Internet sharing with linux and win98 machines

[Ben Pfaff]

Donald Chorman <dchorman@worldnet.att.net> writes:

> Thanks to everybody for the help. This is going to be a work in progress
> for me. I have two NIC's made by 3Com but I am not sure if  they will
> work because 3Com does not have any Linux drivers listed at 3Coms site
> for this make of card.

Don't use 3Com's drivers.  Use the ones in the standard kernel
(i.e., those by Donald Becker).  Alan Cox has said a number of
times that vendor-provided drivers are generally crap compared to
Becker's.  (Why vendors write their own drivers when good ones
already exist is beyond me.)

> Perhaps a private party has written drivers for
> this card. I haven't looked yet.

What card in particular?  3Com makes/has made approximately a
billion different models of NIC.

> If they won't work, does anyone have a
> suggestion on which NIC to get?

My favorites: 3Com 3C905C-TX-M (~$100), Intel EtherExpress/PCI
(~$90), SMC EtherPower II (~$60).

> Will my connection running through the Linux box, be as fast as if I had
> my Win98 machine connected to the modem?

Yes.

> (My linux machine is a
> PII233MHz, with 160MB SDRAM, Win98 PIII800EB with 256 MB)

That's more than enough power.  I've done masquerading without
noticeable slowdown on a 4MB 486SX/25.
-- 
"Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these."
--Ovid (43 BC-18 AD)