Thread: Survey your network

With this in mind, it's worth spending a little time noting down how your network is set up when working properly. First, make sure'. you have the details of your internet account, which will include a username and password. You might have received these in an email-ifso.it.s a good idea to print it out and make a note of the telephone support number, too. Keep this in a safe place. Next, if you have a broadband router, find the instructions for it. Most routers can be accessed via a web browser by typing in a specific IP address, such as You'll need to know what this address is, and what username and password will let you access the router's settings. If you haven't changed the password, it should be given in the manual.

Use the username and password to access the router's settings. Look for a page called something like 'LAN settings' or 'local network', and print it off; this shows how your network is set up. Do the same with the page that contains the internet settings; this is sometimes called 'WAN' or 'WAN settings'. Keep these printouts safe.
Next, check the settings on your Pc. In Windows XP open the control panel and click network connections. You'll see one or more items in the section 'LAN or high¬speed internet.' Click on each one in turn. From the panel on the left choose 'View status ofthis connection', then in the pop-up window that appears, click the support tab, and make a note of the settings.



On most home networks, the first item will say 'Assigned by DHCP', which means that one part of the network -usually a broadband router - automatically gives each computer an IP address when it starts up. Take a screen grab and print it or jot down the IP address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway. Now, click the Details button and note down the IP address given for the DNS server- there's no need to know what this means, but it's important to have it written down. You should also click on the System icon in the Control panel, and make a note of the settings on the Computer Name tab.

Vista users will find all this information by pressing the Start button, choosing Network, then Network and Sharing Centre. You'll see the connection being used, with a View Status link; click that, and on the next screen click the Details link to see the current settings.

If you have other devices on your network, such as a music-streaming device or a printer, then gather details about how they are connected. In the case of media¬streaming products, look to see what IP address and Subnet Mask they are using - this can normally be shown on the product's display. Some networked printers have a display and can show the same information, but ifnot look for a program that can be run on one computer to find and display the addresses. Again, jot down the IP address and Subnet Mask. With this done you'll have a mass of useful information about how the settings on your network look when it's all going okay, so let's start looking at some of the common problems, and
how you can solve them.