Ok so the current PPPoA network in the UK is being toned down at the moment and PPPoE is having it’s day. It’s a simple update to the modem drivers and that one has gone fine on two computers.

But it’s completely fucked what I laughingly refer to as the network here. My computer has the modem in a USB port and it does all the connection. Then a network cable runs into a hub and then Alex gets a cable from the hub and all is good.

Your typical gateway setup, I’m 192.168.0.1 on 255.255.255.0 and she’s 192.168.0.2 and uses mine as a gateway. ICS is all up and running the PPPoE connection is shared and once that’s active it creates the LAN and bingo things are away.

Except Alex’s computer can’t see a single thing. I can’t ping anything, I can’t get any sort of connectivity yet it insists it has a network connection and all is fine. If the internet connection is not active on my machine, her laptop will call it…despite as far as I can tell it not acknowledging any connection.

Is there something I’m missing with ICS through PPPoE?

Yes I know I should just get a router but why bother spending the money when it’s perfectly workable this way (in theory…)