The Microsoft Windows networking environment allows multihomed computers to connect
to several networks simultaneously. There may be multiple wireless networks available, along with LAN and dial-up
connections. An application often needs to know if the machine has LAN or internet connectivity and take
actions depending on that.
The WiFi Framework allows your application to know what kind of network connection a PC has and to be notified about network connectivity changes. The Network List Manager can provide a wealth of information about the network. It is easy to discover every connection and every network attached to a machine. Some of the information, such as the network identifier, is read-only. However, you can change other information, such as the network name or network type. It identifies available networks and returns network attribute data to the application.
The Network List Manager interacts with the system to identify and retrieve properties of each network that the PC connects to. Each network is uniquely identified with a network signature based on the uniquely identifiable properties of that network. When an application registers for the Network List Manager notifications, the application receives notifications about the availability of new network connections or changes to existing network connections. Applications can adjust their logic depending on which network they are connected to, on which network connection they are connected to, or what the network properties are. With this information, applications can fine-tune their actions based on the current network conditions.
The Network List Manager allows you to enumerate all networks available on your device. You can get information about each network. The network connection status indicates whether the network is connected. The internet connection status indicates if the network is connected to the Internet. You can also get the network name, description, category, creation connection date and time, and other information. If needed, you can change the network name, description, and category.
The Network List Manager also allows you to get information about the network adapter used to connect your PC to a network. When a network connection changed, the Network List Manager called events to notify your application about the network connection changes. Refer to the NetworkListManager sample application to find out how to use the wclNetworkListManager class to work with network connections.