With Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) in Windows XP, you can connect one
computer to the Internet, then share the Internet service with several
computers on your home or small office network. The Network Setup Wizard in
Windows XP will automatically provide all of the network settings you need
to share one Internet connection with all the computers in your network.
Each computer can use programs such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express
as if they were directly connected to the Internet.
You should not use this feature in an
existing network with Windows 2000 Server domain controllers, DNS servers,
gateways, DHCP servers, or systems configured for static IP addresses.
The ICS host computer needs two
network connections. The local area network connection, automatically
created by installing a network adapter, connects to the computers on your
home or small office network. The other connection, using a 56k modem, ISDN,
DSL, or cable modem, connects the home or small office network to the
Internet. You need to ensure that ICS is enabled on the connection that has
the Internet connection. By doing this, the shared connection can connect
your home or small office network to the Internet, and users outside your
network are not at risk of receiving inappropriate addresses from your
network.
When you enable ICS, the local area
network connection to the home or small office network is given a new static
IP address and configuration. Consequently, TCP/IP connections established
between any home or small office computer and the ICS host computer at the
time of enabling ICS are lost and need to be reestablished. For example, if
Internet Explorer is connecting to a Web site when Internet Connection
Sharing is enabled, refresh the browser to reestablish the connection. You
must configure client machines on your home or small office network so
TCP/IP on the local area connection obtains an IP address automatically.
Home or small office network users must also configure Internet options for
Internet Connection Sharing. To enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Discovery and Control on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and
Windows Millennium Edition computers, run the Network Setup Wizard from the
CD or floppy disk on these computers. For ICS Discovery and Control to work
on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition
computers, Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later must be installed.
To enable Internet Connection
Sharing on a network connection
You must be logged on to your computer
with an owner account in order to complete this procedure.
1.
Open
Network Connections. (Click Start, click Control Panel, and
then double–click Network Connections.)
2.
Click the
dial–up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and
then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this
connection.
3.
On the
Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through
this computer's Internet connection check box.
4.
If you
want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your
home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select
the Establish a dial–up connection whenever a computer on my network
attempts to access the Internet check box.
5.
If you
want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet
connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable
the shared Internet connection check box.
6.
Under
Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection,
select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet
connection to the other computers on your network. The Home networking
connection is only present when two or more network adapters are
installed on the computer.
To configure Internet options on
your client computers for Internet Connection Sharing
1.
Open
Internet Explorer. Click Start, point to All Programs, and
then click Internet Explorer.
2.
On the
Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3.
On the
Connections tab, click Never dial a connection, and then click
LAN Settings.
4.
In
Automatic configuration, clear the Automatically detect settings
and Use automatic configuration script check boxes.
5.
In
Proxy Server, clear the Use a proxy server check box.
