One of the Windows 2000 features that I've found most useful is the capability to change from dynamic to static IP addressing on a workstation without needing to reboot. The ability to execute the change from within a script would make this new feature even more useful. Is this type of execution possible?
To make IP address changes from within a script, you can use Win2K's multipurpose Net Shell (Netsh) command. This command provides several functions that relate to viewing and changing IP addressing on a Win2K system. For example, to change a system from static IP addressing to dynamic DHCP-based addressing, open a command prompt and enter the following command:
netsh interface ip set address "<connection name>" dhcp
where connection name is the name of the LAN adapter on which you're making the IP address configuration change. (By default, this adapter is called local area connection, but it might have a different name on machines with multiple LAN adapters or on machines that an administrator has manually renamed.)
To make the reverse change—that is, to change a connection or adapter from DHCP-configured addressing to static addressing—enter the following command:
netsh interface ip set address "<connection name>" static <ip_address>
<netmask> <gateway> <metric>
where ip_address is the static IP address you wish to assign to the connection, netmask is the subnet mask (e.g., 255.255.255.0) associated with the IP address, gateway is the default gateway (if any) on the local IP subnet, and metric is an optional numeric value (e.g., 1, 2) that defines the number of hops to the default gateway (if one exists). For example, to change from DHCP-based addressing to the static IP address 10.1.1.2, mask 255.255.255.0, and gateway 10.1.1.1 (metric 1), you'd enter
netsh interface ip set address "local area connection"
static 10.1.1.2 255.255.255.0 10.1.1.1 1
Register
Howard Davis November 10, 2003