XP Network Configuration

Is there a utility to manage network settings?

This is my annoyance:

To set a local lan IP address click Start, Connect To, Show All Connections, Local Area Connection, InterNet Protocol (TCP/IP) and finally Properties to reach the screen where the IP can be set after clicking Use Following IP Address.

To make things worse, that IP address is erased when when the Obtain an IP address automatically is clicked. This makes configuration of network Access Points etc a very labor intensive process.

--- CHAS