network w/ cable modem

[Diablo]

I recently had an ATT @home modem installed. The problem is that i now need to set up a network for the other computer that we have in order to share internet access. Both computers have ethernet cards, so i purchased a 20 foot crossover cable, which is definately long enough. I know how to setup the network between the 2 computers. The problem comes in with hardware conflicts. I'm using the usb 10/100 Ethernet adapter, which initially worked fine with my ethernet card that was installed. Soon afterwards, internet access went down, & i called @home support.
Service was not down in my area, and the technical support said that the problem is my ethernet card. He recommended me to go to system properties, device manager, network adapters, right click on my ethernet adpter, properties, disable in this hardware profile. This worked & my internet access was back up, but i cant setup the network without the ethernet card. I'd greatly prefer using the crossover cable for the network, can anyone help me?

Also, i'm not exaclty sure how to get the second ip for the other computer. Will my using a firewall have any affect on the net access on the other comp? Will sharing an internet connection slow my connection? Also, i'm not exactly sure how to do the network without enabling file
sharing (for security reasons). Any help would be greatly appreciated

thanx!

[DARTH]

Your other comp will not get an IP asigned to it unless you pay extra for it. You need to get a gateway router of some kind either Netgear or Linksys(though my Linksys unit just died after only 5 months) I have @home and currently have 4 systems sharing my cable modem with no slow down.

[Paladin]

You could buy another IP or you could just make one up.(All Kick@ss's idea). It works he bought a router got 2 computer's on his network.

[351freak]

i just...and i do mean just recently (9-29) went through this crap.

heres what was done when the bell rang and the game was over.

you get one ip...3 mac addresses (the id assigned to the cards)

only 1 mac can connect at a time or... get a router with its own mac address that acts as the gateway and allows multiple users on at same time.

the net cards like to have their own irq assigned under bios. they work best when the irq is set aside for them and them only.

set the irq...detect/install the cards/drivers...

**** IMPORTANT...UNPLUG MODEM FOR 1 MIN TO POWER DOWN AND RESET...FAILURE TO DO SO IS FUTILE ****

GO TO START...RUN...WINIPCFG...

RELEASE ALL DEVICES THEN RENEW.

YOU SHOULD THEN BE CONNECTED

i might have left out some steps because ive done it for a week straight... ;)

[kick@ss]

Yeah just make up a new IP address and don't tell @home that you are doing that because then you will have to pay $5/month extra. I can verify that this works good, as I am using it right now.

[rogeryang]

I use a dedicated proxy server with a firewall (A computer running NT Server, that just sits around). There are a total of 6 computers on the LAN, and they all have cable internet access. Connection speed is low (300 kb/s), but maybe that's @Home's problem. No matter, I will be changing my hub to a switch in a bit. :D

- Roger

[puppie]

In my apt. we have a DSL connection, and I use a Pentium 100mhz computer with linux running on it. It sits in the corner running 24/7/365 and shares the connection via IP masqurade. Then I make fake IP's for the 6 computers i.e. 192.168.0.xxx. The speed of the network is by far greater than the internet connection, so the bandwidth is shared by us all. We did do it with Windows 98 SE internet connection sharing, but then that computer has to stay on for the other people to use the internet. I like the Linux box though.

[Diablo]

Alrite...sorry for such a late reply, but i've been busy & my familys ability to share my @home connection isn't all that important ;) Anyhow, latest news is i fixed the compatability problem w/ the ethernet card & the usb ethernet adapter. The network is setup between the 2 comps, and i went offline for a few min & varified that the network works by testing file sharing. Turned off file sharing, tried a few things...but wasn't able to share the network connection. Now what i need to know:
____________________________________________________________
1) the cable install guy told me that i can get 1 free ip address through some sort of microsoft software. Does anyone know of this?

2) If no one can help me w/ 1), how do i setup the fake ip? Detailed instructions would be appreciated.

3) The network is up & working, but how exactly do i share the internet connection? I tried a few things...but no success. Again, detailed instructions please

Thanks everyone!

[Diablo]

My family is starting to get pissed, so i need to get this working. I tried MICROSOFT INTERNET CONNECTION SHARING, but couldnt get it to work properly. If anyone could help me out, i'd greatly appreciate it.
__________________________________________________________
Again, i'm using an @home cable modem w/ the USB Ethernet adapter, and I'm trying to share the connection w/ a crossover cable (both comps have ethernet cards)

thanks

[wizofozus]

Goto http://www.practicallynetworked.com/index.htm

He has a step-by-step procedure on how to
get up and running. It's an excellent site.

There are two options. First is using the cross-over
cable you have, second is go purchase a Linksys
cable/dsl router. The problem with using a crossover
cable is your PC (the one the cable modem is hooked to)
ALWAYS has to be on for the second computer to see
the net. This way you also should purchase some
firewall software to shield your network. Something
like Blackice, but there are some free ones you can get also. You also need some software to allow the sharing
of your net access.

The better way, go buy a cable/dsl Router. Something
like the Linksys model. I have the Linkys model
and had no problems (knock on wood). Have a friend that bought the Linksys and Netgear routers. Said he liked
the Linksys one better, more features and easier to use.
The Linksys router is also a firewall. What you do is
plug the cable modem into the router, then both PC's
plug into the router. BUT you need regular ethernet
cables, not the crossover one you have. The router
takes care of issuing you ip's for your pc's
and it keeps both pc's safe from hackers. Using a router
also means you don't have to keep your pc running
all the time, so the second pc can see the internet.

If you can afford it, spend the $150-$200 and buy the
Linksys Router. It's a lot easier to get running
than using the crossover cable method your trying.

Also don't know if your cable system works the same
as mine, but if you go he router method. You might
need to call ATT and give them the MAC address of the
router. Easy way to tell if you need to do this. Once
you get everything plugged in and neither pc sees
the internet, then it's highly likely this is the reason.

[bobklobb]

I just got a Linksys 5 port switch and I am planning to hook up a network. I have cable modem and would like to use it on both computers. Do I still have to buy a router?

[Diablo]

Alright, no, i can't afford a Linksys Router right now (moneys tight). I keep trying ICS, but can't get it to work. To be breif, i setup the network w/ f&p sharing to make sure the network worked. It did, so i installed ICS (start-control panel-add/remove programs, windows setup tab, double click internet, clicked on internet connection sharing. I setup my computer as the gateway, made the setup disk for the other computer.
_____________________________
I removed f&p sharing since i'm on a cable modem, and its a great security risk. I'm hoping i can still share the connection without it. Although, without this inabled, i cant see the other comp on the network.
_____________________________
Anyhow, I reset both comps for the new settings & ran ICS on the other computer (my comp was connected to the internet). This hasn't worked yet, & i've played around with the settings. If you see any problems w/ what i'm doing or can help me, i'd greatly appreciate it.

(on a side note, i do have a few firewalls on my comp to chose from -norton internet security 2001, zone alarm pro, and black ice...will i need to install these on the other comp as well? I wouldnt think so since the internet connetion to this computer goes thru my comp.)

I really need to get this setup asap....any specific help w/ ICS would help a lot.

Thanx

[wizofozus]

bobklobb,
I take it you mean hub when you said switch. I believe
you can still use the hub, but you will likely
still have to use some sort of internet sharing
software to use your cable modem on the other machine.
All depends on your budget and how you want your
network setup. I went the crossover cable method
and had two network cards in my box for a while,
one for the cable modem, one for the network connection
between the two pc's. This method was a pain in the but.
Everytime my pc locked up or I had to reboot the net
connection went down for whoever was on the second
pc. Got sick of someone yelling what happened to the net
connection. Thus I went and bought the router.

Diablo,
That site I posted yesterday is the site I used
when I was in your position. If I remember right
he had a step-by-step procedure on what you need
and how to do it. I have a question, did you
install TCP/IP on both machines? Just installing
file and print sharing won't do it. Best advice
I can give you, go to the site I posted yesterday and print
out his instructions. He tells you how to get your
basic network setup working. Then how to configure
the internet sharing software working. I'm still
a network rookie myself. I think without that guys
web site I would never had got the internet setup
working on my own.

[JoeSmooth]

Diablo, I feel your pain. Half the problem is the many good hearted souls offering advice have only learned through doing. Which is definitely not a bad thing but can limit your options. Guys, go pick up a few books on internetworking technologies and study the OSI model for a while.

Here what you want to do:

You network probably looks like this.

______ ______ _____________
|PC 1| -x- |PC 2| --- |Cable Modem|
------ ------ -------------

Right?

That means you have TWO network cards in PC 2. When you add a second NIC (Network Inteface Card) the PC can become a router (A router passes traffic from one network to another). The problem you have is two fold. #1. Windows 95/98 can NOT route. #2. Since, AT&T is not unexpectedly pretty stingy with IP addresses they are NOT going to give you a subnet of live ("real") addresses to use between your two PCs (Think of the crossover cable connecting the 2 PCs as Network 1 and the PC - Cable Modem as Network 2). So how do you work around this? Couple choices.

#1. Proxy Server. Proxy server software such as the dreaded most horrible piece of software currently available MS Proxy 2.0 is used to allow a computer to "Share" its internet connection. Just like a medical proxy makes decisions for you when you can't an Internet Proxy will get to the internet when you can't. To use this type of proxy you configure Network 1 to be the 10.0.0.0/24 (PC 1 - 10.0.0.1 & PC 2 - 10.0.0.2) IP network. These are reserved non routable IP addresses. After installing the Proxy software and following the directions to properly configure the client (in this case the server is PC 2 and the client is PC 1) you are now "sharing" PC 2's internet connection. PC 1 can NOT get to the internet but it CAN get to PC 2 and it knows that PC 2 will go to the internet for it. This does have some limitations the main one being speed. a Proxy service is very demanding on resources. Check on Wingate, or http://www.winfiles.com and do a search for proxy servers to get an idea.

#2. NAT. NAT is Network Addresses Translation. What NAT does is to remove the reserved address and substitute its own "real" address for any outbound traffic. This is a little more complex but offers much greater flexibility. 99% of enterprise networks use NAT which allows them to share a few live IP addresses for thousands of reserved clients. NAT is available with Netware 5.x sp4 and Windows 2000. Linux/Unix can do NAT as well (but of course a Cisco box is the best...). Some Proxy servers will also do NAT to allow greater flexibility. The LinkSYS crap every mentions is a NAT Box (Albeit a slow one).

#3. Setup a real network.

Get rid of Microsoft file sharing on your PCs which, even with a firewall, makes you incredibley vulnerable if not to actual data loss than definitely to DDOS attacks and get a real server. A cheap little pentium with some ram will make a decent box. Let this guy act as a NAT router and you're all set. This is what it looks like:

______
|PC 1|--\
------ - ________ ________ _____________
______ _ |Switch|--|Server|--|Cable Modem|
|PC 2|--/ -------- -------- -------------
------

And of course for my own personal prejudicies in order of speed this are the preferred NAT Servers

Cisco PIX
NetWare 5.x
Linux
Windows 2000
LinkSYS

I have tested the top four (only read about through put on the LinkSYS). If you like a challenge get a P100 with 128MB RAM (this is what I currently use) and Install Netware 5.1. It's pretty cool and not many people now how to hack a Netware box. As an added bonus, all of the above can do filtering to isolate your network from vulnerabilities and DDOS attack to some extent.

Good Luck

Joe Smooth
The guy with way too much time on his hands.

[wizofozus]

Here's the link to his step-by-step procedure.

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/sharingcable.htm