Vista Network type

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Understand Network Location Types

When running Vista in a network environment, the Vista is connected as one of the following location types:

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Domain

The computer is connected to a network that contains a domain controller for the domain to which the computer is joined. An example is an organization intranet.

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Public

The computer is connected to a network that has a direct connection to the Internet. Examples are public Internet access networks such as those found in airports, libraries, and coffee shops.

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Private

The computer is connected to a network that has some level of protection from the Internet and contains known or trusted computers. Examples are home networks or small office networks that are located behind an Internet gateway device that provides firewalling against incoming traffic from the Internet.

A network will only be categorized as private if a user or application identifies the network as private. Only networks located behind an Internet gateway device should be identified as private networks. To designate a network as private, the user must have administrator privileges.

To view or change the network type, open Network and Sharing Center and the select Customize.

The behavior of the Domain Location Type

After a computer running Windows Vista joins an Active Directory domain, it automatically configures the existing network for the Domain location type. The following settings are automatically configured for networks of the Domain network location type:

•	Windows Firewall is turned on by default and configured by Group Policy settings downloaded from the Active Directory domain
•	Network discovery is turned off
•	All forms of file and printer sharing are turned off, including file sharing, printer sharing, public folder sharing, and media sharing

The behavior of the Public Location Type

If you computer is directly connected to the Internet and you select the Public location type, the following default settings are automatically configured for networks with the Public location type:

•	Windows Firewall is turned on
•	Network discovery is turned off
•	All forms of file and printer sharing are turned off, including file sharing, printer sharing, public folder sharing, and media sharing

The behavior for the Private Location Type

If you is directly connected to a network of computers and you have a firewall/router protect your LAN, you may select the Private location type. In the Private location type, the following default settings are automatically configured for networks with the Private network location type:

•	Windows Firewall is turned on
•	Network discovery is turned on
•	All forms of file and printer sharing are turned off, including file sharing, printer sharing, public folder sharing, and media sharing

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