Switching Network Settings on a Laptop Computer

If you have a portable computer that you connect to the network in more than one place, you may need different network settings for each location and a convenient way to switch between settings. For example, you might use an ethernet connection on campus, a cable modem (Road Runner) connection at home, and a modem connection when you travel. This web page describes ways of setting up your computer to switch as easily as possible from one type of network connection to another.

Macintosh Windows Old Computers

Windows

Ethernet to modem: On a Windows computer, switching between a connection that uses your computer's modem and a connection that uses your computer's ethernet interface is easy. Windows 95, 98, or NT should automatically detect which type of connection (ethernet card or modem) is active, so there is no need to worry about manually switching between different configuration files. If you have difficulties connecting to the campus network, please contact the ATS HelpDesk.

Modem to modem: Switching among two or more connections that use a modem and phone line (known as dial-up connections) is also easy. You can create a separate desktop icon for each dial-up service that you use, and give the icons names that help you to distinguish one service from another. Dial-up services include Cornell's EZ-Remote and Express Lane services, and services offered by local service providers such as Clarity Connect and LightLink.

Ethernet to ethernet: Switching among connections that use your computer's ethernet interface is not so simple. Until recently, it was rare for a single computer to need more than one set of ethernet settings; most locations used dial-up connections. For this reason Windows does not have a built-in way to switch among several sets of settings for the same ethernet card. You need to manually re-enter the settings each time you move your computer.

Connections that depend on an ethernet interface have now become common. These include "cable modem" services such as Road Runner, public access network connections such as those in Sage Hall, and wireless connections such as those now available in some of the libraries. Cornell Information Technologies is actively investigating reliable ways to switch among connections using ethernet. We hope to see Microsoft include this capability in a future release of the Windows operating system; in the meantime, there are a couple of interim solutions you may wish to consider.

1. Software approaches: Because the idea of needing to store multiple settings for an ethernet card on Windows is so new, products to meet this need are still being developed and are not yet truly functional and stable. A few people at Cornell have tried the products listed below, with some success. These products reset network settings according to a profile and then reboot the machine to use them. Some stability problems have been reported and you may have to change a few settings each time you switch, which is better than having to re-enter all of the settings but is not yet a completely satisfactory solution.
   • IPSwitcher (freeware)
   • Netswitcher ($8 shareware)
   • Select-a-Net ($8 shareware)
   • Symantec Mobile Essentials ($63)
   CIT has not tested these products, and neither recommends nor discourages their use. If you are aware of other products that address this need, please send us e-mail and we will add those products to this list.

2. A hardware solution: An effective but costly solution is to have a different PCMCIA ethernet card for each set of settings that you need to save. While this makes switching as easy as plugging in a different card, it is decidedly more expensive than a shareware program (ethernet cards cost around $100).

Archived instructions for old computer systems:

• Macintosh without Location Manager
• Windows 3.x