I have a couple of opensuse laptops, and only one broadband USB “modem.” I believe it’s possible to hook these computers together with a network switch, and have the one laptop with the modem connection “share” that with the other computers across the wired connection - but this seems to be sort of unique - most of the DIY’s I’ve seen describe sharing via a wifi hotspot, which is not what I want to do, and none of them include a USB modem. I’m missing some key element in the setup configuration and can’t quite get it to work. This is the DIY I used, but does anyone know of a more complete DIY?
How to share network connections to other computers?
The primary device (the device which is connected to the Internet) does not need any special configuration. However, you need to configure the device that is connected to the local hub or machine as follows:
Start the dialog for configuring network connections from the GNOME Control Center withSystem
+Network Connections or in KDE 4 from the Personal Settings with Advanced+Network Settings. Choose the connection you want to modify and click Edit. If you are using GNOME, switch to the IPv4 Settings tab and from the Method drop-down list, choose Shared to other computers. If you are using KDE, switch to the IP Address tab and from the Configure drop-down list, chooseShared. That will enable IP traffic forwarding and run a DHCP server on the device. Confirm your changes in NetworkManager.> - As the DCHP server uses port 67, make sure that it is not blocked by the firewall: On the machine sharing the connections, start YaST and select Security and Users
+Firewall. Switch to the Allowed Services category. If DCHP Server is not already shown as Allowed Service, select DCHP Serverfrom Services to Allow and click Add. Confirm your changes in YaST.>
Of course,
You also need to configure your USB connection to the Internet.
But, are you sure that’s not more difficult than setting up a hot spot on your phone (or other common modem device)?
If this is a phone, unless setting up a hot spot is blocked, it’s incredibly easy to set that up nowadays and then you should be able to use bluetooth or Wifi to your phone (Of course all devices have to be capable of whatever wireless you choose).
Thank you for the reply… So I can set up the USB broadband on laptop A and connect to the internet. I tell NetworkManager the broadband connection is a shared connection. Then I run a LAN cable through a high speed switch to laptop B. But laptop B doesn’t seem to see a network. I assume Laptop A has to provide DHCP for laptop B… For some reason it’s confusing for me.