In this article
If you want to share one Internet
connection among several computers, you have two options:
- Use Internet Connection
Sharing (ICS).
- Use a router.
First, you'll need one computer,
called the host computer, that's connected to the Internet and that has a
separate connection to the other computers on your network. You'll enable ICS
on the Internet connection. The other computers on your network then connect to
the host computer, and from there to the Internet through the host computer's
shared Internet connection.
A
network using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
To enable ICS, on your host
computer:
Click to open Network Connections.- Right-click the connection that you want to share, and
then click Properties.
If
you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the
password or provide confirmation. - Click the Sharing tab, and then select the Allow other
network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection check
box.
Notes
- The Sharing tab won't be available if you have only
one network connection.
- You can choose whether to select the Allow other
network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check
box.
- Optionally, to allow other network users to use
services running on your network, click Settings, and then select the
services you want to allow.
When you enable ICS, your local area network (LAN) connection gets a new static IP address and configuration, so you'll need to reestablish any TCP/IP connections between your host computer and the other
network computers.
To test your network and Internet
connection, see if you can share files between computers and make sure each
computer can reach a website.
To use ICS, make sure the local area
network (LAN) connection on each network computer is configured to get an IP
address automatically. To do this:
- Click to open Network Connections.
- Right-click the LAN connection, and then click
Properties. If
you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the
password or provide confirmation.
- Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or
Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6), and then click Properties.
- Click Obtain an IP address automatically or Obtain an
IPv6 address automatically, and then click OK.
The Internet options on your network
computers should also be configured for ICS. For more information, see Change Internet settings for ICS (Internet
Connection Sharing).
Don't use ICS on a network with domain controllers, DNS servers, gateways, or DHCP servers. And don't use ICS
on systems configured for static IP addresses.
If you create a virtual private network
(VPN) connection on your host computer to
a corporate network and then enable ICS on that connection, all Internet traffic is routed to the corporate network and all of the computers
on your home network can access the corporate network. If you don't enable ICS
on the VPN connection, other computers won't have access to the Internet or
corporate network while the VPN connection is active on the host computer.
If you share your Internet
connection on an ad hoc network, ICS will be disabled if:
- You disconnect from the ad hoc network.
- You create a new ad hoc network without disconnecting
from the ad hoc network for which you enabled ICS.
- You log off and then log back on (without disconnecting
from the ad hoc network).
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