CASE SOLVED - I.C.S: With 2 PCs & no router/Switch

Hi all,

recently, i am helping to connect a 2nd PC so that it can also access the internet. Let me call this PC "Client PC"

Due to some constraint in this project, no router will be bought so i'm installing a 2nd network adapter/card into the existing PC with internet access and enable ICS. Let me call this PC - "Main PC"

I have followed a guide as stated here - http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_ics/ (Including setting the IP addresss as stated on the 4th instruction on this page - http://www.practicallynetworked.co [...] setup2.htm)

Now, Client PC's ethernet outlet is linked with the 2nd, newly installed network adapter outlet at the Main PC with a CROSSOVER cat5e cable.

Both PC is able to detect and link to each other, the network icon notifications at the taskbar showns no issues. Everything is working fine as both computers sports the same Workgroup name and i can share files with each other w/o problems. Pinging each other isn't a problem also.

But i just can't get the Client PC to access the internet...So what's missing?

Thank you in advance!!

The dual home PC does not have packet forwarding turned on.

@Fred, thanks for taking the time to reply me

As stated in my first post, i used the step 4 in the guide in this link - http://www.practicallynetworked.co [...] setup2.htm to set the IP address.

My Main PC's 2nd network adapter is given an IP address of 192.168.0.1
My Client PC's network adapter is given an IP address of 192.168.0.2

I can ping my main pc's network card without problem, but what do ya meant by, "not the 192.168.x.x IP address", then how do ya ping it then?

@el0him, thanks for replying.

Your "dual home PC", do ya meant the Main PC in this case? Hmm...interesting, both of you mentioned packet forwarding...Where do i enable it or check if it is enabled?

Thank you!

That's deceptively true. NAT is a form of packet forwarding, and that's what I was referring to. The packet forwarding you're thinking of doesn't need to be enabled for ICS to function correctly. But like you said, if you wanted to route between networks instead of NAT from one to the other, then yes, you'd need to have packet forwarding turned on and NAT turned off. Can XP even do that? I know in Server you have to enable RRAS.

But that's beside the point. xanvier, you have two network cards. One is connected to your ISP and the other is connected to your 2nd computer. From the second computer, you want to ping the network card that is connected to the ISP. Hence, it will have a public IP address, not a private address like 192.168.x.x. Just go to your main PC on a DOS prompt and type IPConfig. You will see both your network cards, the 192.168.x.x one and the other one which will have a different IP address from your ISP. Take THAT address and try to ping it from your 2nd PC. This will do a very basic test to see if your main PC is forwarding packets from the internet NIC to the external NIC.

If it doesn't work, then you have issues with ICS. I guess try reenabling it. I didn't read the guide you linked, but all you should really have to do is check the sharing box on the properties of the Internet interface.

That's right.

No, he's trying to get his PC to do NAT, which is different than functioning as a router. Namely, there are no routing protocols with NAT and there is no address translation with routing. A router is bidirectional in the sense that it passes packets from either network A to network B OR network B to network A. NAT is unidirectional in the sense that it will only translate addresses from one network that are destined for the other; the public interface cannot route back to the NAT interface. Enabling ICS is all that should be necessary to do what he wants.

Apologies! It was already weekend and i can't test stuff out when i don't have access to them since everything is locked in the office.

1.

So may i know if the IP address to ping with the client PC in this case, is the one that i received when i pinged a website(i used www.yahoo.com and it returned "www.yahoo.akadns.net [209.131.36.158]) using the main PC?

2.

Alright, with my main PC, i pinged my LAN card that is connected to the net. The IP address in this particular card is 192.168.1.2. Here's the result -

Thank you and have a nice day! Sorry for the inconveniences caused!

PC1(main PC), which has 2 network cards;

1 of which(e1) connects to the (Internet) with a ADSL(DLINK-500T) modem(external ADSL modem with built in router - http://www.dlink.com.sg/products/?pid=310);

the 2nd card(e0) connects to PC2's(client PC) network card(e0) using a crossover cable.

This is the "ipconfig /all" for PC1(Main PC) -

Just as an extra, here's the "ipconfig /all" for PC2(client PC)(i was able to get it saved in a *.txt file and shared it using "file sharing" feature of winXP) -

Thank you very much and good day to ya!

Ok solved!! It works it works!

I followed ya advice of adding the DNS server address of 192.168.1.1 on the client PC into the "Preferred DNS server" entry.

Once this was enterred, with all the previous settings followed in the previous replies i gave, internet access is now available on the client PC.

Case solved!