NIC Configuration and Properties © N. Ganesan, Ph.D.

Module NIC Configuration

Install the adapter When an OS such as Windows XP is installed the NIC will automatically be installed Install the latest driver for the adapter –The latest driver for a particular operating system is usually obtained from the NIC manufacturers website

NIC Functioning Check for proper functioning of the NIC by going through the device manager –There should not be a yellow exclamation mark next to the NIC Most problems can be solved by installing the correct driver Driver installation could be done by invoking an installation wizard

Checking for Functioning of NIC Go through the device manager to check for proper functioning of the NIC

Correcting Problems In the previous slide there was no yellow exclamation mark against the NIC –Therefore, the NIC is properly functioning If there was a yellow exclamation mark, then, in most instances, then the NIC is not functioning properly –Most problems could be solved by installing the correct driver or updating the driver for NIC

Installing or Updating the Driver There are different ways of accessing the properties of the NIC to update the driver –One is to access the properties from the device manger listed in the Computer Management Console that was shown before –The other is to access the properties from either the control panel or from the network neighborhood icon Updating will be discussed under a different module

Multiple Adapter In general, there would be only one NIC in the computer It is also possible to have multiple adapters in a computer –A protocol can be bound to each adapter –The protocol could be different in each case

Reasons for Multiple Adapters Use the computer as a router Host multiple virtual websites on a single server with each IP address assigned to each NIC being referenced by a particular domain name To support fail-safe operation where when one NIC fails, the other will continue to operate

A Multiple Adapter Application Scenario Network 1 NIC 1 NIC 2 Network 2 Multi-homed Computer

End of Module

Module NIC Properties

Accessing NIC Properties From CMC (Computer Management Console) From Network Neighborhood From Control Panel

Accessing NIC Properties from CMC Accessing the CMC was shown in a previous module The following slides outline the rest of the procedure

Accessing the NIC Properties from Network Neighborhood The steps are shown in the following slides

NIC Properties General Advanced Driver –Accessed and used for updating the driver Resources Power Management

Updating the Driver Access the driver tab Start the update wizard and follow the steps In the following example, a driver that has already been downloaded and stored in a local folder named H:\Internet Download\NIC Driver is used for updating

Updating Complete There was no yellow exclamation mark against the NIC in the CMC The installation is assumed to be correct

Other NIC Features General Advanced Resources Power Management

The End