List of Features Removed in Windows Vista - Networking

Networking

• There is no longer a notification area icon for Ethernet connections and quick access to enable/disable/repair them, or view their status and properties.
• Windows Vista no longer automatically creates shortcuts to previously visited network shares in the Network Explorer which replaces My Network Places.
• There is no balloon notification when a new connection is connected or when the wired or wireless adapters have limited or no connectivity.
• IPsec tunneling when the computer is behind an NAT device is no longer possible.
• The Wireless Provisioning Services feature to automatically configure wireless hotspots by downloading XML files supplied by Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) is not supported.
• Audio (voice) sessions and sending invitations via mailto: are not supported in Windows Remote Assistance.
• The 1-click "Repair" function to perform a series of steps that quickly reset the network connection has been replaced by the Network Diagnostics feature which attempts to perform troubleshooting and offer suggestions.
• The Web Folders client is not included by default in any version in favor of the WebDAV mini-redirector. It is not available for 64-bit versions.
• UPnP IGD devices do not show up in Network Connections or in the notification area. Status information and statistics of the connection through the internet gateway is not available as could be viewed in Windows XP. NAT port mappings can be set up from the gateway device's Properties -> Settings in Network Explorer.
• The Network Setup Wizard and the Wireless Network Setup Wizard have been removed.
• Windows Vista uses the strong host model for networking, instead of the weak host model used by all previous Windows versions. A weak host model can accept locally destined unicast packets from any network and transfer them to other interfaces on that network. In a multihomed network setup, a strong host model can considerably limit connectivity although it improves security against multihome-based network attacks.
• A single icon in the notification area (system tray) represents network connectivity through all network adapters and/or internet gateways, whether wired or wireless and for all different types of connections. It is not possible to set individual connection status icons on the taskbar or hide some or all network icons altogether.
• The ability to connect automatically to available non-preferred wireless networks in range and to wireless ad hoc networks has been removed due to security reasons. It is also not possible to save the network profile of an ad hoc wireless connection if the connection has been created/initiated by another computer.
• Changing the KeepRasConnections registry key to remain connected after logging off from a RAS client is not supported in Windows Vista.
• The Direct cable connection feature is not supported in Windows Vista.
• Unlike Outlook Express, Windows Mail does not have support for HTTP mail via the WebDAV protocol (used by older Hotmail accounts and Yahoo! Mail); Windows Live Mail however supports WebDAV.
• Unlike Outlook Express, Windows Mail does not allow users to switch Identities or manage multiple identities within one running instance of the program. Instead, identities are now tied to the user account and to create additional users or identities, a new user account has to be created.
• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and POP3 servers have been removed from the IIS component in Windows Vista.
• rexec, rsh, finger, and some other command-line tools primarily used to communicate with UNIX-based systems have been removed from the default installation. The Subsystem for Unix-based applications (SUA) (previously known as Windows Services for Unix) still provides them as an optional component.
• Windows Messenger has been removed in favor of a link to Windows Live Messenger. Windows Messenger support has also been dropped from Windows Media Center.
• TAPI 3.1 Rendezvous IP Telephony Conferencing API for multicast conferences is not available.
• The RTC Client API 1.3 is not included in Windows Vista.
• Support for built-in H.323 Voice Over IP (VOIP) capabilities has been removed. NetMeeting, H.323 and IP Multicast Conference TSPs and MSPs, and HyperTerminal all are no longer included. Windows Meeting Space is the replacement for NetMeeting; however, features like microphone support, and ability to set up audio or video conferences, are now removed.
• Call answering, connecting to an internet directory, video call and H.323/conference call features have been removed from Phone Dialer.
• IP over 1394 (FireWire networking) support has been removed.
• The basic firewall/filtering functionality and static IP filter APIs in Routing and Remote Access are not available. The three layers of filtering, TCP/IP port filtering, Windows Firewall and IPsec are replaced with a single layer, the Windows Filtering Platform.
• NetDDE, a technology that allows applications using the DDE transport to transparently exchange data over a network, is no longer supported. Windows Chat (WinChat) which used NetDDE has also been removed.