Internet Sharing and Printer Sharing for Your Macs

Basic networking facilities have part of the Mac OS since before System 7. Networking can be accomplished in a variety of ways, using something as simple as a serial cable (for older Macs that support AppleTalk) or a crossover ethernet cable.

Its most obvious use is for sharing files. If your Macs are networked (using any of several methods that we'll get into in a bit), you can transfer files from computer to computer without using CDs, Zip disks, USB drives, or even floppies (remember those?).

There are a variety of ways to connect one or more Macs to another. The simplest, least costly way is using ethernet. All you need is twos Mac with ethernet ports and one cables. Macs have included ethernet ports since the Quadra era, when you needed to use a cable adapter, and most Macs built since the beige G3s came with 10Base-T ethernet ports built in.

In its simplest form, you can use a crossover ethernet cable to connect two computers together.

Once you get past two computers, it gets a bit more complicated. For more than two computers, you need a hub. A hub allows several computers to connect to each other using cables running from the hub to each computer. Hubs are combined with a router these days, which lets you share your Internet connection with all your networked computer - we'll explain that in a bit.

There are other ways to set up a basic computer network without using ethernet. Older Macs can use a serial cable to connect to one another. While not very useful now (Macs haven't included Apple's old serial port since about 1998), it can be used to get files off an older Mac, but not much else.

For newer Macs that have AirPort, there is a much better option. Using a collection of computers with AirPort or Airport Extreme cards, you can create a wireless network. This doesn't require use of a hub (or base station, in AirPort lingo), you can create temporary networks. This is useful to connect, say, two iBooks at an office to exchange data. You can create permanent networks between wireless computers as well.

iTunes File Sharing

As I discussed a few weeks ago, iTunes file sharing is a great way to share your music on a network. While it does have some limitations - such as only allowing five users at a time to connect - it makes managing one library for all of your computers very easy.

To turn on iTunes music sharing, all you need to do is go to iTunes preferences and select sharing. Click "share my music," and you're all set.

Internet Sharing with a Router

Internet sharing is a big use of networking today, especially with many people making the switch from dialup Internet to broadband access. While you can share a dialup connection, it's far slower (thus less practical and useful) than broadband sharing. Splitting a slow-speed connection with a lot of computers can be quite irritating.

With this Internet sharing, everyone on your network can get on the Net while paying for a single Internet connection.

Using a router connecting a broadband modem to the rest of your network, you can share your connection with the entire network. Setting up Internet sharing in this fashion is good because it's generally easy and trouble free.

Additionally, many routers have wireless capabilities. Having wireless capabilities on your router allows you to have both wired and wireless computers on the network. Most home networks are set up using a configuration of both connection types. A good 802.11g wireless router can be had from anywhere from US$20-50. Some can reach speeds of up to 108 Mbps. With all the cards and cables you'll need, you can have a modern network for under a few hundred dollars.

Wireless Internet Sharing Using Software

OS X has built-in software to facilitate Internet sharing. To use it, you need an Internet connection connection and hardware to share that connection. You can use it to share a dialup connection, but that's slow and not very practical.

Internet sharing is usually done using the Mac's ethernet port to connect to the Internet and an AirPort card or AirPort Extreme card to share that connection. Sharing this way is extremely useful for people who want to add wireless capabilities to an existing network without adding a wireless router.

For instance, Temple University (as well as many other colleges), don't allow you to have a router connected to its network. To work around the fact that I have an eMac and an iBook, I could use the AirPort Extreme card to broadcast the Internet connection from the wired eMac to the iBook's AirPort card.

To enable Internet sharing, you must open up the "sharing" pane in System Preferences. Click the "Internet" tab. Then select "built-in Ethernet" from the dropdown list and click the check box next to AirPort. Click the start button, and you're all set to share your connection wirelessly.

You can even share your wireless connection with a Windows PC.

Printer Sharing

Sharing a printer using OS X is one of the most useful features of the sharing pane in System Preferences. Printer sharing can save both time and money, since you'll be able to use one printer as if it were hooked up to each computer. A network with a shared printer allows you to skip the cost of buying multiple printers and the trouble of transferring documents from one computer to another so you can print it.

Setting up OS X's built-in printer sharing is easy. All you need to do is connect your USB printer to the computer that you'll be using it with, go into the Services tab of the Sharing Preference pane, select Printer Sharing, and then click start.

From here you're all set to enjoy the niceties networking your Macs can offer.