ipconfig question....

  • Thread starter Thread starter martinarcher
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martinarcher

Hello All!

I manage a Windows XP image with a custom shell that configures IP addresses
(two local area connections). It parses the output from ipconfig and comares
the output to a config file. If the address do not match the config file, it
changes them using netsh commands. It has works fine for years, but I
recently released a new image and the ipconfig command somehow has reversed
the order that the adapters are displayed therefore reversing the way the two
IP addresses are mapped to the ports on the machine....

ipconfig used to show the adpaters in "reverse order"....

Local Area Connection 5
Local Area Connection 4

The new image orders them in the opposite order....

Local Area Connection 4
Local Area Connection 5

Any idea why ipconfig would change the order the adapters are displayed?

I compared the following registry settings between the two images and they
look OK. Nothing is flipped in the order of the adapters as they are listed
in the registry....

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip]

The only thing networking wise that has changed between the images was the
removal of NetBios from each of the adapters. I performed the NetBios changes
to the older image with no luck. The IP adapters did not switch.

I guess my question is....what determines the order that ipconfig shows the
Local Area Connections? Is there a way to control it so it is always
displayed in numerical adpter order? (ie Local Area Connection 2,3,4,5....)

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi
The numbers of the connections are not really numerical order they are just
a form of ID.
Use ipconfig /all and parse/compare according to MAC number (Physical
Address).
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking).
 
Jack,

Thanks for the response. The MAC address would be a great way to tell the
adapters apart, but this image is used on 100's of displays and I simply need
a sure fire way to map a known IP in my config to a known port on the display
(Port 1 is always Local Area Connection 4 and Port 2 is always Local Area
Connection 5). The MAC address for each port would be different on every
machine and wouldn't help point me to port 1 or 2, just simply give me a
unique identifier for that particular NIC.

If I can force ipconfig to list the adapters in a consistent order I can do
this without a major re-write of my software. I just have no idea where
ipconfig gets the information that is displayed at the terminal and what
governs the order in which they are displayed.

Thanks.

Jack said:
Hi
The numbers of the connections are not really numerical order they are just
a form of ID.
Use ipconfig /all and parse/compare according to MAC number (Physical
Address).
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking).

martinarcher said:
Hello All!

I manage a Windows XP image with a custom shell that configures IP
addresses
(two local area connections). It parses the output from ipconfig and
comares
the output to a config file. If the address do not match the config file,
it
changes them using netsh commands. It has works fine for years, but I
recently released a new image and the ipconfig command somehow has
reversed
the order that the adapters are displayed therefore reversing the way the
two
IP addresses are mapped to the ports on the machine....

ipconfig used to show the adpaters in "reverse order"....

Local Area Connection 5
Local Area Connection 4

The new image orders them in the opposite order....

Local Area Connection 4
Local Area Connection 5

Any idea why ipconfig would change the order the adapters are displayed?

I compared the following registry settings between the two images and they
look OK. Nothing is flipped in the order of the adapters as they are
listed
in the registry....

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip]

The only thing networking wise that has changed between the images was the
removal of NetBios from each of the adapters. I performed the NetBios
changes
to the older image with no luck. The IP adapters did not switch.

I guess my question is....what determines the order that ipconfig shows
the
Local Area Connections? Is there a way to control it so it is always
displayed in numerical adpter order? (ie Local Area Connection
2,3,4,5....)

Thanks in advance!
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.
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