internet sharing

[spockster]

i would like to share a dsl internet connection for a small group ,maybe 4 pc's each pc would only be used for access to the net .what are the different ways i could go about this ,i have read about diskless workstations ,could this be an option? all suggestions and links appreciated .thanks

[ph34r]

You could do it with dumb terminals, etc. but the easiest way is to just setup a linux box connected to the DSL, then use NAT/Masq to allow the other computers to connect thru the Linux box.

[st0rmrd]

I believe that in order to get a good answer you need to ask a good question. Not that your question is bad or anything, it just lacks some details.

First, think about it like this:
are the 4 PC's administer by 1 person (eg. you)?

are there going to be more than 1 users? How many? Which PCs are going to be used by what users?

are the going to be dedicated machines, for instance, a firewall, a file/print server, a media box, which are going to be needing internet connectivity?

what is the network going to look like (topology)? what level of security do you need?

what OS in what pc, are you going to use dual boot to switch OSs in any of the machines?

anyway, you may find more to think about before you revisit the above question.

What my point is? If you figure all the above then only one or two answers will by a real answer to question.

As for what you asked, there is probably one way to connect to the internet for every user in this forum, and when it comes to connecting 4 PC can make this a huge amount of possible solutions.

I'd start my research with IP_masquerading, which should be in most thorough linux books and any decent manual from a distribution (if yours came with a manual, check it). There should be lots of HOW-TOs for IP_masquerading.

Still, the easiest is a DSL/ADSL router, although I'm not so sure how well that works and what security comes with it. Someone else may be more helpful, but you really need to research what you are going to do with this network, before figuring out how to connect it to the internet.

If it's going to be, for example, 4 users, each user with his own pc, 3 windows, 1 linux, where the linux is always on and is not any kind of server, then your linux machine can be a firewall, the rest of the pcs serving the network as file servers (ftp, nfs or samba), print servers, media boxes, where all the mp3s are in one place, travelling through your LAN on-demand, etc.

Internet connectivity should and will be the least of your worries before you can sit and enjoy the power and flexibility of a home network :D

[scinerd]

another option would be to use a linksys router granted this is a non linux solution. They are pretty reliable with dhcp and a built in firewall. You can turn off the dhcp server if you want. They have a nice web interface so you can manage them. They come with single or four ports but you can put a hub/switch on them for more pc's. The other part is they run $50-%75 dollars so it's cheaper then pc's and if you are worried about reliability it's cheap enough that you can have a cold spare. here is a link so you can see it: http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11008648&m=488&cat=540&scat=1574

Other companies have similar products but linksys at least where I live is the most common.