Windows 7 Networking

Windows 7 networking includes a variety of new features. Chief among these is a reworked version of the Network and Sharing Center, but you’ll also find some nice improvements to wireless networking, and simplified resource sharing on home networks thanks to homegroups.


Improved Network and Sharing Center
The Network and Sharing Center is a single location that lets you easily perform common network tasks, much as the Mobility Center does for portable computers:
• Set up a new connection or network
• Connect to a network
• Choose homegroup and sharing options
• Troubleshoot problems


The Network and Sharing Center also provides some great functionality upgrades, including

• Change Adapter Settings—Click this entry in the left pane of the Network and Sharing Center and get right to work on adapter configuration settings.

• Change Advanced Sharing Settings—Also located in the left pane of the Network and Sharing Center, this is another way into homegroup setup and sharing instructions.

• See Full Map—Lets you see the entire network you’re connected to in a visual display, with icons that include routers and switches. This helps the network make more sense, especially if you are troubleshooting. To see this map, right-click the network icon in the notification area, select Network and Sharing Center in the pop-up menu, and click See Full Map in that window’s upper-right corner.


Enhanced Wireless Networking
Just click the network icon in the notification area and you get instant access to all nearby wireless networks, and one-click access to all important networking functions from there.
This is much simpler than in earlier versions of Windows, where you had to click through the system tray icon, into any of several utilities (disconnect or connect commands in Vista, View Available Wireless Networks or Open Network Connections in XP) to micro-manage wireless networking tasks.


Simplified Sharing via Homegroups
Once you join a local homegroup, you automatically gain access to all resources shared with that group—by default, this includes the contents of the pre-defined Videos, Music, and Pictures libraries, plus any shared printers (but not people’s Documents libraries). All of this material is easily and naturally available to all homegroup members through their own libraries. It simply doesn’t get any easier than that!

Source of Information : QUE Microsoft Windows in Depth