Internet Tips: Double Up With Internet Connection Sharing
Share an Internet connection between two PCs, simple blog updates.
Scott Spanbauer
From the July 2001 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Monday, May 21, 2001
So you have two PCs? They'll be more useful if they're networked,
letting you share printers, hard disks, and Internet connections. There are
multiple ways to double up your Internet link. (For the scoop on wireless home
networking, see " Wireless Comes
Home.")
All computers connected to the Internet are identified by a unique
IP address, a four-part number such as 209.1.23.30 (the address of PC World's Web server). Static IP addresses
are often assigned to servers and to cable and DSL connections. They must be
entered into your computer's network settings by hand, and they remain
unchanged every time you go onto the Internet.
Dynamic IP addresses are used by most dial-up ISPs and are
dispensed by a DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) server that assigns a
different address to your computer every time you connect. To see your Windows
9 x or Me system's current IP address, choose Start, Run and enter winipcfg. For Windows NT or 2000, enter the
command ipconfig.
A router forwards, or routes, TCP/IP data packets between your
network and the Internet. One great new feature of Windows 98 SE was its
Internet Connection Sharing option. ICS is essentially a simple router and DHCP
server that dispenses the TCP/IP address a PC may require to connect to the
Internet (see FIGURE
1).
Another ICS component, NAT (Network Address Translation), works
with the DHCP server to assign local machines nonunique addresses from a
reserved address range (the most common is 198.168.0. x) and routes incoming and outgoing packets between the
networks appropriately. Outside your shared connection, all packets appear to
be heading toward a single computer that uses the ISP-assigned IP address. But
on your side of the NAT server, the individual computers have distinct
addresses, such as 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.0.2.
Skating on Thin ICS
ICS works fine for many but not all home networks. In Windows 98
SE, ICS has virtually no interface, so if something goes wrong, the simplest
fix may be to uninstall and then reinstall ICS. To uninstall, launch Control
Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet, choose Windows Setup, double-click Internet Tools in the Components window,
uncheck Internet Connection Sharing, and then click OK twice.
An alternative to Windows 98 SE's minimal ICS interface is Alan
McCombs's free, 22KB ICSConfig 2.03 utility. Get it at PCWorld.com's Downloads or from the author's Web
site.
ICS has other drawbacks as well. If the ICS host system crashes,
every machine on the network loses its connection. Sharing a cable or DSL
connection may require two ethernet adapters in the host system, and figuring
out which one connects to what can be confusing. One alternative is to switch
to a separate hardware router or home gateway.
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