Question : Microsoft Loopback Adapter on XP - Effects of changing network configuration?

Greetings,

I am trying to find out how intrusive is the following network changes are to my current network setup. I have a requirement to do the following as part of successfully installing a relational database product. My concern is that my current network setup works fine with my Local Area Connection acting as my primary and my two VPNs which I tunnel into from time to time; I don't want these changes to somehow cause my current setup to stop working. I get the impression from step 20. and 21. that at a minimum I would neet to switch back the primary dns suffix of the computer as my VPNs may have an issue with a new one next time I was to tunnel into their secure networks.

What would I need to do to roll things back so to speak? do would I simply take out the line I added in step 20. and re-boot? One of the concerns I have are that in step 21. the network configuration is changed such that the primary DNS suffix of the computer is changed and the MS loopback adapter becomes the primary, does this mean I cannot access the internet or my VPNs any longer under this new network configuration?

Thanks in Advance,

ADG13

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2.4.5.4 Installing a Loopback Adapter on Windows 2003 or Windows XP
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1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel.

2. Double-click Add Hardware to start the Add Hardware wizard.

3. On the Welcome screen, click Next.

4. On the Is the hardware connected? screen, select Yes, I have already connected the hardware, and click Next.

5. On the The following hardware is already installed on your computer screen, select Add a new hardware device, and click Next.

6. On the The wizard can help you install other hardware screen, select Install the hardware that I manually select from a list, and click Next.

7. From the list, select the type of hardware you are installing screen, select Network adapters, and click Next.

8. On the Select Network Adapter screen, make the following selections:
      Manufacturer: select Microsoft.
      Network Adapter: select Microsoft Loopback Adapter.

9. Click Next.

10. On the The wizard is ready to install your hardware screen, click Next.

11. On the Completing the Add Hardware Wizard screen, click Finish.

12. If you are using Windows 2003, restart your computer.

13. Right-click My Network Places on the desktop and choose Properties. This       displays the Network Connections control panel.

14. Right-click the connection that was just created. This is usually named "Local Area Connection 2". Choose Properties.

15. On the General tab, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and click Properties.

16. In the Properties dialog, do the following:
 IP Address: Enter a non-routable IP for the loopback adapter. Oracle recommends the following non-routable addresses:
      192.168.x.x (x is any value between 1 and 255)
      10.10.10.10

a.      Subnet mask: Enter 255.255.255.0.

b.      Leave all other fields empty.

c.      Click OK.

17.      Click OK.

18.      Click OK in the Local Area Connection 2 Properties dialog.

19.      Restart the computer.

20. Add a line to the C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file with the following format, after the localhost line:

IP_address   hostname.domainname   hostname

where:

IP_address is the non-routable IP address you entered in step 16.

hostname is the name of the computer.

domainname is the name of the domain.

For example:

10.10.10.10   mycomputer.mydomain.com   mycomputer


21. Check the network configuration:

Open System Properties, and select the Computer Name tab. In Full computer name, make sure you see the hostname and the domain name.

Click Change. In Computer name, you should see the hostname, and in Full computer name, you should see the hostname and domain name.

Click More. In Primary DNS suffix of this computer, you should see the domain name.

Answer : Microsoft Loopback Adapter on XP - Effects of changing network configuration?

This is for a loop-back adapter which shouldn't affect the settings for your other LAN connections.  Make sure you only change the settings for the Loopback adapter, not your other LAN connection and you should be fine.

Good luck