Cable Internet Mac Or An

For an ethernet connection, youll see Ethernet, Network Settings, ISP, Internet, and Server.

If you just mentioned the word networking (outside the context of calling former business associates to seek a better job), those around you shook with fear.

When you signed up for that service, either someone installed it for you or you were sent the gear you needed and you followed the instructions necessary to connect to the Internet.

This address is selected from a range of addresses that the ISP owns, and it can change depending on the kind of account youve signed up for.

If you have a static account, youll always have the same IP address; if you have a dynamic account which is most commonyour IP address can change.) This IP address is your main thoroughfare to the Internet.

The router creates a number of internal IP addressesprivate addresses used only within your local network.

Cable Internet Mac Or An

When you log on to your network with your Mac or an iOS device, its assigned one of these addresses.

An easy way to think of a local IP address is as the devices network namelike Shane, Courtney, Anastasia, or Gub-Gubonly in this case, the name is represented by a string of numbers separated by periods ( 192.168.0.22 or 10.0.1.29, for instance).

Imagine that the IP address assigned by your ISP is a road in front of your house.

And the routers IP addresses are the many doors you use to enter and exit your home.

A Mac that sports an ethernet port and carries Wi-Fi circuitry will, at the very least, display ethernet and Wi-Fi entries.

A green dot next to any entry indicates that the connection is active and available to use.

A yellow dot means that the connection could be active, but its not yet configured.

And a red dot tells you that there is no connection (a FireWire entry will show the red dot if theres no FireWire cable attached to your Mac, and the Wi-Fi item will have its own red dot if youve turned Wi-Fi off).

You may also see listings for Thunderbolt Ethernet, USB Ethernet, FireWire, Thunderbolt FireWire, and Bluetooth PAN.

Select one of these active connections (again, one with a green dot).

If youve selected Wi-Fi, youll see a Status entry to the right, which should read Connected.

Below the button youll see the name of the network youre connected to as well as the IP address assigned to your Mac.

In most cases, you should then see Using DHCP in the Configure IPv4 pop-up menu, along with your Macs IP address, subnet mask, router, DNS server, and search-domain information.

Click it and a sheet appears that is sure to set the new Mac users teeth on edge (so many numbers and acronyms).

To do this, in the Advanced sheet, click the TCPIP tab and click the Renew DHCP Lease button.

This sends your router a We need to reestablish our normally cozy relationshipcould you make sure were on the same page message.

With a little luck, renewing that lease will restore your connection.

This method is hardly a cure-all, however, and thats why I direct you next to the Assist Me button at the bottom of the window.

This launches the Network Diagnostics application that helps you determine the health of your network.

Cable Internet For Mac