Today I will be showing you how to enable Internet Connection Sharing on your host
computer and every other client computers connected via LAN will be able to share the connection.
By now, i expect that you already know how to connect two PCs running Window 7 to a home network.
Here is what you need to do:
- Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, clicking Network and Sharing Center, and then clicking Manage network connections.
- Right-click the connection that you want to share, and then click Properties. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
- Click the Sharing tab, and then select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection check box.
The
Sharing tab will not be available if you have only one network connection.
- If desired, you can also select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.
- Optionally, to allow other network users to use services running on your network, click Settings and select the services you want to allow.
When you enable ICS, your local area
network (LAN) connection gets a new static IP address and configuration, so
you'll need to reestablish any TCP/IP connections between your host computer
and the other network computers.
To test your network and Internet
connection, see if you can share files between computers and make sure each
computer can reach a website.
Configure
TCP/IP
To use ICS, make sure the local area
network (LAN) connection on each network computer is configured to get an IP
address automatically. To do this:
- Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button
,
clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, clicking Network
and Sharing Center, and then clicking Manage network connections. - Right-click the LAN connection, and then click
Properties.
If
you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the
password or provide confirmation. - Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6), and then click Properties.
- Click Obtain an IP address automatically or Obtain an IPv6 address automatically.
The Internet options on your network
computers should also be configured for ICS. For more information, see Change Internet settings for ICS (Internet Connection
Sharing).
Do not use ICS on a network with
domain controllers, DNS servers, gateways, or DHCP servers. And don't use ICS
on systems configured for static IP addresses.
ICS
and VPN connections
If you create a virtual private
network (VPN) connection on your host computer to a corporate network and then
enable ICS on that connection, all Internet traffic is routed to the corporate
network and all of the computers on your home network can access the corporate
network. If you don't enable ICS on the VPN connection, other computers will
not have access to the Internet or corporate network while the VPN connection
is active on the host computer.
ICS
and ad hoc networks
If you share your Internet
connection on an ad hoc network, ICS will be disabled if:
- You disconnect from the ad hoc network.
- You create a new ad hoc network without disconnecting from the ad hoc network for which you enabled ICS.
- You log off and then log back on (without disconnecting from the ad hoc network).
