Member Avatar for Cup of Squirrel

I have a laptop with a wirless card all set up for networking, it is connected to my host computer, the internet is shared, but I have no idea how to create an internet gateway. I am using Windows 2000 Pro and a Belkin F5D6050 ver.2 (drivers installed ;))

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A brief, practical addendum grounded in the thread above (notes tied to the original posts by and ):

Windows 2000 host-as-gateway vs. dedicated router

  • Two realistic approaches exist: let the Windows 2000 host act as the gateway (Internet Connection Sharing, ICS) or place a small hardware NAT router/AP between the DSL modem and the LAN. ’s gateway concept is correct; ICS automates NAT/DHCP for a simple home setup, while a hardware router is more stable and secure.

How ICS behaves (what was missing from earlier replies)

  • Enabling ICS on the Internet-connected adapter (Network Connections -> connection Properties -> Advanced -> "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection") typically makes the host’s LAN NIC become the gateway (usually 192.168.0.1) and runs a DHCP server for clients. The host must run the Internet Connection Sharing (SharedAccess) service. Wireless adapters on the host must support ad-hoc or SoftAP modes for client laptops to connect directly; some older cards only work in ad-hoc mode or cannot act as an AP, in which case a hardware AP/router is needed.

Quick troubleshooting checklist and verification commands

  • Confirm the laptop received an IP and gateway from the host: ipconfig /all.
  • Verify reachability to the host LAN address and then to an external IP: 
    ping 192.168.0.1
ping 8.8.8.8
  • Temporarily disable host firewall while testing, and ensure only one DHCP server is active on the LAN (ICS vs any router/AP).

Security and practical recommendation

  • Windows 2000 is long out of support (no security updates after 2010), so exposing it as an Internet-facing gateway is risky. For reliability and better Wi‑Fi security (WPA2+), use a small consumer router/AP as the gateway; use ICS only as a short-term or last-resort solution if the host’s drivers truly support the required wireless modes.

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Member Avatar for Member #2466

I think you may have a different interpretation of what an internet gateway is.

A gateway is a computer that is SERVING host computers...almost like a huge firewall server would. Let's assume that your Windows 2000 computer will operate as a gateway...we'll designate it COMPUTER A.

COMPUTER A will need to have 2 network cards to operate as a gateway...whether wireless or other. The first network card would be connected to your outside line...your modem...and would be exposed to the outside world. Obviously you don't want this one to serve your LAN its access because then people would be able to get at all you computers. This is why you would put another network card in and MANUALLY ASSIGN it an internet protocol (IP) address. When you manually assign it an address, you're giving the card a way to be different from you outside line.

You second card will be a beacon to your second computer (COMPUTER B). By plugging in COMPUTER B (or wirelessly detecting) you'll be able to see the manually assigned IP address given to the 2nd NIC in COMPUTER A. Now open up your network configurations for your COMPUTER B and look for "Gateway"

Enter in the manual IP address of your second Network Card on COMPUTER A into the blank for "Gateway". Ensure that your subnet is the same on both computers. Ensure that both computers are on the same workgroup. Type in a manual IP adress for COMPUTER B (usually 192.168.0.X where X is a number between 1 and 254). Reboot and you're set..

If you are unsure about any steps above, please post. We'll step you through it.

Member Avatar for Cup of Squirrel

Ok ok, here's my current home setup:

My HOST computer is using a U.S. Robotics 22Mbps Wireless PCI and has shared broadband DSL (always-on) connection to the net. Currently there are two other computers connected, one using another U.S. Robotics and the other using NetGear.

The reason I was confused about gateway is on my network connections I have (under Internet gateway) BTopenworld Broadband on DAVE (my host computer's name).

Personally I dont mind if the wireless card on the HOST computer can be accessed by anyone (with the right settings) becuase we live in a crummy place where no one is going to loiter outside our house ;)

Anyway im not exactly sure how to do all this, becuase the other two PCs were set up by a friend who passed away quite a while ago (coincidence?) so I have no help whatsover in setting up the connection for my Laptop. Everything has been configured for connecting to the host computer, there is signal strength in the site status and the icon in the task tray shows that it is connected, but I am still unsure on how to allow my Laptop to connect to the net, using the LAN configuration. Windows internet HAS been set up for connecting via LAN.

Member Avatar for joshjeigo

i am new to this, if anyones out there, please i need to know how to build an internet gateway

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