Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 15:38:28 +0200 From: "Michael Vondung" <michael@vcommunities.net> To: <freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.org> Subject: Sharing Internet access with a XP box. Message-ID: <003901c35444$618129f0$fd4990d4@equilibrium>
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Greetings, After well over a decade with MS products, I'm in the (very) early = stages of switching platforms. After looking at various Linux distros, I came to = the conclusion that FreeBSD (and its more mature community) is the better = choice for me. I must admit, though, that I'm rather overwhelmed, so please = bear with my hopelessly incorrect terminology and the painful lack of = knowledge. :) I've installed FreeBSD 4.8 on a second machine (a P3/700/256M with a 20 = GB HD). The installation (I did several, just to familiarize myself with = the various options) went smooth. The machine it is on does not have a = direct connect to the internet. I bought a network card (Intel PRO/100M Desktop adapter, which was properly recognised by FreeBSD -- a new experience to actually check compatibility lists before purchasing a piece of = hardware) for the FreeBSD machine, and connected it to my XP workstation (a P4/2.6G/512M with currently 80 GB, which has an Intel PRO/100 VE adapter on-board) with a crossed cable. This workstation runs Windows XP Pro, = and connects to the Internet via a dial-up ISDN connection (FritzCard). It = does not have a static IP address, and it is *not* permanently connected to = the 'net. My next "bigger" step is that I'd like FreeBSD to use/share the Internet connection of the XP machine so that I can download ports and packages, = and learn more about maintaining the system. Ideally, the FreeBSD box should "know" whether the XP machine is currently connected to the 'net. This sounds simply, but I already declare defeat at this point because I = don't even know where to start. This is actually the "destination", and I first tried something easier: = to run a telnet client on the XP machine and connect to it from the BSD = box. I assigned a fictive IP address to the Ethernet card in the FreeBSD box (1.2.3.4) and tried to telnet to that address. (At this point you can = tell that I never worked with LANs.) Then I tried to telnet to the dynamic address the XP box currently had (why, I don't know!). Neither idea had = any success. So, in addition to my actual question (the "shared" Internet access), I actually don't have an idea how to make both machines "talk" = with each other, regardless of any Internet connection. Like I said, I do = sound hopelessly helpless. :) On a side note, my "actual goal" is to eventually turn the FreeBSD box = into a local IMAP/NNTP server that gets data through the Internet connection = of the XP machine. The mail/news programs on the XP machine would then get their data from the FreeBSD box. It would probably be much easier if the FreeBSD box connected to the net directly, however, this isn't possible because it does not have a free PCI slot, and I can't "stuff" another = ISDN card into it (I'd also prefer not have to buy another one). "Down the road", my plan is to get a second 40 or 80 GB HD for my = (current) XP box and put FreeBSD on it and then dual-boot. The reason I want the "other" PC to function as "external" IMAP server is so that I will eventually be able to maintain mail via both XP and BSD, without ending = up with different mail databases. (I need Outlook as well as a native = Windows environment for job-related reasons, so I can't do without XP for some = time, but would like to also be able to do mail under FreeBSD. Having mail = stored on a different computer that operates as an IMAP server is the best idea = I can come up with. This is purely theoretical.) Anyway, this is the destination and unlikely to be accomplished any time soon, seeing how I get stuck at the very basic "challenges" already. My thanks for suggestions, thoughts and help in advance, -Michael
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