Sharing Broadband: Only 2 PC's at a Time

[vicwang]

I have a co-worker who is using Internet Connection Sharing to share a DSL connection between his five Windows PC's. One PC is acting as a server and has two network cards, one connected to the DSL line and one going to a switch. The other four PC's are connected to the switch. The problem is that he can only have a maximum of two PC's connected to the internet simultaneously. And it's ANY any two PC's on the network, not two specific ones. I'm thinking it's because his DSL provider can tell he has multiple PC's connected since they're not hidden behind a router, but he claims that they can only see one IP due to the internet connection sharing (he's only paying for one IP). And he's had this setup for almost a year now, and his DSL provider has not said anything to suggest that they're onto him.

Anyone know why he can't connect more than two at a time?

 

[Wik]

Is he using DHCP? I would say he is having a DHCP release and renew trouble on the clients.

Have him assign static IPs to his computers behind the ICS box.

And no, his DSL provider has nothing to do with why he is having this problem.

 

[Saltin]

Wik, if he's using ICS, he isnt using DHCP on his network. ICS handles it's own leases.

Also, it probably has ALOT to do with his ISP. I use DSL and it's the same situation. You need to connect through some sort of Access manager and they likely monitor authentication attempts. If you are authenticated on the network once, they know if you try a second time, and a third, etc.

 

[vicwang]

Thanks for the suggestions. What I'm wondering is, if they know about his multiple logon attempts, why would they allow two simultaneous logons but not more than two? It would seem more logical if they allowed only one, or allowed all five. Only two seems strange to me.

 

[Saltin]

That's where they draw the line. It's more than one, and less than three.....who knows. Likely, it's to give you a bit of extra value without allowing you to tie up too much bandwith. If they allowed five then everyone would want 10.... why not start a small business network from a residential DSL connection!

It just doesnt work that way

 

[ttn1]

The major error is connecting the switch directly to the DSL line. For ICS to work, you have to have 2 network cards in
the machine doing the connection sharing. One network card is connected to the DSL line, the other is connected to
the switch.

The limitation he is running into is that his ISP only allows him to pull 2 IPs. He just needs to setup ICS properly.

 

[vicwang]

Sorry, that is how his network is configured. I'll need to correct my first post. He has two NIC's in one machine acting as a server, with one connected to the DSL line and the other going to the switch. So contrary to what I wrote earlier, the network topology is configured properly, but he is still having the 2-PC limit.

 

[ttn1]

Well if ICS is properly configured then that has to be a limitation of his OS.
I would suggest double checking all ICS settings on all machines. By the way,
what windows OS is he running?

It would be next to impossible for a provider to limit ICS to 2 machines.
They could block the connection all together, but not limit the number of machines.

I have a linux machine doing my connection sharing to 6-7 machines at a time.
I run different machines around the house for different purposes.

 

[vicwang]

Four of them including the server are Win2K Professional. One of the PC's is Win98.

 

[ttn1]

Everything I have read says that windows ICS works with up to 10 PCs.
So that shouldn't be the problem.

IMO it has to be a software configuration issue.

Good luck.

 

[Wik]

I was not talking about his ISP DHCP, I was talking about his LAN side. Instead of having each client using DHCP to get its IP from the ICS box, he should try and use static IPs.

client box#1 192.168.0.2
client box#2 192.168.0.3
client box#3 192.168.0.4

and so on

I seem to recall having to do this to a guys setup that was having the same trouble.

 

[edfcmc]

I am a little confused about this 2 pc limit with DSL. Who is the DSL provider?

 

[vicwang]

The ISP is Southwestern Bell.

 

[edfcmc]

I dont have the answer....But if he wants to experiment, maybe he can ditch the ICS server along with the PPPOE software for a hardware router that is capable of PPPOE such as linksys.. OR if he likes to tinker he can try Clark Connect gateway, Coyote Linux, LRP?

 

[Saltin]

<< Instead of having each client using DHCP to get its IP from the ICS box, he should try and use static IPs. >>



That's fine, but ICS doesnt really supply true DHCP, so I suppose that's why I got confused by your remark.

 

[Wik]

<< really supply true DHCP >>




Geeze get technical on me. Fine how about DHCP allocator?

What else do you call what ICS uses to assign IP addresses to the clients?

 

[JackMDS]

I will let you in on a big secret. Tell your friend to go to CompUSA, and get the following item.

Mystery Item

Of course, there are many items like this, but this is the Cheappo of the week.

 

[ttn1]

Wik - Thanks for the explanation. I actually misunderstood your first post as well.

I figured it was something to do with the ICS setup.
I guess I'm glad I only linux for masquerading.

 

[WholeMIlk]

Are the other computers trying to sign on to the DSL line? Only the router should have to...