In-Home LANs: Sharing Your Home Internet Connection

Note: Please check out the ACCC Web page based on this newsletter issue: Connecting from Home - Using Cable or DSL; we keep it updated.

All the connection methods we've discussed involve connecting one personal computer to one outside line. What do you do if you have more than one computer you want to surf with? With dialin connections, you just connect each computer's modem to the phone line and make sure you don't try to do online banking while your teenage daughter is busy ICQing. But you can do better. (Even with dialin connections.)

Doing better is a two-step process. Step one is a bit scary: Connect the computers in your house to your very own LAN. In-home LANs aren't nearly as hard to set up as you might think -- they definitely aren't just for geeks any more -- and they have a lot to offer. No more having to work in the basement just because that's where the printer is. No CD drive on your laptop? No problem; you can use the one on your son's PC. And you haven't lived until you've played a good game of multiplayer Quake.

You won't need a server, and unless you're still using DOS, you already have the software you need for a basic peer-to-peer LAN. You will have to buy some hardware, though. Most likely you'll need an Ethernet card for each PC. This usually means opening the computer's case, but you can avoid that on newer computers by using Ethernet-to-USB cables and on laptops by using PC Card Ethernet adapters. For a wired network, you'll also need a hub or switch. Or you can do without the hub and cables and use a wireless network kit or your home telephone lines. (Wireless LANs are easier to set up but they're slower.)

And don't worry, you won't have to search through aisles of hardware and end up with cables that won't work with your cards that won't work with your hub. There are ready-to-use LAN kits that come with everything, from a complete set of compatible hardware to instructions!

Step two: After you set up your LAN, you can use a proxy or NAT (Network Address Translation) to share your Internet connection. That sounds scary, too, huh? Don't worry, there's cheap and easy-to-use software that will take care of this for you. (Internet Connection Sharing, ICS, is built in to Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows 2000.)

In all, we're talking a couple hundred dollars and a few hours of your time.

Note: Some broadband service providers have extra-cost options that allow you to have more than one IP address; we pay $20 per month for four. In that case, you can just attach the modem to one port on your network hub and your allotted number of personal computers to the others. This requires an in-home LAN, but not a proxy or NAT.

Also note: It's possible that your agreement with your service provider explicitly forbids the use of your connection with more than one computer at a time. A proxy would still work in that case, but they are detectable and the company could conceivably decide to terminate your service if they find it. That's a monopoly for you.