Guy Recommends

A solution to monitor, manage and archive thousands of events that are generated by devices across the entire network. 
Download FREE trial

---

---

Guy's Top 10 Free Tools

1) FreePing
2) Network Monitor
3) Xobni
4) PuTTY (UNIX)
5) IP SLA Monitor
6) BgInfo
7) Net-SNMP
8) CatTools 
9) Exchange Monitor
10) WinDiff

Windows Vista - Network and Sharing Center

Windows Vista > Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center

Vista has several sections with similar names.  Here is where I review Microsoft's new Vista Network Sharing Center.  What particularly impresses me is Vista's Diagnostics Tool.

Network and Sharing Center is where you get a bird's eye view of your machine's relationship with the network.  One new buzz word that's gradually surfacing is the word 'Personalize'.  XP's 'Properties' menu item is often replaced with Vista's 'Personalize' equivalent.  Thanks to the 'Personalize' button, I changed the name of my network Connection to = 'Oak Room'.  This technique is most useful where you have multiple network cards.

Orientation (See in Address Bar Below):
Control Panel
     Networking and Internet
           Network and Sharing Center

Normal view of the Network and Sharing Center - Connections working OK

I would like to start with a diagram showing the Vista computer connected successfully to the internet; later I will introduce network problems.  Note Microsoft's rich graphical clues, not only the bold icons, but also the Explorer toolbar.  If you were to click on Network and Internet in the address bar, then Explorer takes you back up to that level. (The picture below is a thumbnail)

In the Windows Vista Network and Sharing Center you can turn on / off the following:

• Network discovery
• File sharing
• Public folder sharing
• Printer sharing
• Media sharing

What I found particularly useful in the Network and Sharing Center was the link: Show me all the files and folders I am sharing.

Guy Recommends: SolarWinds LANSurveyor

LANSurveyor will produce a neat diagram of your network topology.  But that's just the start; LANSurveyor can create an inventory of the hardware and software of your machines and network devices.  Other neat features include dynamic update for when you add new devices to your network.  I also love the ability to export the diagrams to Microsoft Visio.

Finally, Guy bets that if you take a free trial of LANSurveyor then you will find a device on your network that you had forgotten about, or someone else installed without you realizing!

Download a Free Trial of LANSurveyor

Monitor Your Vista Network with the Real-time Traffic Analyzer

The main reason to monitor your network is to check at a glance that your computers are available.  If there is a network problem you want an interface to show the scope of the problem instantly.

Even when all servers and routers are available, sooner or later you will be curious to know who, or what, is hogging the precious network's bandwidth.  A GUI showing the top 10 users makes interesting reading.

Another reason to monitor network traffic is to learn more about your server's response times and the use of resources.  To take the pain out of capturing frames and analysing the raw data, Guy recommends that you download a copy of the SolarWinds free Real-time NetFlow Analyzer.

Problem with Network Connection?

Here is an expanded view of a Vista Network and Sharing Center.  It showing that route from the Vista machine to the internet is 'Not connected'.  If you hover over the red cross, 'Click to diagnose' appears.  In real life clicking would activate the troubleshooting wizard.  See below.

Vista is full of diagnostic or troubleshooting wizards to give you clues when resolving problems.  If you double click on the above graphic (in real life!) see below what would happen next:

Windows Network Diagnostics Tool

Windows Network Diagnostics Tool

On a good day, the Diagnostics Tool would give you a resolution to your problem.  Here is such a good day!

See below what happens when the Vista's Network Diagnostics effects a repair.  What it's doing is enabling the network adapter that I disabled at the start of this experiment.  In 'real life' the Windows Network Diagnostics is capable of more sophisticated analysis and more far reaching repairs.

Summary of Windows Vista Network and Sharing Center

Vista's Network and Sharing Center reminds me of the MMC.  In their own way, each are like being in a 'Mission control'.  From the Network and Sharing Center, you can survey all your machines connections and their settings.  Two extra features you will see a lot of in Vista are, 'Personalize' instead of 'Properties', and Diagnostics Tool instead of the troubleshooting Wizard.

Guy Recommends:  The Orion Network Performance Monitor (NPM) 9.5

Orion's performance monitor is designed for detecting network outages.  This NPM will guide you through troubleshooting by indicating whether the root cause is a broken link, faulty equipment or resource overload.  Because it produces network-centric views, it is intuitive to navigate, and as result you can see easily what's working and what's not.

Perhaps Orion's best feature is the way it suggests solutions.  Moreover, if problems arise out of the blue, then you can configure Orion NPM 9.5 to notify members of your team what's changed and how to fix it.

If you are interested in testing a professional performance monitor on your network, then I recommend that you take advantage of Solarwinds' offer of a download a free trial of Orion's Network Performance Monitor.

Windows Vista Training

Train Signal have an excellent Windows Vista Training Course.  As an MCT trainer, I am a huge advocate of Train Signal’s products.  What impresses is me is that they demonstrate everything that they teach and they stay away from traditional 'lecture-style' training.  If you are looking for a complete DETAILED coverage of Windows Vista, then I highly recommend that you give this course a try.  I have reviewed their 18 hours of videos myself, and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed!

Watch a Vista Training Video Demo.

Configuring Windows Vista Topics:

 *