My-Network.INFO

How can I choose the default connection between a Wired and Wireless connection?

It is very common in today computers (especially Laptops) to have a Wired Network Card (NIC) as well as a Wireless adapter.  Often users end up in a conflict and they do not know how to control which interface to use.  This article describes the Automatic Metric feature that is used in Windows XP for Internet Protocol (IP) routes, and how to disable it.

A metric is a value that is assigned to an IP route for a particular network interface that identifies the cost that is associated with using that route. For example, the metric can be valued in terms of link speed, hop count, or time delay. Automatic Metric is a new feature in Windows XP that automatically configures the metric for the local routes that are based on link speed. The Automatic Metric feature is enabled by default, and it can also be manually configured to assign a specific metric.

The Automatic Metric feature can be useful when the routing table contains multiple routes for the same destination. For example, if you have a computer with a 10 megabit (Mb) network interface and a 100 Mb network interface, and the computer has a default gateway that is configured on both network interfaces, the Automatic Metric feature assigns a higher metric to the slower network interface. This feature can force all of the traffic that is destined for the Internet, for example, to use the fastest network interface that is available.

To assign a custom metric, follow these steps: (Remember, traffic defaults to connections with a lower metric:

1. In Control Panel, double-click Network Connections.
2. Right-click a network interface, and then click Properties.
3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
4. On the General tab, click Advanced.
5. To specify a metric, on the IP Settings tab, click to clear the Automatic metric check box, and then enter the metric that you want in the Interface Metric field.

As an example, you can configure the Wireless Adapter with a metrics of 20 and the Wired Adapter with a metric of 10. If both the Wired adapater is plugged in and active, and the Wireless adapter was active, then traffic would default to the wired Network.

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