Windows 7 / Networking

Renaming a Network Connection

The default network connection names-Local Area Connection and Wireless Network Connection-don't tell you much other than whether the connection is wired or wireless. Similarly, if your computer has two Ethernet NICs, having connections named Local Area Connection and Local Area Connection 2 doesn't give you much to go on if you need to differentiate between them.

For these reasons, you might consider renaming your connections. For example, if you have Linksys and D-Link routers on your network, you could rename your connections as Linksys Connection and D-Link Connection. Here are the steps to follow:

  1. Open the Network Connections window, as described earlier.
  2. Click the icon of the network connection you want to rename.
  3. Click Rename This Connection in the taskbar, or press F2. Windows 7 adds a text box around the connection name.
  4. Type the new name and press Enter.

NOTE You use the same rules for naming network connections as you use for naming files. That is, the maximum name length is about 255 characters, and you can include any letter, number, or symbol except the following: * | \ : 0 < > / and ?.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Setting a Small Network
  2. Setting Up a Peer-to-Peer Network
  3. Changing the Computer and Workgroup Name
  4. Connecting to a Wireless Network
  5. Working with Windows 7's Basic Network Tools and Tasks
  6. Accessing the Network and Sharing Center
  7. Setting Up a Homegroup
  8. Activating Homegroup Connections
  9. Creating a Homegroup
  10. Joining a Homegroup
  11. Accessing the Homegroup
  12. Changing Homegroup Settings
  13. Turning Off Homegroup Connections
  14. Viewing Network Computers and Devices
  15. Displaying a Network Map
  16. Viewing Network Status Details
  17. Customizing Your Network
  18. Managing Network Connections
  19. Opening the Network Connections Window
  20. Renaming a Network Connection
  21. Enabling Automatic IP Addressing
  22. Confirming That Windows 7 Is Configured for Dynamic IP Addressing
  23. Displaying the Computer's Current IP Address
  24. Setting Up a Static IP Address
  25. Displaying the Current DNS Addresses
  26. Specifying the Static IP Address
  27. Using a Network Connection to Wake Up a Sleeping Computer
  28. Disabling a Network Connection
  29. Managing Wireless Network Connections
  30. Opening the Manage Wireless Networks Window
  31. Creating an Ad Hoc Wireless Network
  32. Working with Wireless Connection Properties
  33. Modifying Connection Properties
  34. Modifying Security Properties
  35. Renaming Wireless Connections
  36. Reordering Wireless Connections
  37. Creating User-Specific Wireless Connections
  38. Removing Wireless Connections