making windows route wirelessly

[natkroll]

I just got an 802.11g card for my laptop and I've been leeching network access from someone down the hall. It's ok with him, but he only has a 11b router. I live in a dorm. So I picked up a 802.11g PCI card for my PC. I read somewhere online (i'll try to find where) that Windows XP can route IP information over the network bridges it can create.

So my goal is to put the PCI wireless card in my desktop to create a sort of router for myself and others near my room. Is this possible with simply bridging the connection from my wired network to the wireless adaptor? If Windows does route IP info does that mean it will work how I want it? Is there other software I need?

Will DHCP work or if this going to be really complicated?

If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions, I'm open to them. Except the linus box idea. I don't have a separate computer to set aside for this purpose right now so Windows would have to accomplish my goal without the help of the wonderful Linux.

Thanks for all of your wonderful help.

 

[Supchaka]

It wont work by the way you are thinking. Putting a wireless in your PC isnt going to make it a router... let me see how to word this. If you had a wired NIC in the PC and had that plugged into a router, you could bridge the two and then people plugged into the router could get internet through your wireless to his AP. So if you are hardwired to these other people near you then it work, if they are wireless as well, then they need a physical AP to connect to, not your machine... Am I making sense?

 

[Supchaka]

If you are only trying to overcome 11.b to g I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[natkroll]

confusion

I'm confused by what you're saying. I'm not only trying to overcome 11b. The signal isn't very strong from where I am, that's why I'm tying this.

My desktop has 100 MBps coming on through wired networking and I want to allow at least one user to access that bandwidth through a wireless card.

Could I create an Access Point with my desktop by bridging the wired with the wireless?

If you can make a wireless router with linux isn't there a way to at least allow one PC to access the wireless on a winodws PC?

Xp bridges connections so couldn't i at least create an access point?

Thanks for the help supchaka, but i'm a little confused by your description.

 

[Supchaka]

Bridging your wireless to your LAN is only going to give the LAN access to the internet through the existing AP you are connecting to (you'd have to enable ICS on the wireless) Bridging them isnt going to make your machine an AP for other wireless.

 

[natkroll]

is there any software that will allow me to do this?

If it's possible for linux, isn't it for windows?

I tried to find some software without much luck.

So it's only possible to take the existing wireless and share it to the wired NIC??

thanks

does anyone else besides supchaka have any ideas...

 

[natkroll]

I found something about turning a PC into a wireless router using windows. I haven't tried it yet because I don't have the PCI card, but when I get it I'll be sure to let everyone know. - http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2003/10/31/WinXPUnwired.html

This is pretty much what I was hoping for. I did a little more searching.


If anyone still has ideas, I'm still open to them.

 

[CrashOveride]

Couldn't you just set your internet connection to use that network card adn throw in a few more and share your connection?

 

[Supchaka]

Yes that would work, buts it not what you were trying to do... he is creating an ad-hoc network and sharing LAN based internet through the wireless... the opposite of what I mentioned, but still not what you wanted. Or maybe Im getting confused, but it sounds like your going in the right direction anyway! Good luck

 

[natkroll]

my only goal in this is to provide wireless internet access to my laptop at 11g speeds. this windows router configuration accomplishes that. it also allows mulitple users so it's the best of both worlds.