Windows 7 / Networking

Viewing Network Status Details

The Network icon in Windows 7's notification area to get a quick visual read on the current network status. If the Network icon shows that your computer is connected to the network, you might find yourself wondering about some related status data: How long has the connection been running? How fast is the connection; that is, what is the connection's data transfer rate?

NOTE In this case, the data transfer rate is the theoretical maximum rate supported by the networking hardware. For example, if Windows 7 detects that at least one component of a wired connection (the NIC, the cable, or the switch/router) supports only Fast Ethernet, Windows 7 will report a connection speed of 100Mbps.

Windows 7 can supply you with these and other details about your network connection. Follow these steps to see them:

  1. Open the Network and Sharing Center, as described earlier (see "Accessing the Network and Sharing Center").
  2. In the View Your Active Networks section, click the link in the Connections area for the connection you want to work with:
    • A wired connection is usually named Local Area Connection, so you'd click that link; The Status dialog box that appears for a wired connection.
    • A wireless connection is usually named Wireless Network Connection, so you'd click that link for the wireless status; Figure below shows the Status dialog box for a wireless connection, which also shows the network's SSID and then the connection's current signal strength.
      The Status dialog box for a wired network connection
  3. Click Details. Windows 7 displays the Network Connection Details dialog box. This dialog box tells you, among other things, your NIC's MAC address (the Physical Address value), your computer's IP address, and the addresses of your Internet service provider's (ISP) domain name system (DNS) servers.
  4. Click Close to return to the Status dialog box.
  5. Click Close.
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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