Share a wireless conection from a laptop

HI,
I hope someone can help me

Here is my setup,
1 Computer on a wireless network with internet access ,

Is there a way to take a wireless router, connect it to the Ethernet port on the laptop and then via the 4 ports or the wireless on the 2nd router ( attached to the computer with wireless internet) Can I use ICS, do I assign static IP to the laptop NIC, do I bridge the connection? Do I use the laptop as a gateway?
Any help would be gratefully accepted,
P.S. YOU will make a bunch of deploying soldiers happy if I can get this figured out

 

Hi mirwin,

From what I have understood from your post is as follows:

You have one computer which is attached to the internet through wifi. Now you want to connect more computers to the net.

2 scenarios are possible:

1. Connect each computer with wireless - install wireless USB adapter in each of them.
2. Use your existing computer [with internet connection] as router, attach a switch & connect all other computers through it.

 

ICS would be simplest. Make sure the new network uses a different IP address space to the main network. For example, if the main network is 192.168.0.0, use 10.0.0.0 on the new network.

You could just use a switch to connect the other PCs to your laptop's NIC, or as rsinfo suggest, use wireless in Ad hoc mode. However, make sure you change the wireless channel to a different one to the one being used by the main Wireless NIC. Cable connections via a switch would be easiest.

 

I assume what you are doing is basically using the laptop as the source of the internet ( gateway perhaps) to be shared with a number of other computers '
Is so there is hope
1) The laptop is going to be used as the receiver in the setup
It will also share the internet to other computers ( hopefully)
2) to do this you will have to turn on internet connection sharing

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306126

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/ics

this all assumes that you have an internet connection active on the laptop

3) Next in the internet sharing you will have to designate the input ( wireless card or built in wireless network adapter) and the output ( ethernet network card either built in or pcmcia / usb)

you can configure this at either network adapter

Here you will see the most important switch
"allow other network users to connect through this computer's network connection "

You will then have to set the input / output

4) I am following this on Windows XP Pro
You may have to install some additional networking in the control panel add remove windows components


5) You are almost finished
take the router
You will have to turn off the dhcp
You are already going through one router
If you have the first router assigning numbers - 192.....
and then the second router doing the same then its two routing tables and very confusing in its path
it may work , it may work inconsistently
especially if you go to any secure sites ( and you may encounter a few) it will be very inconsistent.
Turn off the dhcp in the second router

Here is a good resource:

http://portforward.com/guides.htm


if you run into troubles - simply reset the router by holding the reset button in the back in with a pin
You will reset the router back to factory settings so that you can start over


6) Attach the ethernet cable from the network card from the laptop to one of the four lan ports on the router
- thats it
- very important - do not place the ethernet cable from the laptop into
the single wan port marked "internet "
- it goes into one of the four lan ports

- lastly
- if you can be as close to the wireless router as you can for best speed and not sheltered , blocked or obstructed by barriers and metal
- if you have access to the wireless router beaming - and you have g card have them set it to "g" only to see if you get increased speeds
- if you use the second router to broadcast wireless make it a different channel from the other router - otherwise lots of interference and no internet
- change the ssid from the other router as well even if only to add a digit
some here may say that it will work with the same name ssid but different channels - just to isolate it for now to make it work change the ssid slightly

- you will now be a hero