NetProfiles - Multiple IP Profiles Using C# and .NET

• Download executable - 17.2 KB
• Download source - 79.7 KB

Introduction

I created NetProfiles because there was no good way to manage multiple IP profiles within Windows. As a network engineer, I travel to multiple client sites - each having unique IP settings. NetProfiles allows users to setup multiple profiles to automate this process.

Background

In this article, I will demonstrate several techniques:

1. Using C# to manipulate the registry.
2. Enumerating a list of network adapters and getting settings for each.
3. Programmatically changing IP addresses, DNS servers, and static routes.

Using the code

NetProfiles relies on the .NET Framework version 2.0.

I have included the compiled binary (x86) and the Visual Studio project (VS2008).

1. Manipulating the registry:

   //Connect to the registry and create the Keys necessary for 
   //NetProfiles
   //
   RegistryKey cUser = Registry.LocalMachine;
   cUser = cUser.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE",true);
   cUser.CreateSubKey("AntiDesign\\NetProfiles\\__Adapters");
   cUser = cUser.OpenSubKey("AntiDesign\\NetProfiles\\__Adapters",true);
   
   //create keys for all network adapters
   //
   //
   for (int i = 0; i < cboSelectAdapter.Items.Count; i++)
   {
       //create subkeys for each network adapter found
       cUser.CreateSubKey(cboSelectAdapter.Items[i].ToString());
       RegistryKey tmp = cUser.OpenSubKey(cboSelectAdapter.Items[i].ToString(), true);
           
       //set default values inside the created keys
       tmp.SetValue("CurrentProfile", "");
           tmp.SetValue("RouteNetwork", "");
   }

2. Enumerating network adapters:

   //Function to populate combo box with a list of network adapters
   //
   //
   private void loadAdapters()
   {
       foreach (NetworkInterface netInterface in 
                NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces())
       {
           // Only get ethernet and wireless adapters
           if (netInterface.NetworkInterfaceType == NetworkInterfaceType.Ethernet | 
               netInterface.NetworkInterfaceType == NetworkInterfaceType.Wireless80211)
           {
               cboSelectAdapter.Items.Add(netInterface.Name);//add to list
           }
       }
       try
       {
           cboSelectAdapter.SelectedIndex = 0;
       }
       catch { }
   }

3. Changing IP, DNS servers, and routing:

   //build the argument strings for netsh.exe
   //
   //
   string args, argsDNS;
   
   args = "interface ip set address name=\"" + AdapterName + "\" static " +
       ipAddress + " " + subnetMask + " " + gateway + " 1";
   argsDNS = "interface ip set dns name=\"" + AdapterName + "\" static " +
       dnsServer;
                       
   //apply the changes using netsh
   //
   //
   Process netsh = new Process();
   netsh.StartInfo.FileName = "netsh.exe";
   netsh.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
   netsh.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
   netsh.StartInfo.Arguments = args;
   
   netsh.Start();
   netsh.WaitForExit();
   
   //Add the dns server
   //
   //
   netsh.StartInfo.Arguments = argsDNS;
   netsh.Start();
   netsh.WaitForExit();
   netsh.Dispose();
   
   
   //add the static route
   //
   //
   Process cmd = new Process();
   cmd.StartInfo.FileName = "route.exe";
   cmd.StartInfo.Arguments = "add " + routeNetwork + " mask " + 
                 routeMask + " " + routeGateway + " metric " + routeMetric;
   cmd.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
   cmd.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
   cmd.Start();
   cmd.WaitForExit();
   cmd.Dispose();

Points of interest

This app is relatively lightweight, and provides useful functionality that is not provided by Windows.

History

• 3-20-2008 - Uploaded content.