There are several methods to share your broadband with numerous computers. These fall into two groups. The foremost is a line sharing alternative given by the ISP. This requires additional outlets to be set up for every PC at home or office. This is an easy option that needs no additional settings, but is now only available with specific cable companies.

The second includes running a Local Area Network (LAN) in your office or home. This can be contingent on the ISP, although in a few cases the ISP might have the ability to refer you to an appropriate advisor. Some ISP will send its ADSL customers desiring to build a LAN to a professional third party advisor, but LAN services are not dealt with by others in any way.

In the event you would like to get multiple user accounts contained in your broadband service but have just signed up as an individual user by means of your ISP, you can incur a fee for every added user you introduce. For example, customers that have signed up to the service as an individual user will need to pay additional set up and on-going monthly fees for every user account they would like to add on to their service. What this means is that in case you’d like to get seven individuals hooked up in your LAN with distinct e-mail addresses, you’ll need to pay an added $77 per month ($11 per user account per month) on the very top of your own monthly service charges to get the extra user accounts connected. Nevertheless, other ISPs don’t have this limitation on multiple user accounts. Most will supply as many as five to residential subscribers email accounts on its cable service free of charge.

Primarily, you need to use a hardware router, which is the most effective option, even though it’s also the most expensive one. Router costs begin at a few hundred dollars, and let you just plug your modem into your PCs as well as one side into the other and you are away. They handle the logging in, line sharing and security with no problems that plague most of the options, which call for a dependence upon one server PC and software settings, along with special hardware.

Along with proxy program, you’ll need a network hub and cable for every computer along with a network card.

There are a lot of proxy server software packages available once you’ve your hardware sorted. A number of these are freeware (like AnalogX at www.analogx.com), but most are insufficient in the event that you would like to do much more than simply browse the Web and read email. The ones which are appropriate for using with other programs like instant messaging, gaming, IRC, FTP and peer to peer networking will often call for a good amount of trial and setup and error to get functioning correctly. It may be worth contemplating using it as a dedicated proxy server for those who really have an old, fresh PC.

The advantage of using a proxy server is mainly the degree of control you’ve got over PCs in your LAN and the Web connect. The disadvantage is that every Internet application on every client PC has to be configured to make use of the proxy. In the event you are operating Windows 95 or you need to maintain your LAN undetectable and safe, then a proxy is most likely the easiest way . If you’re operating a later version of Windows, or Linux, or your PCs will be using Internet programs like multiplayer games and instant messaging, then using Network Address Translation might be a better alternative for you.

Alternative three is to make use of Network Address Translation (NAT). As it calls for each computer, this alternative is transparent to users on your own network. So in case your ISP does not permit LANs to be used by you, then this isn’t actually an alternative. The advantage of NAT is that it lets you use all your PCs like they were on the modem and requires virtually no settings whatsoever. According to the proxy server choice, you’ll need a network hub and cable for every computer along with a network card.

It’s worth bearing in mind that of all of the choices available, the fact limits the past two that the computer crashes or is shut down in the event, the Internet connection will soon not be available. Should you have several outlets installed or take advantage of a router, then all your PCs are online constantly, and none are dependent on the others operating right.