[X Newbies] Internet Sharing?

[Florin Alexander Neumann]

On Sunday, Aug 31, 2003, at 13:34 Canada/Eastern, John Wilson wrote:

> I don't think this will work with two ethernet cards, as you described 
> [...]

Actually, it should. It's not clear why Jack's setup doesn't work -- he 
needs to post more details -- but that's how it's supposed to work.

> I  believe you'll need a router between the cable modem and the two 
> Mac's, which is what I use.


On Sunday, Aug 31, 2003, at 14:19 Canada/Eastern, Jerry Wilson wrote:

> This is especially true if you need to be on the Internet at the same 
> time.


On Sunday, Aug 31, 2003, at 14:26 Canada/Eastern, Albert D'Amanda wrote:

> Correct


I'm sorry, but that's incorrect.

You can use a router, which functions as a gateway between your LAN and 
the internet.

Or you can use Jaguar's Internet Sharing feature (for a quick 
description, simply search Help for "sharing" and "internet"), and it 
doesn't require that only one machine be on the internet; on the 
contrary, the gateway Mac (the Mac which is doing the sharing) has to 
be on the internet, otherwise it will have nothing to share.

A router costs extra, but it offers a series of very useful additional 
features. Sharing the Internet connection through a Mac is cheaper, but 
it has a number of downsides; first and foremost, the Mac doing the 
sharing has to be on -- if it goes down for any reason, good-bye 
connection. But it can do something a router can't, such as share a 
dial-up connection (which is not likely to be often used) or function 
as a software AirPort base station (which is much more useful). So, 
using this feature you can build more complex and flexible networks.

So, which should you use? In most cases, for the gateway between your 
LAN and the internet, a router. If you can afford at least two Macs and 
broadband, you can definitely afford the $50 a router costs nowadays, 
and the security features alone are worth it.

So why isn't Jack's setup working? It depends on his Macs and his 
Ethernet cards. It could be that he requires a crossover Ethernet cable 
between the two Macs. It could be that he didn't turn on DCHP on the 
client Mac. Or perhaps some other reasons -- we can't tell at this 
point.

f