19.6. Multihoming

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19.5. Switching Locations

If you travel with a laptop, you know the drill. You're constantly opening up System Preferences Network so that you can switch between Internet settings: Ethernet at the office, dial-up at home. Or maybe you simply visit the branch office from time to time, and you're getting tired of having to change the local access number for your ISP each time you leave home (and return home again).

Figure 19-5. The Location feature lets you switch from one "location" to another just by choosing its name ”either from the a menu (top) or from this pop-up menu in System Preferences (bottom).
The Automatic location just means "the standard, default one you originally set up." (Don't be fooled: Despite its name, Automatic isn't the only location that offers multihoming , which is described later in this chapter.)


The simple solution is the a Location submenu. As Figure 19-5 illustrates, all you have to do is tell it where you are. Mac OS X handles the details of switching to the correct Internet connection and phone number.

19.5.1. Creating a New Location

To create a Location , which is nothing more than a set of memorized settings, open System Preferences, click Network, and choose New Location from the Location pop-up menu. You'll be asked to provide a name for your new location, such as Chicago Office or Dining Room Floor .

When you click OK, you return to the Network panel, which is now blank. Take this opportunity to set up the kind of Internet connection you use at the corresponding location, just as described on the first pages of this chapter. If you travel regularly, in fact, you can use Location Manager to build a long list of city locations, each of which " knows " the local phone number for your Internet access company (because you've entered it on the PPP tab).

A key part of making a new Location is putting the various Internet connection types (Ethernet, AirPort, Modem, Bluetooth) into the correct order. Your connections will be slightly quicker if you give the modem priority in your Hotel setup, the AirPort connection priority in your Starbucks setup, and so on.

In fact, if you use nothing but a cable modem when you're at home, you may want to create a location in which only the Ethernet connection is active. Conversely, if your laptop uses nothing but its dial-up modem when on the road, your Location could include nothing but the Internal Modem connection. You'll save a few seconds each time you try to go online, because your Mac won't bother hunting for an Internet connection that doesn't exist (see "Multihoming," below).

19.5.2. Making the Switch

Once you've set up your various locations, you can switch among them using either the Location pop-up menu (in System Preferences Network) or the a Location submenu, as shown in Figure 19-5. As soon as you do so, your Mac is automatically set to dial the new phone number or to connect using the different method.


Tip: If you have a laptop, create a connection called Offline. From the Show pop-up menu, choose Network Port Configurations; turn off all the connection methods you see in the list. When you're finished, you've got yourself a laptop that will never attempt to go online. This setup will save you the occasional interruption of a program that tries to dial but takes three minutes to discover you're on Flight 800 to Miami and have no phone line available.
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Mac OS X. The Missing Manual
Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals)
ISBN: 0596153287
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 506
Authors: David Pogue

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