SyGate Internet Sharing
Software
Last updated: 10/27/99
 INTRODUCTION. Sybergen
Networks' SyGate Internet Connection Management Software is the best means
of sharing an Internet connection I've seen to date...
SyGate is one way to connect your Local Area
Network (LAN) to the Internet via a shared Internet connection. A Win
9X or NT computer configured as a SyGate Server, provides a LAN to Wide Area
Network (WAN) gateway to the Internet for computers on the LAN. SyGate
uses Network Address Translation (NAT) to map LAN Internet
Protocol (IP) addresses to Internet IP addresses and vice versa. It
has a built-in Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and a Domain Name Server
(DNS) forwarding capability which together manage IP addresses and Internet
name resolution requests (translates names of computers on the Internet to
IP addresses) for client computers on the LAN. Furthermore, SyGate
has a built-in security Firewall which not only protects the PC's on the
LAN from intrusion from the Internet, but, with Enhanced Security enabled,
protects the PC running the SyGate Server as well.
BACKGROUND. In the past, we tried
other ways to share an Internet connection and investigated still others.
Quite sometime ago I gave WinGate a
shot and spent a frustrating afternoon filled with Windows error messages,
etc. That project was set aside and has not been revisited.
Intel's AnyPoint Home Network was tested
and reviewed. It uses existing telephone wiring and works fine in a
peer-to-peer home network environment, but it will not work at all in a Windows
NT Domain and is quite slow at 1 Mhz.
Internet
Connection Sharing (ICS) capabilities of Windows 98 SE worked
OK with two PCs on a peer-to-peer network, but it didn't fit very well
with the static IP addresses assigned to our NT file server and virtual
intranet web servers, etc. Besides, what we really wanted was a
simple and inexpensive way to connect to the Internet via our file server. The
server is always on and is not usually subject to the normal routine
of reboots and crashes found with computers used to test new products
and troubleshoot other computers.
Microsoft's
Proxy Server was considered, but it is very expensive
and was deemed too complicated and overkill for a small network.
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