- When Microsoft released their Windows 98 Second Edition operating system in May of 1999, the program came with a feature labeled ICS. ICS enabled home users to easily create a home LAN network that linked multiple computers to work off of one Internet connection. This sharing of the Internet access was made possible through Network Address Translation (NAT).
- ICS made it possible for the home LAN network of computers to route TCP/IP packets to the Internet. With this application, one computer would be connected to the Internet and serve as the primary IP address. Each of the other computers on the network would be assigned their own individual IP addresses on the TCP/IP stack, however, all packets entering or exiting the LAN are managed through the host computer's IP address.
For all of this to work properly, the host computer as well as the other computers must have their ICS enabled, which is configurable within the operating system's Network Connections. - Originally released with the Windows 98 update, Second Edition (SE), ICS was also included on subsequent Microsoft operating systems like Windows 98ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
- In order to set up ICS on your Microsoft operating system, you have to follow four general steps: architect your network, network setup, installation and configuration of ICS, and configuration of individual computers on the network.
Architect your network--This is just a fany term for figuring out how your network is going to be laid out. Most specifically, you have to understand that only one computer will be connected to the Internet and for the network to function, that computer will always have to be on when someone on another computer will want to access the Web. There are a number of different scenarios you can use, from a router-based system to multiple wireless PC cards and more.
Network Setup--During this phase, you will have to install all of the associated drivers and hardware you need to create your network. For help configuring your network, see the link in the Resources section below. - One of the biggest obstacles with Microsoft's ICS was that it didn't work with America Online. In order for users to implement ICS, they often had to remove AOL from their computers. This was at a time when AOL was the nation's leading ISP. Additionally, when Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released in April of 2008, it contained a bug that interfered with ICS, requiring multiple computer restarts
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