Connecting to ADSL with XP

General

Overview

RASPPPoE

Configuring a Server or stand alone PC

Networking with XP

Configuring the second network card

Activating Internet Connection Sharing

Configuring the client PCs

Tweaking MTU - A necessary step to allow Internet browsing on the clients

Summary

Overview

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Note: If you're using a router the information below is not relevant.

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XP comes ready made for ADSL and has it's own built-in login client.
RASPPPoE is an alternate, freeware PPPoE client that many people find easier to use and preferable when ICS is to be installed. See the RASPPPoE guide for more on this alternative.
To share an ADSL Internet connection using Windows XP's built in Internet Connection Sharing, you'll need a PC to act as a Server to handle the incoming connection and to distribute that to the other computer/s.
The Server will need two Network cards. One to connect to the Modem and one to connect to the internal network.
If you're just connecting to one other PC without a hub, you can only achieve that by using a crossover cable. If you're connecting via a hub or switch, you'll need to use a standard, straight through cable as the hub provides the crossover.
Older coaxial Networks are exactly the same to configure in principal.

Note: ADSL uses Point to Point over Ethernet, not Ethernet, so it's possible to get away a single NIC in the Server by plugging the modem straight into a hub. You'll need a 10 or 10/100 hub (It won't work in a 100 base hub) and plug it into the uplink port. If you don't have an uplink port, or it's already used, you'll need a crossover cable.

RASPPPoE

RASPPPoE is an alternate, freeware PPPoE client that many people find preferable when ICS is to be installed. See the RASPPPoE on Windows 2000 guide for more on this alternative. The instructions are virtually identical for XP.

Configuring a Server or Stand Alone PC

We'll start by configuring the NIC for the modem. Once it’s physically fitted and the drivers are installed, plug the modem in.

What we're going to do here, you might find a little unusual at first. We're going to assign a static IP address to this Network card. Yep, that’s right! The reason for this is that ADSL uses Point to Point over Ethernet and not Ethernet. This means that the TCP/IP on the NIC isn't used. Assigning a static IP will stop the PC trying to find one on start up and while it's running, which can cause it to run slower than necessary.

If you're plugging the modem directly into a hub without a second Network Card, then use 192.168.0.1 instead of 10.0.0.3 on the adaptor.

Go to your "Control Panel"

Choose "Network and Dial-Up Connections"

Right-click and select Properties of the Adaptor plugged into the modem

Select properties of TCP/IP

Tick "Use the following IP Address" and give it any internal IP (suggest 10.0.0.3)

Set the subnet mask to 255.0.0.0

“OK”

Don't restart if prompted.

Now to activate the login client

In the "Network Tasks" Menu, select "Create New Connection".

Click Next

Select the default "Connect to the Internet" and "next".

Select "Set up my connection Manually" and "next"

Select "Connect using a Broadband connection that requires a username & password" and "Next"

Give the connection a name (anything) and "next"

Enter your username & password (BigPond users, don't forget @bigpond after your username)

And "Finish"

A connection Window will popup. Select "properties"

Select the Networking Tab. It should say Point to Point over Ethernet in "Type of Broadband Connection"

Select "properties" of TCP/IP protocol

Select "advanced" and select the DNS tab

Check "Append these DNS suffixes (in order)" and add your ISP's DNS suffix. BigPond is vic.bigpond.net.au

Then click ok to everything to close it all, click "connect" and you're laughing.

* Other Broadband users will need to consult their ISP for DNS details. Often they're mentioned in on-line FAQs.

To enable "dial on demand" (So it automatically connects when you open Internet Explorer etc)

Go to control panel

Select “Internet options”

Select connections and tick “always dial my default”

Select the connection that you just set up. (Whatever you named it before)

Make it the default.

That's it for a stand alone PC. Continue ahead for Networking.

These principals will generally apply to any NAT based solution like Sygate, Winroute and Win2K Server's NAT application as well as ICS.

Now for the other Network Card

As above, go to your "Control Panel"

Choose Network & Dial-Up Connections

Right-click the network card which is connected to your LAN.

Click "Properties"

Give it a static IP of 192.168.0.1

Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0

Note: For the Computers to all "see" each other in Network Neighbourhood, otherwise known as "My Network Places", ensure file & printer sharing is active on this card and Enable Netbios over TCP under the WINs tab.

Enabling ICS

All that needs to be done to share the connection, is to enable sharing on the Dial-Up Entry created earlier.

Go to Network & Dial-Up Connections in Control Panel

Right-click on the dial-up icon created by the XP Wizard

Select Properties

Select the Advanced Tab

Tick all the boxes (The top one's for the built-in Firewall to keep the hackers out)

Client Configuration

Go to your Control Panel

Choose "Network and Dial-Up Connections"

Right-click and select Properties of the Adaptor plugged your hub or other PC

Select properties of TCP/IP

Ensure everything is set to Automatic

“DNS” as below *

“OK”

Restart if prompted.

* Telstra users: Just add "vic.bigpond.net.au" as a domain suffix (Eventually other states will be added - nsw, vic, qld, sa, wa etc, but for now it's vic for everyone) as well as "bigpond.net.au" to all the client PCs. win98/ME . Win2K .

* Other Broadband users will need to consult their ISP for these details. Often they're mentioned in on-line FAQs.

For email: Just put your mail server's name in the SMTP field in the relevant email address properties. In Outlook Express, it should look like this for BigPond users.
You will need to do this whether your email account is with your Broadband ISP or not. Any replies will come to you via your usual mail server. So it'll use your ISP’s to send and the other to receive. Your contacts won't know the difference.

Note: If you want static IPs on the LAN, you'll need to install the server's IP address as a gateway on the client PCs and also as a DNS search order.
This is also often a good method to get around some inexplicable difficulties.

Note: For the Computers to all "see" each other in Network Neighbourhood, otherwise known as "My Network Places", ensure file & printer sharing is active on this card.

Tweaking MTU

Using NAT applications like ICS or Winroute with ADSL usually will mean you’ll be able to ping websites on the client PCs but won’t be able to access them with your browser, although some sites like microsoft.com may still be accessible for some reason.
This is a problem caused by nonstandard MTU settings that are particular to ADSL.

There are several ways around this. The easiest way is to download the latest version of Drtcp and set it as below on the clients –

Then click “apply” and “exit” and reboot and you should be away.

Adjusting MTU can also be done manually using regedit. More info on this and applications for Macs here.

Summary

The end result should look like this -
(Any settings not mentioned should be left at default)

The Server

Adaptor 1 connected to the modem:

TCP/IP set 10.0.0.3 Subnet 255.0.0.0
File & Printer Sharing on tcp/ip disabled
No DNS or Gateways enabled
(Win2k disable netbios over TCP & LMHosts)

Adaptor 2 connected to the LAN

TCP/IP set to 192.168.0.1, Subnet 255.255.255.0
File & Printer Sharing Enabled
No DNS or Gateways enabled

Adaptor 3 The Dial Up Adaptor

TCP/IP set to obtain automatically
File & Printer Sharing disabled
DNS Suffix of your ISP's (BigPond is vic.bigpond.net.au & bigpond.net.au)
No Gateways
(disable netbios over TCP & LMHosts)
ICS with this adaptor as the one that accesses the Net and adaptor 2 - the LAN

The client/s

TCP/IP set to obtain automatically
File & Printer Sharing Enabled
DNS Suffix of your ISP's (BigPond is vic.bigpond.net.au & bigpond.net.au)
No Gateways
* DrTCP with MTU set to 1454

Alternatively -

Issue sequential static IPs in TCP/IP - 192.168.0.2, 192.168.0.3 etc. Subnet 255.255.255.0
File & Printer Sharing Enabled
DNS Suffix of your ISP's
DNS Server Search Order 192.168.0.1
Gateway 192.168.0.1
* DrTCP with MTU set to 1454