Sharing wireless broadband access between multiple computers?

A friend of mine who lives in an apartment in the Silicon Valley
signed up with a wireless broadband service provider. I assume that
this service provider has set up several access points through the
apartment building. He is accessing the Internet through a wireless
network adapter.

From time to time, he needs to have another computer access the
Internet. Without subscribing to the service a second time, how can
each share his connection?

Is there any device that combines a wireless adapter and a
router/switch at the other end?

He has a small home network. Can he do something through that?

By the way, the computer that has access to the Internet now is a
Windows 98 computer. The one that he needs to have access is a
Windows 2000 computer.

Thanks!

Sam
(Please post your replies here. My e-mail address is spam proofed.)

(E-Mail Removed) (S.V.Proff) wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed) m:


>
> By the way, the computer that has access to the Internet now is a
> Windows 98 computer. The one that he needs to have access is a
> Windows 2000 computer.

Take the Win2K machine and make it the wireless one and install a wire
NIC in the machine.

You can turn on ICS on the wireless card and plug a stand alone hub or
switch into the wire NIC and plug the Win 98 into that. And the Win 2k
machine will be the gateway device and share the connection.

However, the ISP may be able to detect the MAC from the wired NIC and
block it. In that case, you would have to have the second NIC's MAC
provisioned with the ISP so that the additional machine can access the
ISP's network. That's something like $5.00 per each machine that is to be
connected applied to the total monthly charge for the Internet
connection. And most ISP(s) do it in that manner for additional
connections.

I don't see why you cannot do it with a wireless connection, because you
can sure do it with an all wired connection.

You should ask the ISP if there can be additional connections with a
small fee.

You may be able to put a second wireless card in the Win 2K and one in
the Win 98 and use the Adhock mode on both cards and share the connection
with the other wireless card that way as well, at least I think you can
do that.

Duane

S.V.Proff <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> A friend of mine who lives in an apartment in the Silicon Valley
> signed up with a wireless broadband service provider. I assume that
> this service provider has set up several access points through the
> apartment building. He is accessing the Internet through a wireless
> network adapter.
>
> From time to time, he needs to have another computer access the
> Internet. Without subscribing to the service a second time, how can
> each share his connection?
>
> Is there any device that combines a wireless adapter and a
> router/switch at the other end?

1 Wireless access point (e.g., ME102) in client mode
plus
1 Garden-variety broadband router (no wireless capability required).

Configure the WAP for the SSID, etc., of the building wireless network, then
grab a patch cord and connect it to the WAN port on the broadband router.
Tell the broadband router to use DHCP or whatever the wireless network in
the building requires. Then connect all your local machines to its LAN ports.

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/

Thank you Duane and Miguel.

I will ask my friend to try both ideas.

Miguel, I have some questions about the method you're suggesting. I
will ask them as a reply to your posting.

Thanks!

Sam
(Please post your replies here. My e-mail address is spam proofed.)


(E-Mail Removed) (S.V.Proff) wrote in message news:<(E-Mail Removed) om>...
> A friend of mine who lives in an apartment in the Silicon Valley
> signed up with a wireless broadband service provider. I assume that
> this service provider has set up several access points through the
> apartment building. He is accessing the Internet through a wireless
> network adapter.
>
> From time to time, he needs to have another computer access the
> Internet. Without subscribing to the service a second time, how can
> each share his connection?
>
> Is there any device that combines a wireless adapter and a
> router/switch at the other end?
>
> He has a small home network. Can he do something through that?
>
> By the way, the computer that has access to the Internet now is a
> Windows 98 computer. The one that he needs to have access is a
> Windows 2000 computer.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Sam
> (Please post your replies here. My e-mail address is spam proofed.)

(E-Mail Removed) (Miguel Cruz) wrote in message news:<EfzDb.3076$(E-Mail Removed)>...
> S.V.Proff <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > A friend of mine who lives in an apartment in the Silicon Valley
> > signed up with a wireless broadband service provider. I assume that
> > this service provider has set up several access points through the
> > apartment building. He is accessing the Internet through a wireless
> > network adapter.
> >
> > From time to time, he needs to have another computer access the
> > Internet. Without subscribing to the service a second time, how can
> > each share his connection?
> >
> > Is there any device that combines a wireless adapter and a
> > router/switch at the other end?
>
> 1 Wireless access point (e.g., ME102) in client mode
> plus
> 1 Garden-variety broadband router (no wireless capability required).
>
> Configure the WAP for the SSID, etc., of the building wireless network, then
> grab a patch cord and connect it to the WAN port on the broadband router.
> Tell the broadband router to use DHCP or whatever the wireless network in
> the building requires. Then connect all your local machines to its LAN ports.
>
> miguel

Miguel, are you saying that ME102 would become the signals from the
other access points that the ISP has put throughout the building and
rebroadcast it?

I did not know that access points are capable of doing that.


Sam
(Please post your replies here. My e-mail address is spam proofed.)

S.V.Proff <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Miguel, are you saying that ME102 would become the signals from the
> other access points that the ISP has put throughout the building and
> rebroadcast it?

The ME102 (and many other access points) have a client mode where they sort
of work the opposite to a normal access point function.

Normally, an access point is connected to a physical network and bridges it
out to the airwaves, so that other client machines (i.e., workstations and
laptops) can connect wirelessly to that wired network.

In client mode, on the other hand, it acts like a laptop's PC card in that
it connects to a remote access point that is making a network available.
Then it passes that network out through its ethernet port.

So you can connect that ethernet port to a broadband router, which will just
think that it's a cable modem or whatever.

There are probably devices that make this process even more straightforward
but I'm not familiar with them.

There are also access points that act as repeaters, but they don't provide
the router function of assigning IP addresses, so each client that connects
through the repeater would have to be able to get a valid address from the
pre-existing network.

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/