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Installing ICS - Architeching Your Network
ICS, or Internet Connection Sharing,
is microsoft’s solution to sharing internet
access on your home network. A version of ICS server is included in
Win98SE, WinME, Windows 2000, and WindowsXP (home and professional
editions). This article covers only broadband connections (cable/dsl) but
can be adapted to dial-up modems very easily.
ICS can be installed on most Home
Networks in four steps
Architect Your Home Network for
ICS
Architecting means understanding where Microsoft ICS server fits
into the physical layout of your home network. It is important to
realize that ICS needs to be run on only one computer. This computer,
referred to as your ‘ICS computer’ or ‘server’ must be turned on and
running for any computer on the network to access the Internet. This is
because the other computers go though the ICS computer to reach
the internet.
The ICS computer needs two
network adapters installed (or one network adapter and a modem for a dial-up internet connection). One network adapter
will go to the cable/dsl modem and the other will go to
your personal network. If you are out of IRQ's, slots, or dont want to
open your computer, a USB type network network adapter will work just
fine.
Here are a couple of examples of ICS network
configurations
If you have an
internal DSL or cable
modem, you only need one network adapter. Your internal dsl/cable modem
will act as your other network adapter.
Once you have determined
how your Microsoft ICS based network should look, put it together physically and
install your network card drivers. Then move on to the next section.
My main ICS server
computer runs
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