can easily share your DSL or cable modem with all the computers on your network. However, you may have to install some hardware to make sure that all the computers can connect to the modem. In addition, you need to decide whether to use a router to effect sharing.
Bridging the wiring gap
DSL and cable modems are Ethernet devices. If your network is connected with Ethernet cable, you don't have to bridge the wiring gap, and you can move on to making a decision between multiple network interface cards (NICs) or a router.
If your network is connected by phoneline, powerline, or wireless connections, you have to create a bridge for the network so that it can cross over to the Ethernet modem. For phoneline or powerline networks, the device is called a bridge (you purchase the bridge for the specific type of wiring you need, such as phoneline or powerline). For wireless networks, the device is called an access point (AP), but it's actually a bridge. In addition, some routers are also bridges. A wireless router is an example of this type of device.
The other connection type is always Ethernet, which means that the device has an RJ-45 port that accepts a connector at the end of Ethernet cable. The other end of the Ethernet cable is connected to an Ethernet device, usually a DSL or cable modem. However, you could connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to a hub or switch that's being used to create an Ethernet network. That's a way to join a non-Ethernet network to an Ethernet network. Joining disparate networks is what bridges do. Figure 1 illustrates the way a bridge works. Of course, if your network is wireless, instead of wires on the network and the bridge, you have antennas.
Figure 1: A bridge has two connection types so that it can merge disparate connectors.
The documentation that comes with the bridge provides detailed instructions for making connections and configuring the device.
Routing the network to the modem
A router is a device that moves data across multiple networks, and it's designed to be able to determine the correct target for data packets that are moving across those networks. A router is always connected to at least two discrete networks, and most of the time, one of those networks is the Internet. A router always acts as a gateway: the connection point between two networks. In your home network, you can use a router to let every computer on the network share a DSL or cable modem, setting up the router to connect your network to the other network (the Internet).
Acting as a gateway, routers have at least two connectors — one for your network and one for the Internet network. The connector for the Internet side of the gateway is usually labeled WAN (which stands for wide area network), and the connector for your home network is usually labeled LAN (for local area network).
Ethernet routers
Ethernet routers connect all the computers on an Ethernet network to the Internet. You can connect your already in-place network to the router, or you can use the router to connect the network (letting the router act as a concentrator).
The following instructions apply to the following scenarios:
Your Ethernet network is already connected to a concentrator.
Your non-Ethernet network is connected to a bridge.
Use the following steps to share your DSL/cable modem with all the computers on your network:
1. Connect Ethernet cable between the hub/Ethernet connector on the bridge and the LAN connector on the router.
Consult the documentation for the router to find the technical specifications for that connection. You may have to use a crossover cable instead of a regular patch cable, and you may have to use the Uplink port on the hub instead of a regular computer port.
2. Connect Ethernet cable between the modem and the WAN connector on the router.
Consult the documentation for the router to find out whether you need to use a crossover cable or a regular patch cable.
Follow the instructions in the manufacturer's documentation to configure the router. The router accepts IP addresses from your ISP and then distributes IP addresses to the computers that are on the network. Your ISP sees only the router, and the individual computers on the network are invisible to the Internet (which includes your ISP).
Non-Ethernet routers
New on the market are routers for wireless and phoneline networks. These routers act as both bridges and routers. If you have a wireless network, the router has antennas to manage data to and from the wireless network (the LAN) and an RJ-45 connector to manage data to and from the DSL/cable modem.
For phoneline networks, a phoneline router connects to your LAN the same way your computers do — by running a telephone wire between the PNA port and a telephone wall jack. The phoneline router connects to the DSL/cable modem by running Ethernet cable between the router's WAN port and the modem. Because it's a router, not a bridge, the phoneline router provides IP addresses for the network computers and acts as a gateway to make the LAN invisible to the Internet.
Configuring the router
A router requires configuration to perform its tasks. It doesn't have a keyboard or screen, so you must configure it from one of the computers that it's connected to. You must enter the same type of information as you would have entered if your DSL device or cable modem had been connected to a single computer. That means entering an IP address or telling the router to obtain an address automatically from your ISP. Use the instructions from your ISP in addition to the instructions that came with the router.
Two NICs instead of a router
If you had a DSL/cable modem before you built your network, one computer on the network already has a NIC, and Ethernet cable connects that NIC to the modem. You can use Internet Connection Sharing to share the modem over the network. The computer that holds the modem becomes the gateway, with a connection to the modem and a separate connection to the network. This configuration requires two NICs — one for the network and one for the modem. The network NIC matches the wiring type of the network (Ethernet, wireless, phoneline, or powerline).
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