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cpuguru
Asked: 2017-07-14 11:07:41 +0800 CST

Changing NIC Interface Descriptions in Windows

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I'm creating a new Virtual Switch under Hyper-V on a Windows 2016 Server.

When I go to create a Virtual Switch under Hyper-V on Windows Server 2016, I have to select the NIC port that it will be using. Unfortunately, Hyper-V shows you the "Interface Description" in the drop-down for which NIC to use rather than the "Name". As you can see below, it's rather confusing as the NIC "Name" numbers (which match the port numbers on the back of the server) do not match the number that's auto-assigned in the "Interface Description" field.

I'd like to change the InterfaceDescription setting so that it aligns with the NIC port # so that the NIC I'm selecting in the drop-down for Virtual Switch creation matches up with the NIC number.

Looking at the registry settings, the description for all (4) of the NICs is just "Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet". It looks like Windows is nonsensically attaching a #2, #3 & #4 to the end of the Description names.

Any way to rename the InterfaceDescription for each NIC so that NIC1 matches up with "Broadcom #1", NIC2 matches up with "Broadcom #2" etc?

Below are the results of a PowerShell get-NetAdapter command.

PS C:\Users\Me> get-netadapter

Name -- InterfaceDescription

---- --------------------

NIC4 --- Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet #3

NIC3 --- Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet #4

NIC2 --- Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet

NIC1 --- Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet #2

networking

5 Answers

  1. InterfaceDescription does not appear to support the set method.

    Get-NetAdapter | Get-Member InterfaceDescription

TypeName: Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimInstance#ROOT/StandardCimv2/MSFT_NetAdapter

Name                 MemberType Definition
----                 ---------- ----------
InterfaceDescription Property   string InterfaceDescription {get;}
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  2. Had similar problem on Hyper-V Server 2016. Apparently it's enough to change registry key FriendlyName for affected NICs/ports. The exact path depends on particular HW but it should be somewhere under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum... (to be on the safe side I've renamed the same key under HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum... and HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Enum...). Use RegEdit search to find path or you can use DevManView, right click on NIC and then click Open in RegEdit


    Reboot was required for changes to be applied

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  3. You can't change the name of the NICs interface description but you can change the name of the adapters to match them with the Rename-NetAdapter PowerShell command:

    Rename-NetAdapter -Name "OldName" -NewName "NewName"

    In your case you'll have to do lots of name swapping...

    Rename-NetAdapter -Name "NIC2" -NewName "Temp"<br>
Rename-NetAdapter -Name "NIC1" -NewName "NIC2"<br>
Rename-NetAdapter -Name "TEMP" -NewName "NIC1"<br>
Rename-NetAdapter -Name "NIC3" -NewName "Temp"<br>
Rename-NetAdapter -Name "NIC4" -NewName "NIC3"<br>
Rename-NetAdapter -Name "Temp" -NewName "NIC4"
    • 1

  4. If you want to change the interface description, you must go to "device manager" and uninstall network device, next step click on the top box "Action" and choice "Scan for hardware changes".

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    • Uninstall all network adapters via device manager (right click > uninstall)
    • Plug ethernet into Network Adapter 1 (NIC1) only
    • Reboot the server (or scan for hardware change perhaps)
    • All Network Adapters reinstall themself and have the correct descriptions
    • Move ethernet to the port you would like

    I wrestled with this for awhile... exploring options for GUI, powershell, registry... nothing seemed to work. It seems that the active NIC will take the first description assignment, and then it should increment based off mac address. Hope this wasn't a fluke for me and this can help someone in the future.

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