Azroc Networking

Internet Connection Sharing In XP Part 1

Configuring Internet Connection Sharing

Windows XP Internet Connection Sharing setup is very straightforward. It is also quite similar to Windows 2000 Internet Connection Sharing. To configure ICS, you need to configure both an ICS host and the clients on the network.

ICS Host Configuration



1.
Click Start, then Settings, then Control Panel, and then Network Connections.

 
2.
Right-click the connection that you use to connect to the Internet. Click Properties on the context menu.

 
3.
Click the Advanced tab.

 
4.
Under Internet Connection Sharing, put a check in the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box, shown in Figure 8.5.

 

 

Figure 8.5. Enabling ICS

 


 


5.


Click OK.

 

Client Setup

There are a variety of options for configuring clients to use the ICS host you have just set up.

  • DHCP: If your clients are configured to use DHCP (the Obtain an IP address automatically option is selected in TCP/IP Properties), no additional TCP/IP configuration work is required on your part. If not, simply configure all clients on your network with this setting.

  • Static Addresses: You can assign a static IP address between 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.254 (192.168.0.2 is used by the ICS host), a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, and a default gateway of 192.168.0.1.

  • Network Setup Wizard: Run the Network Setup Wizard to configure your clients.

To run the Network Setup Wizard for ICS:

1.
Start the Network Setup Wizard.

 
2.
The Wizard's Welcome screen, shown in Figure 8.6, appears. Click Next to continue.

 

 

Figure 8.6. Welcome to the Network Setup Wizard

 


 
3.
The Wizard prompts you to review the Preliminary Checklist. If you have completed all items on the checklist, click Next. If after reviewing them you discover you have not completed all the items on the list, click Cancel to exit the Wizard. When you have completed the checklist, restart the Wizard.

 
4.
Windows XP detects the ICS host and you are prompted to select that connection, as shown in Figure 8.7. Select Yes, use the existing shared connection for this computer's Internet access (recommended), and click Next.

 

 

Figure 8.7. Select the connection to the ICS host.

 


 
6.
If the computer has more than one network connection, the screen shown in Figure 8.8 appears. Select Let me choose the connections to my network and click Next.

 

 

Figure 8.8. Manually select the network connection to be used.

 


 
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