Will Turning on ICS Make WindowsXP a host/Admin within a Home Network?

[qmacg]

Here is my Setup...
Computers in the Workgroup...:
Windows XP, Windows 98, Windows 2000.

Does turning on ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) on the XP Machine make the XP Machine seem like a Host or Admin towards the other 2 computers in my Workgroup? Does that give XP through it's Administration Tools the ability to prevent the other 2 machines from Accessing the Internet or perhaps accessing each other's Shared Files?
I ask because I have a situation where if all 3 computers are on the Workgroup at one time, they can all talk and access each other's files. But for some reason if I Shutdown/turn off the XP Machine, the other 2 computers can no longer see or access each other's files.
If Internet Connection Sharing is not the cause of this, what is it in XP's setup that may be forcing itself to control what the other 2 computers have access to? All computers can access the Internet independently. I just want all computers to access each other and Shared Files regardless if one of the computers is logged off. **Another thought, would altering the hosts file on each machine to include each others IPaddress/Host Name help the Workgroup communicate with each other without interference?*** Any help would be appreciated.

 

[wolluf]

The XP ICS machine is also acting as a DHCP server to the other 2 machines - so when its off, they don't get allocated IP addresses and so will have no network connectivity. And obviously no internet as that's provided by the ICS machine. That's all - the ICS machine is otherwise equal in the workgroup.

Note - if other machines picked up IP address, then ICS machine turned off, they should still be able to talk to each other until the lease expires on their IP addresses.

If the ICS machine isn't on all the time, the obvious solution (assuming broadband connection) is a router. This will act as DHCP server and share the internet - and is normally left on all the time, so all machines get internet and network access. It also provides additional security.

 

[qmacg]

Thank you so much for the Info. But one thing I forgot to mention is that I do have the 3 machines connected to a router and the router connected to a modem. XP and 98 happen to be connected directly to the router via RJ45 and 2000 is connected wireless. I did read somewhere that my router is acting as a DHCP Server. I was also thinking perhaps if XP is acting as a DHCP server, and in fact maybe 2000 as well, is there a way to turn off the DHCP Server functionality on XP and 2000 to avoid conflicts in the Workgroup???

 

[wolluf]

XP and 2k machines will only act as DHCP servers if ICS is enabled on them - so just make sure internet sharing is turned off on all machines and the router's DHCP server feature is turned on (more than one DHCP server on the same network does create problems). And make sure all machines are set to pick up IP address automatically.

 

[smah]

be patient..... With the OS's that you have, the XP machine should always win the browse master election. When the xp machine gets, shut down, the remaining machines will have to work out which will be the new browse master. Eventually, the win2k machine should win that election and network browsing should resume.

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/network/bm.htm

And in agreement with wolluf, if you have more than 1 DHCP server on the network, you will very likely have problems.

 

[qmacg]

Wolluf and Smash, Thank You so much for your help...
I'll post this also as an FYI to others because part of the solution to my Issue was comprehending what you've discussed regarding the Router's DHCP Server conflicting with any machine on my network running Internet Connection Sharing. See the following Post in Windows XP Pro on Tek-tips.com thread779-1395082...:

The other part of the solution had to do with making my Router recognize my Wireless 2000 Machine through the MAC Address. You see the 2000 machine kept falling off the Workgroup because of what you discussed with the DHCP Server Conflicts (Router's DHCP, ICS running on XP and 2000). Internet Connections on all PCs were fine, no problem surfing the web.

So Here's what I did... I used an option in the Router's Admin Console to check Wireless Devices connected to the router. Prior to now, it wasn't checked in the checkbox. The advantage to this was it allowed me to assign a Machine Name to the Mac Address i'm allowing the router to identify. Now when I look at the attached Devices to my router, the wireless 2000 machine always has a machine name associated with it. Before when I tried to assign IP addresses through the router and associate a name, it(the 2000 Machine) would still fall off of the Workgroup. I restarted the modem, router and all machines and now the router can see the 2000's Machine name(and I can now access the shared folders on it without it falling off the Workgroup). Ever since then when I access the 2000 Machine from my 98 or XP Machine, it recognizes the 2000 Machine by Name. It just takes about a minute and a half for all of the machines to see each other, but after that they're all connected.

This all makes sense now... the Router's DHCP Server should control traffic in my Workgroup and not any "Internet Conneciton Sharing" from either XP or 2000. Of course if I did not have a Router and just connected XP to my Modem, then yes a Single "Internet Connection Sharing" would make sense. But realistically, most people nowadays have a bunch of Wireless PCs or Laptops around in their Workgroup at home. Hence the Router's DHCP Server can take care of all of the Internet and Workgroup traffic.
Thanks Again ))