fsNetter Network Config Reference

Operation

fsNetter is designed to simplify and automate network configuration under Windows PE. The following information is broken down into two sections: User Interface, and Automation.

Requirements

Windows PE 2.x and 3.x platforms are currently supported, which can be obtained in the Windows AIK. Additionally, at least one network adapter (NIC) with network connectivity is required to utilize fsNetter.

User Interface

Starting fsNetter in GUI mode will automatically start the network under WinPE and read the current network configuration. A list of current network drive mappings will be presented, as well as fields to assist in mapping new drive letters or deleting existing mapped drives.

The Network Details button leads to advanced network configuration options, and provides custom configuration of the following fields:

  • Hostname (computername)
  • Workgroup
  • DNS Suffix
  • Individual NIC configuration options, such as ip address, subnet mask, default gateway, and static/dhcp settings

The Password Management section provides a method for creating an encrypted password file. This password file can be used to automate network connections without posting or publishing passwords in plain text. This button is hidden by default to prevent unwanted user access, and can be made visible for configuration purposes through the .ini configuration file.


Automation

At program startup, fsNetter will automatically check for a configuration file named fsnetter.ini, otherwise this file may be specified on the command line using the syntax: fsnetter.exe fsconfigfile.ini. If a configuration file is located, the settings in the file will be imported and applied to the current network connections. The structure of this file is broken into 3 logical sections, System, Adapterx, and NetSharex, where x indicates the adapter or share number, ie. [Adapter1], [Adapter2], [Netshare1], etc. See sample file for a working example of the .ini file.

Note, the semi-colon (;) character is considered a special comment character, and any line beginning with a semi-colon will be ignored during processing. The following list identifies the available parameters and options for the configuration file.

[System]

  • StartNetwork=yes/no (default:yes)
  • AutoRun=yes/no (default:yes) - Performs specified configuration automatically
  • AutoClose=yes/no (default:no) - Closes application after configuration
  • AutoCloseOnError=yes/no (default:no) - Closes application after configuration if a configuration error occurs
  • PasswordMgmt=yes/no (default:no)-Displays the Password Management button in the application. This line may be removed in the final deployment to completely hide the password configuration from the user.
  • LogFile=x-where x identifies a logfile for warning and error messages. If x=* (asterisk), the warning/error messages will be written to this configuration file.
  • Hostname=x - where x indicates the new hostname
  • Workgroup=x - where x indicates the new workgroup
  • DNSSuffix=x - where x indicates the new DNSSuffix

[Adapterx]

  • Enabled=yes/no (default:yes) - Whether to process the settings for this adapter<./li>
  • DHCP=yes/no (default:yes) - Sets DHCP option for this adapter.
  • DNSServer=Auto/ipaddress (default:auto) - Enables auto DNS server detection, otherwise sets the specified ip address for the given adapter.
  • IPAddress=x - where x is the ip address for this adapter, ie. 192.168.1.99
  • SubnetMask=x - where x identifies the subnet mask for this adapter, ie. 255.255.255.0
  • Gateway=x, where x is the address of the gateway, ie. 192.168.1.1

[NetSharex]

  • Enabled=yes/no (default:yes) Whether to process the settings for this share
  • NetPath=x, where x is the path to the qualified share, ie. \\server\share
  • Drive=x, where x is the drive letter for this mapping, ie. Z:. If an asterisk (*) is specified, the first unassigned drive letter will be used.
  • Username=x, where x identifies the domain\username or workgroup\username used to access the specified share.
  • Password=x, where x identifies the plain text password for the specified share. Optionally, an encrypted password file (created in Password Mgmt section) may be specified, ie. password=mypass.dat