Newbie - sharing DSL connection

[bighamlam]

Hi. I want to share a DSL connection with one other computer. Is this right? - I need a crossover cable, two ethernet cards to install, and some kind of software like WinGate to share the internet connection, right?
Does any have suggestions for what ethernet cards to get too?
Also, I understand that Windows ME will have "simplified networking" for sharing internet. Will this just do what WinGate does? Thanks

 

[InTheClouds]

You will need a router connected to your DSL line and a hub or switch(depends on your needs) to connect your pc's to the router.

From my experience with different NIC's I would go with 3com.

 

[Consultant]

Who is your ISP? Sprint/Earthlink DSL where I am will let you have multiple dynamic connections through a single DSL line. Find out their policy.

 

[bighamlam]

My ISP will be BellSouth. My friends that already have the DSL service said that they won't discuss anything about networking or multiple connections with one account. I was thinking I can hook up the external USB modem they are sending me to my computer and then share the connection to a second computer using ethernet cards.

 

[warlord]

you don't need a hub or switch. I thought most DSL modems used an NIC to connect to the computer, in which case all you would have to do is install 2 NIC's in on comp. if the modem is usb, then your plan will work fine.

don't waste your money on 3coms NIC's, pick up some linksys or d-link NIC, they will work just as well, and leave your wallet a little heavier.

I don't know much about ME, but SE and 2000 have ICS, which is just microsofts verson of wingate.

good luck.

 

[Zach]

First thing I'd do is check out that DSL modem, see if it does any NAT, some high end ones do. Then double check that you can't get two IP's from the ISP.. either way, you'd have to use a hub but both computers could work at the same time. Like having a router, but not really needed.

Also, unless you are willing to turn on two machines to use the one behind the proxy server, or to leave one machine on alot, I'd stray away from using a computer to proxy. I do it though, it's handy to have a machine always on to do downloads and act as a firewall. I've been port scanned and someone checked if I had BO on my system so far today..

 

[Scarpozzi]

It depends on your DSL modem. Can be internal or external. Here are three common scenerios...

1. Internal Modem: This would be a normal PCI interface modem that you could share through your computer using Wingate or another gateway program. You can install a network card in your computer and

2. USB External Modem: This is the same as the internal modem, but it obviously uses USB which I would not recommend unless you have a good system that has Win98SE or later.

3. External Modem with Ethernet out: This gives you the most versatile setup. You can install multiple network cards in a host computer for your network to serve as a router/gateway. Or you can purchase a seperate one. This is the way to go...if you have a choice. Internal modems and USB modems limit what you can do, or moreover, the way you can do it. Also, this is Operating system independent. That's the best part. You can hook it up to virtually ANY operating system that can DHCP an ip address through a network card.

 

[L0w]

I'm in the same position as the poster.

So, from what I gather, being that I have an external modem, the minimal setup that I can use to share the DSL connection, is to connect the modem to NIC(1) in the host comp, then connect NIC(2) of the host comp TO NIC(1) of the second comp using a crossover cable? And then get all this configured using Wingate or a similar utility?

Does the first machine need two NIC cards?

Btw, both machince are running Win2k.

 

[warlord]

LOw

you've got it. that set up will work fine, people on this board have that setup up and running.

one tip if you are going to have 2 NIC's in the host, use different cards and/or brands. that will make it easy to distinquish with card goes to the modem, and which card connects to the other comp.

 

[L0w]

Warlord:

Does the host need to run two NIC cards for the above set-up, or can I run one NIC per machine, providing I have the right cable(s)?

 

[warlord]

I'm assuming you have an external modem that connects to your host comp now, via a NIC. you will need to set up another NIC in the host comp to comunicate with the client comp NIC. so yes, the host must have 2 NIC's, one to the dsl modem and one to the network

how you make that connection is up to you, you can go with a crossover cable, or the switch you were looking at. either will work about the same.

 

[L0w]

Guess I'll go grab another NIC and that crossover cable and take care of biz. Thx a lot mang.

 

[bighamlam]

Thanks everyone for their advice. I have better idea now of how to go about it. Yeah, I checked my Win98SE. I didn't realize it had a Internet Sharing utility.