Windows 7 / Networking

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Outgoing Connection Types

As Windows Vista did before it, Windows 7 supports a number of different types of outgoing (client-side) network connections:

• LAN or high-speed Internet connections Connections to an Ethernet LAN or broadband router providing high-speed access to the Internet. LAN connections are computer-to-network connections that Windows creates automatically when it detects the presence of an installed network interface card (NIC). Internet connections are computer-to-network connections that you can create and configure manually using the Set Up A Connection Or Network wizard to provide Internet access using a broadband Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) adapter or cable modem, an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) modem, or an analog (dial-up) modem. Broadband Internet connections use Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE); dial-up Internet connections use Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP).
• Wireless network connections Connections to a WLAN through a wireless access point or wireless router. Wireless network connections are computer-to-network connections that you can create and configure manually using the Set Up A Connection Or Network wizard, provided that the computer has a wireless network adapter installed. Wireless network connections may be either secured or unsecured, depending on how the access point has been configured.
• Wireless ad hoc connections Connections to another computer that is enabled for wireless networking. Wireless ad hoc connections are temporary computer-tocomputer connections that you can use to share files between users.
• Wireless routers or access points Devices used to network wireless-enabled computers primarily for Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) environments so that users can share files and printers and connectivity to the Internet. Setting up this type of connection in Windows Vista using the Connect To A Network wizard requires that the computer has a wireless network adapter installed or attached to the computer and the presence of an external wireless router or wireless access point device that can be configured.
• Dial-up connections Connections to a remote access server (RAS server) or modem pool at a remote location. Dial-up connections are computer-to-server or computerto-network connections that you can create and configure manually using the Set Up A Connection Or Network wizard, provided that the computer has an analog or ISDN modem installed or connected to it. Dial-up connections either provide remote access to corporate networks or dial-up access to the Internet using the services of an Internet service provider (ISP).
• VPN connections Connections to a remote workplace by tunneling over the Internet. VPN connections work by creating a secure tunnel that encapsulates and encrypts all traffic between the client computer and the remote corporate network. This tunnel creates a secure private link over a shared public infrastructure such as the Internet. After the user is connected, her experience on the client computer is similar to what it would be if her computer were directly attached to the remote LAN (with performance limitations depending on the speed of the remote connection), with the exception of any restrictions imposed on remote connections by the network administrator. VPN connections are computer-to-server or computer-to-network connections that you can create and configure manually using the Set Up A Connection Or Network wizard. VPN connections can use Internet connectivity, or they can establish an existing broadband Internet connection or an existing analog or ISDN dial-up connection to obtain the Internet connectivity they require.

The rest of this tutorial describes how to create and manage VPN and dial-up connections.