y - Net Developer

amrameshreddy.blog.com392 CHAPTER 12 ■ DEVELOPING PEER-TO-PEER APPLICATIONS WITH WCFramrameshreddy.blog.comWorking with NetShellNetShell, also known as netsh, is an indispensable command-line utility for both administratorsand developers. Although netsh is primarily aimed at administrators because it allowsthem to administer network services, it is equally useful to a developer. To start netsh, open acommand prompt, and type netsh.■Note NetShell is available only when you have P2P networking option installed in Windows XP. AlthoughNetShell is installed by default on Windows Vista, you need to allow that as an exception in the firewall for itto work.The commands in netsh work with the concept of a “context” that determines the networkingaspect within which you want to operate and accumulates various possible commands inthat context. In most situations, you would switch to some context for the specific operation inwhich you are interested. Contexts can have subcontexts, which in turn can have further subcontexts,forming a tree-like hierarchy. Figure 12-6 shows how we switch the context to P2P ➤PNRP ➤ Cloud.Figure 12-6. netsh contextramrameshreddyramrameshreddyThe commands you enter in netsh factor into the context on which you are working. Forexample, the command show entered (as shown in Figure 12-6) knows the context is cloudwithin a PNRP network and shows the commands for that context. You can switch from onecontext to another at any time.