internet sharing for Windows 98?

I have a LAN of three computers. Two pc's with WINXP PRO (A&B) and one with win98 (C).

.A as internet by cable.

.B is using the internet shared by the A (the internet is shared by the windows aplication (wizard))

.Now i want C to also have access to the internet.

What is the best way to do this????? what program should i use, etc..

Thanks in advance for any help...

 

Not a program but a device. Get a router-switch.

Linksys, DLink, Netgear, others, make good devices for around $50 US that will allow up to 4 PCs to share the connection. If you need more, you can connect a switch or hub to one of the router-switch ports and any connected to the 2nd hub/switch will also connect.

Limit on these inexpensive home-small business devices is 253 PCs.

 

I was thinking of using a router switch but i wana try other options before i spend money.

Do u know of other options i may take???

If i connect the modem to the hub insted of conected to the computer... (this won't work would it??)

By the way if a use the router switch and two people or more is using the internet how does the router switch share the band??

thanks for the reply...

 

This page gives a good description of using ICS (or similar "modem sharing ") program and a hub to allow internet access to multiple PCs without using a router and only with a single IP address.

Both a broadband router/switch and an ICS host use pretty much the same tricks to allow multiple PCs to use the internet at the same time. NAT (net address translation) is the applet that does the work. It maintains a small data base and each time a PC tries to hit the internet, NAT will trap the packet, store information about which PC it is from, put a new header on the packet so it appears to be from the NAT device, and send it on. Return packets are checked against the database to figure out who they are for, have a new header put on, and passed to the originating PC.

I prefer the router option because it is faster (using firmware for most of the work) and does not require a "host" PC to be running.

The available broadband bandwidth is shared among all the PCs on your LAN. In theory, if you had 3 PCs on a router/switch and all three were downloading large files at exactly the same time, each PC would get 1/3 of your bandwidth (or less if ICS since the host would hog a little). In practice, most computer internet time is idle while we humans read stuff so with 10 or less PCs sharing a connection, they will each get the majority of your bandwidth when they ask for it.

 

Thanks for the input it realy help... thanks...

 

Sharing Dialup with Parental Controls

Ah, but what about my situation in which I'm sharing not a cable connection but a dialup connection? If I had cable or DSL, I could buy a cheap (well, $50) router, but with dialup, I need the host computer to do the dialing and then share the connection. I've used SolidShare very successfully, but it breaks when I add Norton Internet Security. The SolidShare acknowledge this and don't plan to change it. I like the parental controls in NIS, but I'd like to find something that will work with SolidShare or an equally good dialup connection sharer. Windows ICS does not qualify as equally good, due to its kludgy setup. I'd also love to get parental controls implemented at the machine sharing out the connection, since that way I don't have to manage parental controls software on each client. Any ideas on how I can do all this? Is there a dialup router available in either hardware or software that offers parental controls? Thanks in advance.

 

Come on, someone.... I too, am confined to a dial-up and still would like to share the connection with another computer in my home. Internet sharing from windows is only for broadband, right?
This 3rd party sharing program sounds interesting.. Where'd you get it, and was it free?
sidermike

 

I'm using SolidShare, which is shareware I downloaded from Download.com. It costs about $40 for up to two simultaneous clients and $70 for up to 4, which isn't as cheap as some of the programs out there for sharing an internet connection, but it works robustly and transparently, so it is worth it. You can try it out for free. It works fine on any Internet connection, be it dialup or broadband of whatever stripe. My challenge is finding a router package and parental controls that are compatible. SolidShare doesn't like Norton Internet Security, where I'd hoped to go for parental controls. Oh, well. I'm still looking.

 

I have used this device, WebRamp 310i , where broadband was not available. Yes they seem technologically old, but are very dependable. And they may be difficult to locate.

And here is another description/comparison.

 

thinds....Yeah, after I left this site I googled SolidShare and foud out all about it. What I found impressive was it didn't operate as a proxy. They claim the software only needs to be installed on the web connected system and no configuration is required on the other machine. That's cool, but is it uncommon?
sidermike
p.s. good luck with your quest, thanks for taking the time out for my interuption.

maybe the microsoft way will work... close all windows and restart..;{

 

Kevin, thanks for the idea of the Webramp, which I might try if I can find one (none on eBay right now). I'll still need to find a way to do centralized parental controls, though. Thanks again. - Tim.

 

Found This router/switch designed for a dial-up connection. Might be worth a look.

 

Newt, thanks. That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. You must have better search skills that I, since it didn't turn up in my googling. Thanks for pointing it out. - Tim.

 

Some times you hit on the right search terms, other times not.

I hit a combo that worked.

Also, if you stick around here very long and try to help out with questions, your search skills will sharpen - trust me on that one.

 

Newt this site helped me a lot but in the site it also says that u can share a dial-up connection without the use of anything external to the OS (hardware/software).

But i tryed to share a dial-up connection between two pc's with win98 SE and i had this problem:

The network is working; both pc's r set to client's and the internet on the host pc is working fine.
But when i try to define a ip to the host machine (in the network adapter "192.168.0.1) and a subnetmask (255.255.255.0) the network no longer works, and i need this ip so i can then place a gateway on the other computer...right??.

What the hell am i doing wrong!

PS: i wanted to explaine this situation better but my english isn't perfect...sorry!

 

Odlink, I gave up on Windows ICS. I could never get it to work right. Spending the money for SolidShare is worth its ease of setup and use.

 

The only problem is that the people for who i'm doing this don't want to spend the money!
So either i do this through ICS or i use a 3rd party program to share the internet.
One of the problems is that boths computers r running win98SE if they were running windows 2000/XP this would be easyer.
Thanks anyway for the reply...

 

Somebody who won't put up $39 to save you hours of aggravation doesn't value your time very highly. Unless it's your parents or your girlfriend, I'd tell them to do it themselves. Your call. Regards. - Tim.

 

Odlink - the host PC will have two IP addresses. One real for internet use and one private for internal use. The 192.168.0.1 with a netmask of 255.255.255.0 is common for use on the host PC.

The client PC(s) will need IP addresses that can work with this one so any 192.168.0.2 - 192.168.0.254 and the same subnet mask. Use any of them you like as long as each PC has a different one.

Then use 192.168.0.1 as the gateway address on all client PCs since they will be using the host as their "gateway to the internet ".

The host PC will use NAT (network address translation) so any packet sent from a client PC via the gateway address will be examined by the host, modified to use it's "real" internet address, and sent along.

Return packets will come to the host which will examine them to figure out which of your PCs the packet is for, change the address to the correct one, and send the packet along to the originating PC.

For instance - your LAN has Host1, Client2, Client3.

- Host1 has internal address of 192.168.0.1/255.255.255.0 and external address/netmask as given by ISP - lets say 111.222.333.4

- Client2 is 192.168.0.2/255.255.255.0 and Client3 is 192.168.0.3/255.255.255.0

- Client2 tries to open a web page. The request packet goes to Host1 because it is listed as the gateway. Host1 stores info that this particular packet is from Client2, changes the return address to 111.222.333.4, and sends the packet out. Web page gets request and sends info back to 111.222.333.4 where it is examined, the address changed back to that of Client2, and the packet passed along to Client2.

ICS software can manage this process as in your case. An internet router/switch can do the same - just faster.

Does that help?

 

Thanks Newt for the that detailed explanation but, thats not the problem.
I've done that and still the same problem.

I had a problem in my home network sharing my internet connection from computer A(WINXP pro) to computer C(WIN98) thru ICS. and i fixed the problem once i define the ip address of computer C as automatic. before it was 192.168.0.3.

But in this case there r two pc with win98se and the network wont work very well with this setup:

-both pc defined as clients
-computer A with ip 192.168.0.1 subnetmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.0.1
-computer B with ip 192.168.0.2 subnetmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.0.1
- computer A with Dial-up modem

Resuming : the diference between my home network and the network i'm working know, is that my home network has the host computer with winxp pro and has cable internet; and the other network as both computers with win98se and has dial-up modem.

PS: the rest of the configuration r ok (i think) i check them many times looking for something i overlooked but nothing. I've also follow the intructions of ICS tutorials and still nothing. this *****