TreeWalk Networking

Using A Common Router

Router Network Internet Connection

In this example you can see one method to share an Internet connection where all the machines are connected to a central hub (or switch) which in turn connects them to a router. The router acts as a NAT and DHCP server, connecting these machines at a "parithetic" level.

Here you will need to install TreeWalk on one of the machines and set it up with a static IP address. Override the DNS settings of the "x" and "y" machines (which will continue to use DHCP) so that they point to the TreeWalk computer (192.168.0.1) as in the Internet Connection Sharing example below. The advantages are almost the same as in the following example although there could be some drawbacks to the configuration above due to the fact that the LAN will be used for both local and Internet traffic since there's no double-NIC machine.

Note that in the diagram above, the router is assumed to have an internal address of 192.168.0.0 in this case. The LAN address for the router will most likely vary, depending on the make of the appliance, and machine addresses must follow suit (consult your router's manual). A hub or switch may not be necessary for most modern routers. For information on a hub or switch, please refer to the Google page for keywords "what is hub switch".

Internet Connection Sharing

Internet Connection Sharing Network

The above graphic shows a network that shares an Internet connection through ICS. This machine acts as a NAT gateway for the other machines and allows them to reach the Internet.

In this case, the ICS machine has two network adapters. The first is connected to the Internet, and could be a modem, router or any other WAN device. This adapter will be configured to get its address through DHCP (protocol for automating the configuration of computers that use TCP/IP).

The second adapter is a standard Ethernet interface and is used to connect the machine to the internal LAN. This adapter will be configured to use a static address. This is needed since other machines on the LAN will refer to the ICS machine, using its IP address whenever performing name resolution.

The other machines on the LAN will be configured to get their IP addresses through DHCP, but with a difference. You will need to manually override the DNS settings of these machines and to enter the address of the ICS machine. In the example above the two client machines, "x" and "y", have dynamic IP addresses but will use 192.168.0.1 as their DNS server.

At this point you can install TreeWalk onto the ICS machine. After the installation, reboot the machine and then be sure to reboot both client machines. After this, you'll be able to surf the Internet from either the ICS or the client machines, but the name resolution for the entire LAN will be performed by TreeWalk on the ICS computer.

The advantage of this type of configuration is that there will be less traffic on the LAN due to the fact that all the DNS work will be carried on by a single machine. The DNS cache will have more hits since every request from other LAN computers will be cached by the central DNS, then returned to any machine requesting the same address, or host.

Forums for TWDNS Support: TreeWalk Support forums and newsgroups provide TreeWalk users with access to shared help and advice. If you're going to post a message asking for help with your TreeWalk problem, please be sure to include specific details about your computer (memory and processor speed), Operating System, connection type (how you connect to the Internet), third party software (anti-virus, anti-Trojan, firewall, anti-scripting, etc.), the version of TreeWalk (or BIND-LE) you're using, networking configuration and hardware, and any relevant error messages. This will aid greatly to find the solution for your problem as soon as possible.

"Free if used for educational or home use" users of TreeWalk are invited to join in discussions taking place in the forums and place support questions in the forum ntc.support.questions. Licensed users should continue to contact the TreeWalk site for private email support but are still invited to take part in general discussions.