ICS or Bridging?

This spring I shared a broadband connection from a laptop in Mexico by
using ICS from the PCI broadband card to the ethernet port. I then
used a router as an A/P only. The laptop is underpowered and
performance was lousy.

I am wondering if I can use bridging to pass the broadband signal
directly to the ethernet and then use the router as a true router? I
tried it once quickly and it appeared to not work. Anyone have
knowlege of such bridging?

Thanks, Dave

Dave <davem98271@live.com> wrote in news:36916f39-6fa4-434f-aec0-
f488a3557e0d@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

> This spring I shared a broadband connection from a laptop in Mexico by
> using ICS from the PCI broadband card to the ethernet port. I then
> used a router as an A/P only. The laptop is underpowered and
> performance was lousy.
>
> I am wondering if I can use bridging to pass the broadband signal
> directly to the ethernet and then use the router as a true router? I
> tried it once quickly and it appeared to not work. Anyone have
> knowlege of such bridging?
>
> Thanks, Dave

IS there a reason you don't want the rtr first ?

On Jul 13, 6:09 pm, DanS <t.h.i.s.n.t.h....@a.d.e.l.p.h.i.a.n.e.t>
wrote:
> Dave <davem98...@live.com> wrote in news:36916f39-6fa4-434f-aec0-
> f488a3557...@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
>
> > This spring I shared a broadband connection from a laptop in Mexico by
> > using ICS from the PCI broadband card to the ethernet port. I then
> > used a router as an A/P only. The laptop is underpowered and
> > performance was lousy.
>
> > I am wondering if I can use bridging to pass the broadband signal
> > directly to the ethernet and then use the router as a true router? I
> > tried it once quickly and it appeared to not work. Anyone have
> > knowlege of such bridging?
>
> > Thanks, Dave
>
> IS there a reason you don't want the rtr first ?

I want the router to handle routing and DHCP not ICS on the laptop.

Dave

> I am wondering if I can use bridging to pass the broadband signal

What signal is this? Where is it coming from? From a wired connection or
wireless? The term "broadband" usually means WIRED, not wireless.

> directly to the ethernet and then use the router as a true router? I
> tried it once quickly and it appeared to not work. Anyone have
> knowlege of such bridging?

ICS is often more trouble than it's worth. It requires setting up a
specific IP address on the machine doing the sharing. This is fine if
you're just sharing one connection, but with multiples it gets to be an
adventure.

What connection is being used to get to the internet?

On Jul 14, 6:51 am, "Bill Kearney" <wkearne...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > I am wondering if I can use bridging to pass the broadband signal
>
> What signal is this? Where is it coming from? From a wired connection or
> wireless? The term "broadband" usually means WIRED, not wireless.
>
> > directly to the ethernet and then use the router as a true router? I
> > tried it once quickly and it appeared to not work. Anyone have
> > knowlege of such bridging?
>
> ICS is often more trouble than it's worth. It requires setting up a
> specific IP address on the machine doing the sharing. This is fine if
> you're just sharing one connection, but with multiples it gets to be an
> adventure.
>
> What connection is being used to get to the internet?

The broadband connection is from Telcel via a PCI broadband wireless
card. I just want to pass this connection seamlessly thru the laptop
to the broadband ethernet port of a router. That's the question. I
don't have a remotely similar lashup here at home to experiment with.
I'll be going bach to Mexico in a few months and would like to have a
plan for better sharing.

Dave

> The broadband connection is from Telcel via a PCI broadband wireless
> card.

PCI card? Don't you mean mini-PCI or ExpressCard? There aren't many
laptops with an actual PCI slot.

> I just want to pass this connection seamlessly thru the laptop
> to the broadband ethernet port of a router.

And people in Hell just want ice water. Wanting it doesn't mean it's always
simple or easy.

> That's the question. I
> don't have a remotely similar lashup here at home to experiment with.
> I'll be going bach to Mexico in a few months and would like to have a
> plan for better sharing.

A better plan would be to use a card that works in a router. I use a PCMCIA
card in a Linksys WRT54G3G router. This handle connecting local PCs (both
wired and wireless) through a cellular data service. If telcel has such a
card available, one that would work with a router, this would probably be
your best solution. As you've discovered, using the laptop isn't ideal.
Trying to lash up a router onto it as well is likewise going to be a hassle.
Least of which being the double-NAT routing woes.

What other card choices does telcel offer?

On Jul 14, 8:20 am, "Bill Kearney" <wkearne...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > The broadband connection is from Telcel via a PCI broadband wireless
> > card.
>
> PCI card? Don't you mean mini-PCI or ExpressCard? There aren't many
> laptops with an actual PCI slot.
>
> > I just want to pass this connection seamlessly thru the laptop
> > to the broadband ethernet port of a router.
>
> And people in Hell just want ice water. Wanting it doesn't mean it's always
> simple or easy.
>
> > That's the question. I
> > don't have a remotely similar lashup here at home to experiment with.
> > I'll be going bach to Mexico in a few months and would like to have a
> > plan for better sharing.
>
> A better plan would be to use a card that works in a router. I use a PCMCIA
> card in a Linksys WRT54G3G router. This handle connecting local PCs (both
> wired and wireless) through a cellular data service. If telcel has such a
> card available, one that would work with a router, this would probably be
> your best solution. As you've discovered, using the laptop isn't ideal.
> Trying to lash up a router onto it as well is likewise going to be a hassle.
> Least of which being the double-NAT routing woes.
>
> What other card choices does telcel offer?

Telcel NOW offers external USB cards. Is there a router that would
allow USB for the WAN feed? That would be ideal.

Dave

>> What other card choices does telcel offer?
>
> Telcel NOW offers external USB cards. Is there a router that would
> allow USB for the WAN feed? That would be ideal.

Yes, I believe there's a Kyocera (KR2?) unit that supports several devices,
one being USB. Whether it supports the telcel unit is the question. I
don't know.

On Jul 15, 4:41 am, "Bill Kearney" <wkearne...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >> What other card choices does telcel offer?
>
> > Telcel NOW offers external USB cards. Is there a router that would
> > allow USB for the WAN feed? That would be ideal.
>
> Yes, I believe there's a Kyocera (KR2?) unit that supports several devices,
> one being USB. Whether it supports the telcel unit is the question. I
> don't know.

Bill: Yes! The KR2 looks very much like it will do what I want. The
value of these discussion groups is immense. TYVM!

Dave

> Bill: Yes! The KR2 looks very much like it will do what I want. The
> value of these discussion groups is immense. TYVM!

Bear in mind they charge a pretty hefty premium for the added functionality
found in the KR1/2 and WRT54G3G routers.

But what they make possible has been worth it, for me anyway. The ability
to plug the air card into the router and have it's connection shared among
multiple computers, without having to use client software on them, has been
a tremendous convenience.

My advice stands, however, make sure you KNOW that the telcel card will work
BEFORE you get stuck with the KR2. Or make sure you've got a decent return
window on it for when you next travel to Mexico to test it.

-Bill Kearney

On Jul 15, 3:09 pm, "Bill Kearney" <wkearne...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Bill: Yes! The KR2 looks very much like it will do what I want. The
> > value of these discussion groups is immense. TYVM!
>
> Bear in mind they charge a pretty hefty premium for the added functionality
> found in the KR1/2 and WRT54G3G routers.
>
> But what they make possible has been worth it, for me anyway. The ability
> to plug the air card into the router and have it's connection shared among
> multiple computers, without having to use client software on them, has been
> a tremendous convenience.
>
> My advice stands, however, make sure you KNOW that the telcel card will work
> BEFORE you get stuck with the KR2. Or make sure you've got a decent return
> window on it for when you next travel to Mexico to test it.
>
> -Bill Kearney

Bill: Looks like neither box supports Telcel compatible cards. I'm
still looking at other sources, but looks like we may still be using a
laptop with ICS next winter. We'll see!

Dave

> Bill: Looks like neither box supports Telcel compatible cards. I'm
> still looking at other sources, but looks like we may still be using a
> laptop with ICS next winter. We'll see!

Do not just take what the box maker says is supported. A lot of stuff works
beyond the officially listed cards. I've got a Linksys "Sprint" model that
uses a Verizon card quite nicely. You might want to check some of the EVDO
forums, as those are usually the ones using these air data cards in routers.
It's possible someone's tried using your particular brand of device already.
There's not a lot about these cards that's particularly unique. They're all
basically just modems in one form or another. What does occur is that some
need to be activated using a PC first, as was the case with mine. That and
it periodically needs to be updated, also directly connected to a PC. But
the rest of the time it works in the router.

-Bill