Mac OS X in a Nutshell

Name

Networking

Synopsis

Find the MAC (media access control) address for my Ethernet card?

Finder → Applications → Utilities → Apple System Profiler → System Profile → Network Overview → Built-in → Ethernet address

System Preferences → Network → TCP/IP panel; toward the bottom of the window, look for a sequence of numbers and letters next to Ethernet Address

Configure my system to connect to an Ethernet network?

Go to System Preferences → Network, and follow these steps:

1. Select New Location from the Location pull-down menu. Enter a name for the new location (for example, ORA-Local), and click OK.

2. Select Built-in Ethernet from the Show pull-down menu.

3. From the Configure pull-down menu in the TCP/IP panel, select Using DHCP if your IP address will be assigned dynamically, or Manually if your machine will have a fixed IP address. (In most cases, particularly if you have a broadband Internet connection at home, your IP address will be assigned via DHCP.)

4. If you’re on an AppleTalk network, select the Make AppleTalk Active option in the AppleTalk panel, and select your Zone (if any).

5. Click the Apply Now button.

Change my Rendezvous name from my full name to something else?

System Preferences → Sharing → enter the new name in the Rendezvous Name text box. Your Rendezvous name will have a .local extension—for example, MacChuck.local.

Find out the speed of my network connection?

Applications → Utilities → Network Utility → Info panel; look next to Link Speed in the Interface Information section. ...