Internet Connection Sharing with DSL and Microsofts ICS for Win98SE, WinMe, etc.

   There is currently one machine used as my main internet computer and it has a DSL modem
installed as well as a 56K Flex modem, but this may change soon if I move the DSL modem to the
computer which runs my Voicemail making it a Voicemail Server, Print Server and Internet
Gateway - answering calls and faxes using the analog part of the line, directing print jobs,
 while accessing the Internet using the DSL part of the same phone line.

    After much research, I've finally been able to get all of the computers on my network to
share my DSL connection and all access the Internet at the same time.
   I accomplished this with the combination of a Personal Firewall Software which supports
"Internet Connection Sharing" and a Proxy Server Software.    The DSL modem is only seen as a
PPPoe connection (A network Connection) by the computer, but the Proxy server Software
binds all network connections to the TCP/IP protocol thus giving it an IP address which is
what the Internet Connection Sharing option offered under Win98se could not do.

    In order to use the proxy server, I had to add the TCP/IP protocol (in addition to Netbeui
and IPX) to each of the Networked comuters and assign them IP addresses as opposed to letting
the computer automatically assign IP addresses.
 
   The Personal Firewall Software also allowed me to designate which computer would be the
Internet Gateway and which would be clients accessing the Gateway computer.
   The Proxy server software runs only on the Internet Gateway computer.   The proxy software
doesn't fully support all Internet Programs and needs (Napster, ICQ, etc..) but it is good
for starters since it's better than having no Internet Connection Sharing at all - DSL in this
case.   I'm still tweaking it so I may be able to get it to do most of what I want. 

  A D D E D :-->   8/26/2001  [USING MICROSOFTS ICS FOR WIN98SE AND LATER, TO SHARE CONNECTION]   


    I've been trying to figure out how to share my 56k Dialup connection with the
rest of the computers on my home network and along the way I figured out how to use Microsofts
new ICS "Internet Connection Sharing" feature which is full sharing, proxy server, but no "Nat" -
all in one - and it actually does work but it depends on your connection type and setup.   This 
new feature is built into Win98SE and all windows OS releases after that one.
    Microsofts ICS seems very very mysterious first, not to mention sounding so simple to use
but after almost 8 hours on setting it up, tweaking network setting, and searching the internet
for how to sites...all non-stop, I found out quite the reverse.
    Microsoft doesn't explain the use of the nice little program that well, and as a result 
there are quite a lot of problems just getting it to work, but then again after searching the 
web for information on it and how-to-do sites, I found that there are many many beta-testers 
out there who have succeeded in getting it to work with various type connections and setups.

   Because of the amount of information available, I won't duplicate it on my site, but rather
I will give you the most useful links that I found in 8 hours of searching and reading...

   
    First site I explored which referred     -    www.internet-sharing.com
  me to other sites.

    Main site for ICS info with links to     -    www.practicallynetworked.com
  many other sites.

    Another main site for ICS info but this  -    www.annoyances.org/exec/show/ics 
  site is based on a book which has been 
  written on the topic.  
   
    This is what I consider a secondary site -    www.sohointer.net/howto/ics.htm
  and could also be the primary site but the      www.sohointer.net
  links to carry you around the site are 
  just not there visibly but rather 
  invisible to an extent sinc you have to
  navigate around with the "UP", "Down",
  "Back", and "Next" links at the bottom of
  each screen not knowing where they will 
  take you in a "Big Maze"....

    This last site is just loaded with information with anything from building/setting up your
  network from the ground up, and then moves forward to programming for file and print sharing,
  ,different types and configurations of network you could set up, and finally different ways
  to set up connection sharing.    This is the site that actually ended my 8 hour ordeal of 
  trying to get Microsofts ICS feature to work and only afterward after following the links 
  at the bottom of the page did I find the "Rest of the goodies" so to speak.