Display Information About Network Adapters
Adapter Watch is a portable program for Windows that displays information about all physical and virtual network adapters that are installed on a computer system.
The main advantage the program offers over Windows' own resources is that it displays them all in one single interface. With Windows, you'd have to dig deep and use multiple interfaces to look up the same information.
Note: You may need to run the program with elevated rights. Right-click on the application and select run as administrator to do so.
The computer program can be started right after downloading and unpacking it to the computer system. It will scan the computer system for connected network adapters, and displays in depth information on each of them.
Adapter Watch
The information is divided into tabs located at the top of the interface. These tabs link to information on network adapters, TCP/UDP statistics, IP Statistics, ICMP Statistics, and general information.
Each tab offers in depth information. The network adapters tab for example lists dns servers, the maximum transmission unit, the network adapter name, hardware address, IP addresses, default gateways and more than 20 more values of each network adapter. All network adapters are displayed next to each other in the program interface which makes comparisons a very comfortable process.
Here is a quick overview of what each tab displays:
- Network Adapters: adapter name, hardware address, type, IP address, default gateway, DHCP information, WINS information, status, interface speed, MTU, DNS servers, and more.
- TCP/UDP Statistics: number of segments received and transmitted, number of active and passive opens, maximum number of connections, numbers of errors received, and more.
- IP Statistics: IP Forwarding status, TTL value, number of received and outgoing datagrams, header and address errors, and more.
- ICMP Statistics: Number of errors and messages, and more.
- General: Host and domain name, DNS Servers, Node Type, Routing, ARP Proxy, and DNS.
The program can be used to release and renew IP addresses that are obtained through a DHCO server. This is done by selecting a network adapter, and selecting the desired action from the File menu of the menubar afterwards.
Adapter Watch comes with the usual Nirsoft options to export the network adapter information as HTML reports. Additional options include changing the auto refresh rate, displaying data sizes in bits or bytes and the ability to release and renew IP addresses for selected network adapters.
The computer program is compatible with all Microsoft NT operating systems since Windows 2000 including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8 and 10. The program seems to be compatible with Windows 9x as well but some information about the network adapters might be displayed incorrectly there.
Adapter Watcher is available in other languages besides English. Users can download versions for more than 20 different languages from the developer website.
Verdict
Adapter Watch is a handy program to look up networking information on Windows machines. It may be useful for troubleshooting, and also for making sure that the system is configured correctly.
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