Windows 7 / Networking

Setting Up a Static IP Address

Your router's DHCP server offers each client a lease on the IP address, and in most cases, that lease expires after 24 hours. When the expiration time approaches, the client asks for a new IP address. In small networks, the DHCP server often assigns each client the same IP address each time, but that's not guaranteed. Because when you're working with Windows 7 you rarely need to know a connection's IP address, however, a changing IP address is no big deal the vast majority of the time.

However, there are times when a constantly changing IP address can be a big problem. A dynamic IP address makes it much harder for people to find and use the website. You can fix this problem by assigning a static IP address to a network connection.

TIP Instead of assigning a static IP address to the Windows 7 computer, you might be able to get your router to handle this for you. Log on to your router's configuration pages and look for an option that enables you to map a static IP address to the computer MAC (see "Finding a Connection's MAC Address," later in this tutorial) address. This means that whenever the computer requests a new DHCP lease, the router supplies the computer the same IP address each time. Note that not all routers offer this option.

NOTE The instructions in this section work for both wired and wireless connections.

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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