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, September 5, 2019 1:19:08 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 50855975
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-24-21-BA-64-08-00-27-80-91-DB
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.105.28.16
68.105.29.16
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
e. Ensure that all windows on your desktop are closed. Part 2: Recognise and Utilise Network Icons in the System Tray In Part 2, you'll utilise the network icons in your system tray to identify and operate the network interface cards (NICs) on your computer. Utilise the network symbol as the first step. a. Right-click the system tray icon. Click the network icon to see the pop-up window displaying the SSIDs in the range of your wireless NIC. a. Select Network & Internet from the menu. c. Under the Change your network settings heading in the Settings box, click Change adapter choices. d. Right-click Wi-Fi in the Network Connections box and choose Disable. f. Inspect the system tray. Re-click the Network icon. When Wi-Fi is deactivated, wireless networks become inaccessible and unavailable for wireless connections. f. Additionally, you may deactivate the Ethernet network by turning off the Ethernet adapters. Step 2: Locate the indicator for the Network Problem. Disable all Wi-Fi and Ethernet adapters in the Network Connections window. a. The Network Disabled symbol has been added to the system tray, indicating that the network connection has been disabled. b. To return to the Network and Internet settings, click this symbol. c. In the Network and Internet settings box, click Troubleshoot to have the computer automatically address the network problem. d. If troubleshooting does not resolve the issue of one of your NICs being disabled, you should manually activate it to restore your PC's network connection. Nota bene: If you activate a network adapter and the NIC cannot establish network access, the Network Problem symbol shows in the system tray. If this indicator displays, go with Step 2c to diagnose the problem. Question of Reflection Why would you want to enable multiple NICs on a PC? The responses may vary. Multiple NICs may be utilised if the PC requires more than one route. For instance, if the PC is being used as a Proxy Server.
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