Basic Network Question

[scottypup]

I was asked by a lady I work with about this and told her I would get an answer for her.

She is getting a new computer and wants to give the old one to her teenagers to use for mainly internet browsing. She asked me if it is possbile for them both to use a single dial-up connection to acces the internet.

My first response was yes but not at the same time. But then i thought maybe it is possible to set up a home network where both pc's could be online at the same time.

Can someone tell me if this is possible and if so is there a place somewhere in the pcguide that woudl explain how to do it.

Thanks in advance

Scott

[Rick]

It’s called ICS (Internet connection sharing)
Depending on the access they have it can be easy to setup.
It requires a network connection between the two systems

Dial up works but it can be real slow
DSL and other high speed connections work real well.

Windows includes the software required to install and use ICS
They will / should install a nic ( Network Interface card) in each system and get the correct cable

If you do a search for “connection sharing” on the board you find a lot of good info on the subject

[YODA74]

http://www.wown.com/

This will help you out a little

[Jiggy]

if you click on the properties of your dailer and go to networking and tick let other users share this conection, also allow it on the firewall, if got one.

[Anubis]

I would highly recommend against using ICS. Some people have had no problems with it, others have had nightmares trying to get it working correctly and stay working. On a dial-up its just not worth it, the box that is the host for ICS would have to be online for the client box to access the internet. If she is going to stick with dialup the easiest method would be to have the boxes connected to different phone jacks. Now if broadband is available getting a supported router from the provider is the best option. It will cost more but it will be worth it. You can start off trying to setup ICS with a broadband connection to see if it is worth buying the extra equipment but I wouldn't stay with it.

[scottypup]

Just to eliminate a lot of the comments. Dial-up is the only option for her. Broadband in this area is quite a lot more expensive and she flat can not afford any mroe than she is already paying.

Also if this is going to cost her much at all she will not be interested in doing it. I mainly was interested in knowing if it was possible to do with the system and software she already has. She currently has 98 on the system but will have probably ME on the new system.

[Anubis]

With that in mind you can try ICS over dialup but I really don't think its worth the headaches. She might want to look into a second phone line which should only run about 20/month if you get just a POTS line, no toys. Also she should probably try to get 98se instead of ME, ME is a pain.

[Steve]

Scottypup,

Just keep in mind that Win98 didn't come with ICS. It was incorperated first into Win98SE. I've used it on dial-up. It's slow, but it works. :)

[ixl]

I've successfully used ICS over even very slow dialup connections. My wife and I use it with a regular dialup and it works fine as long as neither of us is doing anything terribly intensive. The server machine will tend to "hog" the line and leave the client somewhat starved for b/w at times.

Usually best to use an NT/2K/XP machine for the gateway if at all possible.