Lesson 22: Manage Advanced Network Settings

Question 1

What’s a Network Location?

Who can access Network Locations?

Answer 1

A Network Location is a saved state of Network preferences that contains all network interface settings.

Only administrators can define network locations, but if more than one location exists, all users can switch between the various network locations by using the Apple menu.

Question 2

Which interfaces and protocols are supported by default in macOS Big Sur?

Answer 2

macOS Big Sur supports the following network interfaces and protocols:

• Ethernet IEEE 802.3 family of hardware network interface standards
• Wireless (Wi-Fi) IEEE 802.11 family of hardware network interface standards
• Thunderbolt bridged network interface
• Bluetooth wireless hardware network interface
• Cellular networks that use USB adapters or iOS devices with cellular network service (Personal Hotspot)
• VPN interface through Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) over Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), Cisco’s IPSec, and Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2)
• TCP/IP, also known as the Internet protocol suite
• DHCP
• DNS protocol
• Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS) and Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) protocols
• Authenticated Ethernet through the 802.1X protocol

Question 3

How does network service order affect network connectivity?

Answer 3

The network service order list is used to determine the primary network service interface if more than one service is active.

All network traffic that isn’t better handled through a local connection to an active network service interface is sent to the primary network service interface.

So in most cases, all WAN traffic, Internet traffic, and DNS resolutions are sent through the primary network service interface.

Question 4

How can you tell which interface is currently being used for network activities in Network preferences?

Answer 4

In Network preferences, network service interfaces with a green status indicator are being used for network activities.

All network traffic that isn’t better handled through a local connection is sent to the primary network service interface.

The primary network service interface is the topmost active interface in the listing.

You can manually reorder your network service order list by selecting the Set Service Order in Network preferences and dragging them into your preferred order.

Active services will still have priority over inactive services.

Question 5

What’s the easiest way to configure virtual private network (VPN) settings in macOS Big Sur?

Answer 5

The easiest way to configure VPN settings is to use a Configuration Profile containing all the relevant VPN setup information.

Question 6

How is 802.1X configured on Mac computers?

Answer 6

macOS Big Sur uses two configuration methods for 802.1X:

1. Automatic configuration through the selection of a Wi-Fi network that requires WPA / WPA2 / WPA3 Enterprise authentication
2. Semi-automatic configuration through an 802.1X Configuration Profile provided by an administrator