I do software development with a Laptop in a docking station with double monitors.  I often need to bring my laptop to a meeting but still be connected and thanks to our office WiFi I can do this.  But, when at my desk, with the laptop in the docking station, how can I be assured I am using the faster Ethernet wire connection over the WiFi connection without having to turn on or off the WiFi connection every time you undock and dock your laptop?

Well, Aseem Kishore at HelpDeskGeek.com nicely documented how to “Force Windows 7 to Use Wired Connection over Wireless”.  Basically in the Advanced section of the Properties for your TCP connection, you can set an Interface metric.  You would set the “wired” connection to a lower metric value, say 10, and a higher value for your “wireless” connection, say 25.

Click on the Advanced button at the bottom right:

On the IP Settings dialog, go ahead and uncheck the Automatic metric box and then type in a value yourself.

The full story can be found here.

UPDATE:  Test Results