internet sharing

T

tuuf

On my PC running XP ---if I have an internet connection via a USB web connect
stick (from cell phone carrier)---- is it possible to connect this PC to a
wireless AP and provide internet service to other laptops in my vicinity? If
not, is there a way to do it?
 
S

Steve Winograd

On my PC running XP ---if I have an internet connection via a USB web connect
stick (from cell phone carrier)---- is it possible to connect this PC to a
wireless AP and provide internet service to other laptops in my vicinity? If
not, is there a way to do it?

It might be.

Go to Control Panel > Classic View > Network Connections, and see if
there's a network connection that uses the USB web connect stick.

If there is, right-click the connection, go to Properties > Advanced,
and enable Internet Connection Sharing.

Then, connect the wireless AP to the computer's wired Ethernet port.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Desktop Experience)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
T

tuuf

If this internet sharing via cell phone connection works ---- can I
selectively choose which computers on my local LAN have internet access?
Would I just go into each workstation and click on unclick the internet
sharing option?
 
S

Steve Winograd

If this internet sharing via cell phone connection works ---- can I
selectively choose which computers on my local LAN have internet access?
Would I just go into each workstation and click on unclick the internet
sharing option?

You're welcome.

The computer with the USB web connect stick is the only one that has
the Internet Connection Sharing option.

You can configure the wireless access point to control access by other
computers: set up wireless network encryption, allow access by only
specific MAC addresses, etc.

I'm not sure what you mean by "my local LAN". Do you have a wired
network in addition to the wireless access point?

--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Desktop Experience)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
T

tuuf

Thank you very much...... I'm sorry my message didn't show gratitude.
My current setup is a win2k server and 8 workstations all on a local LAN
hard wired through a switch. This network is not connected to the internet.
Seven workstations run win2k and one runs winxp professional. 3 workstations
have a 2nd network adapter installed and share an internet connection through
a router. I didn't want to expose the entire network to the internet and
deal with constant software updates for protection so a computer tech guy
advised me this route. I access the web via DSL and it is very quarky and
slow. Cable is not available in my area. Therefore I thought of getting a
cellular USB web stick for one of the workstations and share the connection
via "internet sharing". I've since learned about a cellular router by
cradlepoint but I'm still interested if it can be done without it.


Thanks,
Mike
 
S

Steve Winograd [MS-MVP]

Thank you very much...... I'm sorry my message didn't show gratitude.
My current setup is a win2k server and 8 workstations all on a local LAN
hard wired through a switch. This network is not connected to the internet.
Seven workstations run win2k and one runs winxp professional. 3 workstations
have a 2nd network adapter installed and share an internet connection through
a router. I didn't want to expose the entire network to the internet and
deal with constant software updates for protection so a computer tech guy
advised me this route. I access the web via DSL and it is very quarky and
slow. Cable is not available in my area. Therefore I thought of getting a
cellular USB web stick for one of the workstations and share the connection
via "internet sharing". I've since learned about a cellular router by
cradlepoint but I'm still interested if it can be done without it.


Thanks,
Mike

You're welcome, Mike.

You might be able to get Internet Connection Sharing to work, but it's
not recommended in a server network. ICS uses IP addresses in the
192.168.0.x range, which would cause a conflict if the server network
uses the same range. The ICS host computer (the one with the USB web
stick) acts as a DHCP server and DNS server, which could interfere
with the server network.

If the ICS host connects to a wired LAN, other computers on that LAN
that get their IP addresses via DHCP will have access to the Internet.
To prevent a LAN computer from accessing the Internet, you could
assign it a static IP address and no default gateway address.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Desktop Experience)

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
S

Steve Winograd [MS-MVP]

The server-workstation runs on 10.0.0.1 IP range. The 3 workstations that
have the 2nd network adapter communicate on the 192.168.0.1 IP range. The
gateway settings on the primary network adapter for these 3 workstations are
blank. Therefore it forces these computers to search for the internet via
the 2nd network adapter. Now that you have the whole picture let me ask a
few questions:
1) are the other workstations without a secondary network adapter safe from
internet associated risks? They can't directly access the internet but are
connected via the primary adapter to the 3 workstations that do access the
internet via their secondary adapter.
2)"internet sharing option" --- is this nothing more than a computer acting
as a server providing DHCP & DNS. If so, if this ICS host connects to 2
other computers via a router would I then have to disable the DHCP & DNS on
the router?
3)since the server and the ICS are on 2 different IP ranges will I still
have a conflict? Can the DHCP & DNS be disabled on the ICS host so the other
2 workstations would only point via gateway to the internet?


Thanks,
Mike

1) The other workstations can't be attacked directly from the
Internet, but they're not completely safe. If an Internet-connected
computer becomes infected with a worm, it could try to send that worm
to the other workstations via their primary network adapters. For
that reason, the other workstations need a firewall program.

2) Besides running DHCP and DNS servers, the ICS host also acts as a
NAT router to give Internet access to other computers. So it works
very much like a hardware router. In your setup, you should use the
hardware router as a network switch or access point only, not as a
router: disable DHCP and DNS, and connect the ICS host computer to one
of the hardware router's LAN ports.

3) There's no supported way to disable DHCP and DNS on the ICS host.
There's an un-supported way, but it might cause other networking
problems, and I don't recommend it: changing the ICS hosts' LAN
adapter to a subnet other than 192.168.0.x.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Desktop Experience)

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
M

marika

Thank you very much...... I'm sorry my messagedidn'tshow gratitude.

you know what. I am super proud of you.

mk5000

"I will run the clock behind the guap,
And if my leg broke I will hop, "--lil wayne, told yall
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top