Accessing the Network and Sharing Center

One of the things people often griped about with Windows XP (and earlier versions of Windows) was that the networking features were often scattered about the interface and it was hard to find what you needed. Windows XP's My Network Places folder helped a bit because it offered the Network Tasks section in the Tasks pane, but it only had a few useful commands.

Microsoft realized that more work needed to be done to make network administration easier, particularly for nonprofessionals. The result is the Network and Sharing Center, which debuted in Windows Vista, a window that acts as a kind of home base for networking. Proof that Microsoft is heading in the right direction here is the long list of networkrelated tasks that you can either perform or launch using the Network and Sharing Center:

• Switch between homegroup connections and user account connections.
• See a list of your current network connections.
• Visualize your network with a network map (see "Displaying a Network Map," later in this tutorial).
• Customize the network name, type, and icon (see "Customizing Your Network," later in this tutorial).
• Change your computer discovery options and your sharing options.
• View the status of each network connection (see "Viewing Network Status Details," later in this tutorial).
• View the computers and devices on the network (see "Viewing Network Computers and Devices," later in this tutorial).
• Connect to another network.
• Manage your network connections (see "Managing Network Connections," later in this tutorial).
• Manage your wireless networks (see "Managing Wireless Network Connections," later in this tutorial).
• Diagnose and repair a network connection.

The Network and Sharing Center is a handy networking tool that you'll probably use a great deal, particularly when you're first getting your new network configured the way you want. That might be why Microsoft offers so many ways to open it. Here are the two easiest methods:

1. Click (or right-click) the Network icon in the notification area, and then click Open Network and Sharing Center.
2. Select Start, type net in the Search box, and then select Network and Sharing Center in the search results.

Whichever method you use, the Network and Sharing Center window appears.

The Network and Sharing Center window comprises four main areas:

• Map -This section gives you a miniature version of the network map: a visual display of the current connection. See the "Displaying a Network Map" section, later in this tutorial.
• View Your Active Networks-This section tells you the name of the network to which you're connected, the network category (such as Home or Public), whether you have Internet access via that connection, and which of your computer connections is in use. (This will usually be either Local Area Connection for a wired connection or Wireless Network Connection). If you're connected to multiple networks or have multiple connections to a single network (wired and wireless, for example), all the connections appear here.
• Change Your Networking Settings-This area offers four links to common networking tasks.
• Tasks-This pane on the left side of the Network Center window gives you oneclick access to even more useful network tasks.

The rest of this tutorial takes you through a few of the most common network administration chores, all of which you initiate using the Network and Sharing Center.