There are\u00a0five steps<\/b>\u00a0that you’ll need to take in order to share your cable modem connection:<\/p>\n Connect your computers into a\u00a0Local Area Network<\/b><\/a>\u00a0(LAN).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Configure the computers on your LAN to use the\u00a0TCP\/IP<\/b><\/a>\u00a0protocol that they’ll need to connect to the Internet.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Select and install the software or hardware that allows the single Internet connection to be shared.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Configure the other computers in your LAN so that they access the Internet via the shared connection.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Secure all the computers in your LAN against intruders.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n A few definitions might help minimize confusion as you read through the site:<\/p>\n <\/a>Sharing Server<\/span><\/b>\u00a0– This is the computer (or hardware device) that is directly connected to the Internet, generally via some sort of modem.\u00a0 This is also referred to as a Gateway or Router.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n <\/a>Sharing Client<\/span><\/b>\u00a0– This is the computer that is\u00a0not<\/b>\u00a0directly connected to the Internet.\u00a0 It depends on the Sharing Server for its connection.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Note that a Sharing Server or Client can be running MacOS, Windows 95\/98\/NT, or *nix (variants of Unix) operating systems.\u00a0 You can also\u00a0mix these various types of computers in the network<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0 The only requirement is that the computers have Ethernet interface cards and that they support the TCP\/IP protocol.<\/p>\n I recommend you\u00a0read through the steps before you start<\/b>\u00a0to do anything, since you may need to buy some additional hardware or software before you can get started.\u00a0 I also recommend that you\u00a0follow the steps in the order given above<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n
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Your mileage may vary…<\/h4>\n