COM320 Network Practical
Dr Kevin Curran, Module Co-Ordinator

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View the properties of your NIC in Windows and look up its vendor by using the MAC address

When describing a NIC as a component of networking, it means both the hardware NIC and its driver. NIC drivers are configured in the OS in which they’re installed and control certain operational aspects of the network interface as a whole. Here, you examine the properties of your installed NIC. You also use your NIC’s MAC address to look up the vendor. Not all NICs or NIC drivers are equivalent in features, so your NIC might have more or fewer features than are described here.
  1. Click the network connection icon in the notification area and click Open Network and Sharing Center.

  2. In the Network and Sharing Center, click the Change adapter settings link on the left. Right-click Local Area Connection and click Status if necessary.

  3. The Local Area Connection Status window shows a summary of information of your network connection. To see more information about the connection, click Details. The ipconfig/all command shows the same information as the Local Area Connection Status window.

  4. The Network Connection Details window shows information about your connection, including the NIC model, the physical (MAC) address, and your IP address configura- tion. Write down your MAC address, which you use later to look up the NIC vendor. Review the remaining information, and then click Close.

  5. In the Local Area Connection Status window, click Properties. In the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box, click the Configure button under the Connect using text box. In the Network Connection Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.

  6. Review the available properties for your NIC. When you select a property, you can view its possible values in the Value drop—down list.

  7. Click Link Speed 8: Duplex (if this property is available), and then click the down arrow to see the possible values. On most NICs, the default value is Auto Negotiation, which means the NIC and hub or switch exchange signals to determine the optimum operational mode. Other modes usually include combinations of 10, 100, and 1000 Mbps and full- and half-duplex. Normally, you don’t need to change these values unless auto negotiation failsnto work. If this happens, you'll probably see the link status light change from on to off repeatedly or never turn on at all.

  8. Click the Locally Administered Address property. (It might also be referred to as network address, physical address, or MAC address.) In most cases, this property’: value is set to Not Present. You can use this property to override the NIC’s burned-in MAC address by entering a new address in the Value text box. Normally, however, you shouldn’t override the burned-in MAC address because if you duplicate an exist- ing address accidentally, it can cause a loss of communication. Click Cancel to close Network Connection Properties.

  9. Close the Local Area Connection Status window and the Network Connections window.

  10. Start a Web browser, and go to www.coffer.com/mac_find.

  11. In the MAC Address or Vendor to look for text box, type the first six digits of the MAC address you wrote down in Step 5. You don’t need to enter the hyphen between each pair of digits, but you do need to enter the leading zeros. Click string to find the vendor of the MAC address. Knowing the vendor can help you track down devices that might be causing problems on your network.

  12. Close all open windows.