Sharing EVDO Aircard access @ home???

[thunderxls]

SOS!!! :)

I know this can be done, after speaking with a technical support tech, but after a week has not emaled me back on the proper equpment on how to do this. I was told that in there call center, one guy bought a card, was allowing people to leech on his 1 MB+ connection <sweet!!!> Any ideas on how this could be done. I have 2 laptops and 1 desktop. What do you think I would need as far as equipment??? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton in advance.

[thaddius]

it is called a stompbox. google it. Or you can buy a pcmcia adapter for your desktop with windows XP and share your internet connection

[sheureka]

There is also the Junxion box - http://www.junxionbox.com - sheureka

[imtravis]

You can also hook it into one of your laptops or pc (using an adapter) and share the internet connection (build into WinXP and/or Linux).

I've also read abouta Kyocera box that might be cheaper than the Junxionbox and/or stompbox.

Good Luck.

[Dale]

Very cool little box, but a bit pricey!!!

[dmaul3300]

Wow looking at a few sites I saw prices of stompbox and the junxionbox sell $500+..i just checked a few forums and a few links. here is one i saw. http://forum.stompboxnetworks.com/viewtopic.php?t=54

i currently have mediacom as my internet provider. I pay $50 a month. i was sent a letter in the mail for a FREE connection card when i sign a 2 year contract. I contacted sprint and they said in order to get this i had to add a line to my plan. i would pay $60 a month for unlimited data plan.

does anyone know the speeds (upload and download (average - i know it is different)compared to mediacom.. my bill right now averages $60 a month. If i did get the connection card, i would pay $60(regular cell bill) + $60(data plan). would i need to get another phone line to do this? I would be paying $10 more a month (is there an extra fee for an additional line) if so how much extra).

i was wondering on the difference on speeds. they say my connection is 3mb at mediacom. on dslreports.com when i do the speed tests i get download speeds at 4487 kbps or 560 kb sec and upload speeds at 238 kbps.

i was curious if sprint speeds are similar. i dont want to pay more money for a slower connection.

[Moogle]

EV-DO, if available in your area, will give you ~500kbps - 800kbps... Its not a replacement for a landline broadband connection...

The latency will also be greater, if I remember correctly something on the order of 250-350ms... Which is essentially dial-up latency -- Cable/DSL will give you ~50s ...

EV-DO aircards are really designed for people who want an internet connection *on the go* -- It works really well for salespeople / etc... It'd be really nice if you're constantly moving or in an area where you can't get 802.11 connectivity (lets say you took light rail to work... If it were covered by EV-DO, you could sit and check your e-mail on the go). Like I said: its not designed as a replacement for a landline connection.

[imtravis]

It could be used if need be as a replacement. I use it as a suppliment. If I'm away from the house, and need Inet access, I just pop the card in and surf the porn.. I mean work sites.. yeah, that's it..

[Moogle]

It could be used if need be as a replacement. I use it as a suppliment. If I'm away from the house, and need Inet access, I just pop the card in and surf the porn.. I mean work sites.. yeah, that's it..

:p

I'd only use it as a replacement if you're a very very very light net user... And that's your primary internet connection:

If you only have a laptop and are always on the go... Then yeah... If you're just going to use it at home... Get DSL or cable.

I pay $55/mo for 9 megabits download / 1 megabit upload... I'll stick with cable :p :cool:

[monkeyboy]

Every version of Windows since Win98SE has had the ability to do Internet sharing ala NAT. And there are also 3rd party add-ons that will do it (e.g. Sygate). The only added equipment you need is to figure out how you want the sharing computers to form a network. The two most common ways are via a wired Ethernet-type network, whidh will require some form of hub or switch, or wireless (WiFi) which would only require one WiFi card per sharing computer (including the one with the EVDO aircard).

You then create a peer-peer network with either the wired Ethernet or the WiFi setup, and either create a DHCP server to dole out IP addresses, or more simply just put that network on a non-routable IP block, like 192.168.1.X. Make the EVDO machine 192.168.1.1 and it will become the default router for the network. Then activate the NAT (Internet sharing) on that EVDO machine, and you are set. You will want to choose a suitable DNS server for your setup, either the one handed down via EVDO or just choose a good one somewhere (I often default to either a good local university, or just UUNET (198.6.1.1)).

[nashI]

you said you have 2 laptops and 1 desktop, this is what I would do if I was you. apart from the many possibilities.

1. make sure the 2 laptops are wireless capable, install two wireless PCI cards and a PCMICA card on the desktop, run the EVDO card from the desktop and brigede the 3 cards on the desktop thru your network settings with enabled internet sharing, this can be easily done using the wizards. then your laptops can connect to the 2 individual wifi cards on the desktop.

2. same with the laptops, but get a wifi router for the desktop and bridge that with the PCMICA card for the desktop. enable internet sharing.

4. if you have 2 ethernet ports on your desktop, get the PCMICA card, bridge it with ethernet ports(network wizards), connect the laptops to the desktop with RJ45 cables.

3. keep the EVDO on a laptop get a USB hub/enable inertnet sharing, and connect the other two computers to the hub using RJ45 cables. probably have to make a local net like the guy above mentioned.

RJ45 cables are the regular network cables that LOOK LIKE telephone cable.

just a few suggestions, but you can come up with more ways to do this. pretty cost effective.

[monkeyboy]

1. make sure the 2 laptops are wireless capable, install two wireless PCI cards and a PCMICA card on the desktop, run the EVDO card from the desktop and brigede the 3 cards on the desktop thru your network settings with enabled internet sharing, this can be easily done using the wizards. then your laptops can connect to the 2 individual wifi cards on the desktop.

4. if you have 2 ethernet ports on your desktop, get the PCMICA card, bridge it with ethernet ports(network wizards), connect the laptops to the desktop with RJ45 cables.
No, you do not need or want TWO WiFi cards nor TWO ethernet ports for the desktop (or laptop). You only need ONE such network card (either wireless or Ethernet) per computer. You are trying to create a peer-peer network between the 2 laptops and the desktop. This only requires ONE network card with a common media (either all Wifi or all Ethernet) per computer. They will all sit on the same subnet, e.g. 192.168.1.X. If you choose the Ethernet media (wired), you will also need a hub or switch (less than $10 on ebay). You can also choose the Ethernet-like HomePNA if you want to use the existing phone wiring in your house. No hub is needed for HomePNA. Or there is Powerline Ethernet, using the AC power wiring in your house. But most choose Wifi these days, particularly for laptops.

[imtravis]

I'd go with monkeyboy's idea. Just get one WiFi adapter for your pc (PCI or USB). Then I'd get a PCMCIA adapter for your Desktop (unless you're going to leave a laptop on/home all the time). Set the card in the desktop. Setup all your WiFi connections to the same subnet (usually a private class C). Then enable internet sharing, and point all your laptops to the desktop ip for the gateway/DNS, and should be good to go.

[nashI]

No, you do not need or want TWO WiFi cards nor TWO ethernet ports for the desktop (or laptop). You only need ONE such network card (either wireless or Ethernet) per computer. You are trying to create a peer-peer network between the 2 laptops and the desktop. This only requires ONE network card with a common media (either all Wifi or all Ethernet) per computer. They will all sit on the same subnet, e.g. 192.168.1.X. If you choose the Ethernet media (wired), you will also need a hub or switch (less than $10 on ebay). You can also choose the Ethernet-like HomePNA if you want to use the existing phone wiring in your house. No hub is needed for HomePNA. Or there is Powerline Ethernet, using the AC power wiring in your house. But most choose Wifi these days, particularly for laptops.

monkeyboy somehow I feel you said the same thing I did somewhere in there. but you are mistaken about two things, two WIFI Laptops cant connect to one WIFI on a desktop its a 1 to 1 connection.

"This only requires ONE network card with a common media (either all Wifi or all Ethernet) per computer." ****Scenario with Ethernet, Laptop 1 connects to Desktop, where does the other laptop connect to ?


I know your going to say that you run a network and you know this and all that, so do I. But if this is really possible please enlighten me, I love learning new things.

[nashI]

i was really waiting for a reply on that, atleast from the last two guys. I think they have done this before and I could be wrong.

[Madisn]

Well, monkeyboy is incorrect in a lot of what he said.

1. A peer to peer TCP/IP network can not use a 192.xxx.xxx.xxx IP - valid network address are 128 -191

2. Monkeyboy called 192.168.1.x a subnet - this is also incorrect a valid subnet address would be 255.255.0.0

3. He says you will need a hub or switch - this would not be correct in a true peer to peer network enviornment since p2p would connect the computers directly. A hub or switch will however limit the number of cards the host machine will need.

NAT is not the same as ICS - for the most part it is quite the opposite. NAT keeps local traffic local and internet traffic seperate. NAT is used by the router to direct traffic - not share internet connections.

WiFi cards do not have stackable signals - you can not use (normal) wifi cards to send / receive multiple signals to multiple systems. There is software that can purchase to create virtual Wireless devices from a single card - all of the data is then cached on the server and retransmitted in a FIFO order. This has not proven to be worth much due to the low cost of real devices, and the latency it causes. In short, you get one connection per network device either wired or wireless.

To the OP - Either buy an EVDO router, or use an EVDO card to receive the signal in a computer - then distribute that signal via ICS (See NashI post 11) or to a hub or hub/WAP combo.

NashI - if you are interested in doing that type of sharing (one wireless card having multiple virtual connections) do a search for multinet wifi, or check the Microsoft white papers from the MS Technet.

Matt
MCSE, MCP, CCNE
I am also the technical director for a national clothing company.

[nashI]

Hey, good to see that someone knows what they are talking about, actually I am not interested in doing it, I know how to do it and make it work, like I said in my post it was just a few out of many posibilities.

***why bother...

[carcarx]

Well, monkeyboy is incorrect in a lot of what he said.

1. A peer to peer TCP/IP network can not use a 192.xxx.xxx.xxx IP - valid network address are 128 -191

2. Monkeyboy called 192.168.1.x a subnet - this is also incorrect a valid subnet address would be 255.255.0.0

3. He says you will need a hub or switch - this would not be correct in a true peer to peer network enviornment since p2p would connect the computers directly. A hub or switch will however limit the number of cards the host machine will need.

NAT is not the same as ICS - for the most part it is quite the opposite. NAT keeps local traffic local and internet traffic seperate. NAT is used by the router to direct traffic - not share internet connections.

WiFi cards do not have stackable signals - you can not use (normal) wifi cards to send / receive multiple signals to multiple systems. There is software that can purchase to create virtual Wireless devices from a single card - all of the data is then cached on the server and retransmitted in a FIFO order. This has not proven to be worth much due to the low cost of real devices, and the latency it causes. In short, you get one connection per network device either wired or wireless.

To the OP - Either buy an EVDO router, or use an EVDO card to receive the signal in a computer - then distribute that signal via ICS (See NashI post 11) or to a hub or hub/WAP combo.

NashI - if you are interested in doing that type of sharing (one wireless card having multiple virtual connections) do a search for multinet wifi, or check the Microsoft white papers from the MS Technet.

Matt
MCSE, MCP, CCNE
I am also the technical director for a national clothing company.


Point 1: Incorrect. We have lots of devices on campus communicating with each other
on addresses that aren't routable over the internet. As long as the TCP/IP stacks answer on the
non-routable addresses, and are on the interior side of the NATing router (using small switches,
for example) the two interior machines can talk to each other just fine.

Point 2: Incorrect. 192.168.1.x (meaning 192.168.1.0/24) certainly is a subnet.
255.255.0.0 is a /16 subnet mask.

Point 3, in which you say
"NAT is used by the router to direct traffic - not share internet connections. "

As most people understand NAT, one can certainly have multiple machines internal to the
private network sharing an internet connection via NAT.

[Madisn]

Point 1: Incorrect. We have lots of devices on campus communicating with each other
on addresses that aren't routable over the internet. As long as the TCP/IP stacks answer on the
non-routable addresses, and are on the interior side of the NATing router (using small switches,
for example) the two interior machines can talk to each other just fine.

Uhhh... you contradict yourself in your response, you bring into the equation routers (which I would assume supports DHCP) and switches. In the implimentation that monkeyboy and I spoke of, there is no DHCP server handling traffic, in which case an APIPA range is used. The only valid range for this type of class B network is 128-191.

The entire point of the thread was to discuss the ease of moving the traffic with either an EVDO routher or without one using wired / wifi cards.

There are a lot of ways to set up a network, and they can function even if set up incorrectly. But doing something wrong, just because it works is not the best way to do it.

Point 2: Incorrect. 192.168.1.x (meaning 192.168.1.0/24) certainly is a subnet.
255.255.0.0 is a /16 subnet mask.

Okay, you got me on this one - it was late and I somewhat misread monkeyboy :) But, if you want to get technical the true subnet is the ".1." - not the entire address.

Point 3, in which you say
"NAT is used by the router to direct traffic - not share internet connections."

As most people understand NAT, one can certainly have multiple machines internal to the private network sharing an internet connection via NAT.

Correct, but NAT is not sharing, as monkeyboy stated- it is a component. Much like when people walk up to a computer point at the "big box" and say "My hard drive won't turn on" or "My modem won't turn on". They really mean the system - not just the component (which is a pain in the a55 when someone calls you and says "my modem won't work - and you start trying to troubleshoot their MODEM - but I digress....) NAT is used in ICS - but they are not the same thing. In additon to seperating Private networks from registered public networks, NAT can also seperate multiple private networks (similar to multiple workgroups).

[Moogle]

Uhhh... you contradict yourself in your response, you bring into the equation routers (which I would assume supports DHCP) and switches. In the implimentation that monkeyboy and I spoke of, there is no DHCP server handling traffic, in which case an APIPA range is used. The only valid range for this type of class B network is 128-191.

The entire point of the thread was to discuss the ease of moving the traffic with either an EVDO routher or without one using wired / wifi cards.

There are a lot of ways to set up a network, and they can function even if set up incorrectly. But doing something wrong, just because it works is not the best way to do it.



Just because 10. is class A doesn't mean you can't apply a /24 subnet (255.255.255.0) to it... I do it all the time. Example: 10.55.111.0/24 gives you a subnet of 254 addresses: 10.55.111.1 to 10.55.111.254.

And the acutal subnet would be 192.168.1.0 or 192.168.0.0 (Usually written as 192.168.1.0/24 or 192.168.0.0/24 to clarify) -- 192.168.1.1 or 0.1 would be a host on that subnet, not the subnet as a whole.

(On a side note, the whole /24 /16 thing might be foreign to M$ networking people)

On a side note madisn: www.learntosubnet.com

[nashI]

SOS!!! :)

I know this can be done, after speaking with a technical support tech, but after a week has not emaled me back on the proper equpment on how to do this. I was told that in there call center, one guy bought a card, was allowing people to leech on his 1 MB+ connection <sweet!!!> Any ideas on how this could be done. I have 2 laptops and 1 desktop. What do you think I would need as far as equipment??? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton in advance.


I really think you guys are going off topic here, anybody else think that. how about posting solutions for the original post. I quoted it in here so you dont get confused.

[dossier]

Is there an easier way to get the EVDO connection card for a desktop computer?

I do realize that it's meant for a laptop, which is fine. But, at home I would prefer to use my desktop computer.

Stompboxes look nice, but at 500-600 dollars, its not worth it at all.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. :)

[sheureka]

The Kyocera KR1 is only $279.99 - you can easily set up a home wifi network using that and a data card. - sheureka

[jaydub1106]

Its called AD-HOC....If u have an Aircard on one laptop, you need a wireless card for the other laptop. On laptop 2 u set it to ad-hoc, and it will extract signal from laptop 1

[nashI]

Is there an easier way to get the EVDO connection card for a desktop computer?

I do realize that it's meant for a laptop, which is fine. But, at home I would prefer to use my desktop computer.

Stompboxes look nice, but at 500-600 dollars, its not worth it at all.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. :)


You would need to get a PCI PCMICA adapter for your desktop. These are very cheap, usualy around $30 to $40. **There are also PCMICA to USB adapters which offer a bit more flexibility.

Here is a link to get you started it was the first match on google. Shop around a bit and see if there are cheaper cards anywhere else.
http://www.nextag.com/pci-pcmcia-adapter/search-html

I am currently using a connection card on my desktop using the same method.

[dossier]

You would need to get a PCI PCMICA adapter for your desktop. These are very cheap, usualy around $30 to $40. **There are also PCMICA to USB adapters which offer a bit more flexibility.

Here is a link to get you started it was the first match on google. Shop around a bit and see if there are cheaper cards anywhere else.
http://www.nextag.com/pci-pcmcia-adapter/search-html

I am currently using a connection card on my desktop using the same method.

Brilliant. That is exactly what I was looking for. (1-Port CardBus/PCMCIA to PCI Adapter Card)

How fast is your connection with the desktop? I dont really need anything for gaming, more so for email and some instant messaging.

Thank you, NashI. :)

[nashI]

My download rate per file howers around 40KBps so about 4 files downloading at 40KBps at the same time kind of thing, if I use a download manager such Download Accelarator I can get around > 100KBps on the same file but everything else slows down, good for a quick D/L.

Upload rate really sucks, usually about 20KBps I am not sure of the rates/connection on the cards even though I know its very low.

All in all I think its where you use it, if the towers close to you provide more bandwidth everything is great.

Bandwidth test : just did one / came up as 330.5Kbps downstream which is 40KBps
http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html?tag=cnetfd.dir

[imtravis]

The Kyocera KR1 is only $279.99 - you can easily set up a home wifi network using that and a data card. - sheureka

That's the easiest and cheapest solution. I have the router, and am actually setting my mother up with that solution for her home. She can't get broadband in the country, so this is a perfect setup.

[dossier]

My download rate per file howers around 40KBps so about 4 files downloading at 40KBps at the same time kind of thing, if I use a download manager such Download Accelarator I can get around > 100KBps on the same file but everything else slows down, good for a quick D/L.

Upload rate really sucks, usually about 20KBps I am not sure of the rates/connection on the cards even though I know its very low.

All in all I think its where you use it, if the towers close to you provide more bandwidth everything is great.

Bandwidth test : just did one / came up as 330.5Kbps downstream which is 40KBps
http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html?tag=cnetfd.dir

I get really great Sprint coverage in my home, around three or four bars. The only thing I worry about is that I'm in a Non EVDO area. :(

[djm]

I get really great Sprint coverage in my home, around three or four bars. The only thing I worry about is that I'm in a Non EVDO area. :(

If you don't have EVDO your connection speed will be quite poor. I have not done speed tests when in non-EVDO areas, but do know that I was quite disappointed in performance. It was tolerable for light use, but significant web activity crawled along.

[oojdbozoo]

I'm trying the same thing but when of my laptops trys something it says "Network Service Not Started". What's the prob???

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