DSL Internet Connection Sharing

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May 25th, 2002, 09:58 PM
mrwilhelm

DSL Internet Connection Sharing

Silly question here... I have a 3 PC LAN at home. I use a Win2K box as my ICS machine. I'm switching to DSL at the end of this month and would like to know whether I should be sharing the NIC or the PPPoE adapter. Anyone?

Thanks...
May 26th, 2002, 12:52 AM
Archer

Depends what service your paying for.
In the UK The buisness sevice as supplied by BT is supplied with a 4 port router/modem [normally] and the home service is either supplied with a USB modem or you buy your own[dependent on installation fee],this is supposed to be a one PC situation only as per their rules of service,but some people fit router modems for a more secure network [which may or include a firewall within the router on the dearer models]
There are routers that can go after the USB ADSL modem or you can get a router modem,heres a few UK sites for refference:

<a href="http://www.seg.co.uk/draytek/products/vigor2200usb.html" target="_blank">http://www.seg.co.uk/draytek/products/vigor2200usb.html</a>
<a href="http://www.nothing-on.tv/adsl/list_modems.php" target="_blank">http://www.nothing-on.tv/adsl/list_modems.php</a>
<a href="http://www.lawyersonline.co.uk/adsl/techinfo.html" target="_blank">http://www.lawyersonline.co.uk/adsl/techinfo.html</a>
<a href="http://www.solwise.co.uk/modems.htm" target="_blank">http://www.solwise.co.uk/modems.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.solwise.co.uk/adsl-usb.htm" target="_blank">http://www.solwise.co.uk/adsl-usb.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.adslguide.org.uk/hardware/reviews/2002/q1/amx-ca61e.asp" target="_blank">http://www.adslguide.org.uk/hardware/reviews/2002/q1/amx-ca61e.asp</a>
May 26th, 2002, 12:56 AM
WebHead

You can't use ICS with broadband internet. You need a router and a switch.
May 26th, 2002, 12:58 AM
Archer

Er? I think you can.
May 26th, 2002, 03:17 AM
mrwilhelm

Sure you can. I found the answer to my question right here:

<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947</a>

Don't scare me like that man, you just about gave me heart palpitations! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
May 26th, 2002, 08:11 PM
EvilCabbage

Not that I dont trust Win2k and microsofts legendary l33t0r security, but if I was going to DSL (or any form of broadband with staticish IP's) i would look a decent router, and use a linux firewall. Aside from the security issues, the magical things you can do with an e-smith, or BSD, or Debian box are just fabulous.

My 0.2c
May 26th, 2002, 09:52 PM
mrwilhelm

Thanks for the info. Right now my network is phoneline based, so a router just isn't feasible unless I upgrade to a wireless network (running ethernet cables is not an option). I will probably go in that direction eventually, but for now I was simply planning on going with a software firewall. I've played with BlackIce Defender and Norton, but wasn't totally enamored with either, and Zone Alarm has a reputation for being a trouble maker (although I actually haven't toyed with it myself), so I'm definitely open to suggestions.
May 27th, 2002, 07:10 AM
weazel

just use the pppoe connection and install zonealarm on all the pcs...sure I would agree that a router is probably best this way works just fine.
May 27th, 2002, 11:41 AM
mrwilhelm

Thanks... that's exactly what I was planning on doing. Unfortunately, I did try Zone Alarm Pro 3.0 last night and my ICS machine immediately turned into Sybil. Apps weren't loading properly on startup, programs kept crashing (I hit ctrl-alt-del more times in one hour than I have in the last six months), even Zone Alarm itself would start, but wouldn't show up in the system tray. It was horrible. I'm not saying it was a bad recommendation on your part, though. I dug through all the customer reviews I could find before installing it, and either they were delighted beyond words, or it made their PC totally unstable. There seemed to be very little middle ground. Unfortunately for me I fell into the latter group. I'm quickly realizing that there's no such thing as the perfect software firewall. I'm just going to have to keep experimenting and eventually go with the lesser of all evils.
May 27th, 2002, 04:26 PM
WebHead

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by mrwilhelm:
Sure you can. I found the answer to my question right here:

<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947</a>

Don't scare me like that man, you just about gave me heart palpitations! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> <hr /></blockquote>Well I'll be..! Seeing that just about gave ME a heart attack! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
May 28th, 2002, 11:32 AM
Gollo

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Web:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by mrwilhelm:
Sure you can. I found the answer to my question right here:

<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947</a>

Don't scare me like that man, you just about gave me heart palpitations! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> <hr /></blockquote>Well I'll be..! Seeing that just about gave ME a heart attack! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> <hr /></blockquote>Hey webby you some kind of a newbie or something? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> LOL

PS The Spidey movie kicks BUTT
May 28th, 2002, 11:55 AM
WebHead

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Gollo:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Web:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by mrwilhelm:
Sure you can. I found the answer to my question right here:

<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q306947</a>

Don't scare me like that man, you just about gave me heart palpitations! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> <hr /></blockquote>Well I'll be..! Seeing that just about gave ME a heart attack! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> <hr /></blockquote>Hey webby you some kind of a newbie or something? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> LOL

PS The Spidey movie kicks BUTT<hr /></blockquote>Dude,... as far as I knew one could NOT use ICS on broadband. But hey,.. proved me wrong for sure!! I swear, I researched this one for hours and hours about a year ago, and could not find a way. But anyway, cool. And yeah that Spidey movie rocked. I can't wait for the DVD. :D
May 29th, 2002, 06:53 AM
NooNoo

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by mrwilhelm:
Thanks... that's exactly what I was planning on doing. Unfortunately, I did try Zone Alarm Pro 3.0 last night and my ICS machine immediately turned into Sybil. Apps weren't loading properly on startup, programs kept crashing (I hit ctrl-alt-del more times in one hour than I have in the last six months), even Zone Alarm itself would start, but wouldn't show up in the system tray. It was horrible. I'm not saying it was a bad recommendation on your part, though. I dug through all the customer reviews I could find before installing it, and either they were delighted beyond words, or it made their PC totally unstable. There seemed to be very little middle ground. Unfortunately for me I fell into the latter group. I'm quickly realizing that there's no such thing as the perfect software firewall. I'm just going to have to keep experimenting and eventually go with the lesser of all evils.<hr /></blockquote>Zone alarm will work with 2k and 2k pro very nicely, it does not, however play nice with 2k server or advanced server.
June 4th, 2002, 02:13 AM
mrwilhelm

Well, just to give you guys an update now that my DSL is active:

ICS may support DSL, but for me at least it's not behaving properly. Everything works fine on the host machine, but half the websites I try to visit on the client PC's won't load at all (including this one). I tried switching to a 3rd party proxie program (Analog X's Proxie), and that solves my surfing problem on the client machines, but I can't get the e-mail to work at all. The workaround for now is to use the proxie program for browsing on the client boxes and ICS for everything else. So far that seems to work just fine, but every fiber in my being says that it can't be good running these two together. Not to mention the fact that I don't care for workarounds and really prefer things to work as they should (yeah I know, who doesn't :) ).

I don't suppose any of you guys have any thoughts as to what might be going on here or how to fix it?
June 4th, 2002, 07:45 AM
Computer Tech NE

As far as ICS goes, I've usually had good luck with it, so I can't help you there. Uninstall and reinstall ICS would be a start. I would consider a dedicated firewall. If you have an old pc (p100 works just fine) all you would have to do is install a couple of network cards and ipcop(www.ipcop.org) and you have a firewall that will share your internet connection. You can also get a floppy disk based firewall(no hard drive needed) at <a href="http://www.zelow.no/floppyfw/" target="_blank">http://www.zelow.no/floppyfw/</a>
June 4th, 2002, 07:46 AM
Titchski

Not sure if you're interested in a h/w solution but I use the <a href="http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=28&prid=176" target="_blank">Linksys HPRO200</a> router at home. We rent right now so can't run CAT5 in the house. It works well, with no apparent problems.

If I remember rightly, finding one was a bit of a chore though, I think I ended up at Amazon. Of course, now that summers here, I ended up adding a wireless access point so the wife can work outside but it handles that with no problems too.

Hope this helps
June 4th, 2002, 02:51 PM
mrwilhelm

I may indeed eventually wind up going that route. Although my workaround seems to be doing the job just fine, I would like a more elegant permanent solution.

I'm actually starting to get the distinct impression that the PPPoE adapter supplied by my ISP (EnterNet 300) is the culprit. It seems to have incompatibility issues with every internet sharing solution I've tried (including Wingate and ICS). Considering my ISP is aggressively pushing a $300 home networking kit, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this was by design.

I tried a different 3rd party PPPoE adapter (RASPPPoE), but I couldn't get it to install or load properly. That was very disappointing, because I liked the fact that it seemlessly integrated itself into Win2K's normal networking.

If anyone knows of another 3rd party adapter I can try I will certainly give it a shot. One other possibility of course is to upgrade my ICS machine to Xp Pro and use that OS's native PPPoE adapter. I'd be willing to bet my first born that there won't be any incompatibility issues between that and ICS! :)
June 4th, 2002, 06:36 PM
mrwilhelm

Eureka! I found the answer to my ICS/ADSL problem at annoyances.org:

<a href="http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article04-107" target="_blank">http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article04-107</a>

It's definitely a worthy read for anyone planning on running ICS with a PPPoE based DSL connection. What really has me scratching my head though, is that although this is apparently a very common problem, the tech support for my ISP, Efficient Networks (EnterNet 300 software), and microsoft knew nothing about it. Is it just me, or does it seem like anytime you get beyond the very basics with a problem tech support becomes totally useless?
June 4th, 2002, 07:30 PM
imaeditedbysowulo

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by mrwilhelm:
Well, just to give you guys an update now that my DSL is active:

ICS may support DSL, but for me at least it's not behaving properly. Everything works fine on the host machine, but half the websites I try to visit on the client PC's won't load at all (including this one). I tried switching to a 3rd party proxie program (Analog X's Proxie), and that solves my surfing problem on the client machines, but I can't get the e-mail to work at all. The workaround for now is to use the proxie program for browsing on the client boxes and ICS for everything else. So far that seems to work just fine, but every fiber in my being says that it can't be good running these two together. Not to mention the fact that I don't care for workarounds and really prefer things to work as they should (yeah I know, who doesn't :) ).

I don't suppose any of you guys have any thoughts as to what might be going on here or how to fix it?<hr /></blockquote>To get AnalogX Proxy to work for your mail, enable mail in the proxy comfiguration, then on the client machine enter the host machine's IP address for your mail server. I haven't used it in almost a year, but it worked fine from what I can remember.