can i use a mac to another mac for internet

#Can i use a mac to another mac for internet portable
#Can i use a mac to another mac for internet windows

If you're fortunate enough to have a Mac Pro, it has two built-in ethernet ports, so you don't have to add anything. wireless is too slow, you already have a Cat 5 network, etc.)? If you want to have your Mac serve as a router to a ethernet network you'll need to add a second ethernet interface to connect to that network. What if 802.11 or FireWire are not options for whatever reason (e.g. Here's where things get interesting and setup becomes a little more difficult. So if you want to set up a wired network between these Macs (or even better, between older Macs) without buying any additional hardware, then FireWire can be a very quick and speedy option.

#Can i use a mac to another mac for internet portable

When most Macs were limited to 10/100 ethernet, FireWire was a faster (400Mpbs) option, however, FireWire can still be a good option since portable and consumer Macs (MacBook (Pro)s, iMacs, Mac minis) only have one built-in ethernet port (see the next section). Generally you'll just want to keep this set to: 'Using DHCP.'įireWire networking was a bigger deal back before all Macs were shipping with gigabit ethernet.

On the second Mac, you'll need to a make sure the FireWire networking port is active in the Network Pane of the System Preferences. Just select the check box next to 'Built-in FireWire,' and you're good to go. Setting it up is pretty much the same as setting up the wireless option. Macs can both share and receive network traffic through their FireWire ports. If you're all Apple, the passwords can be whatever you choose.Ī perhaps little known, and lesser used, networking feature of OS X is IP over Firewire.

#Can i use a mac to another mac for internet windows

Note that if you're planning to connect with a Windows computer (or some other non-Apple device) you'll need to stick to 5 or 13 character passwords. You will also, however, want to click on the 'AirPort Options.' button and set up some sort of security as follows. All you have to do is go to the Internet tab of Sharing Preference Pane and start it (as pictured at the top). All of the following scenarios assume you have your incoming internet (cable modem, DLS, etc.) connected to your Router Mac's built-in ethernet port.Īs I mentioned before, setting up a Mac as a wireless base station is perhaps the easiest option. Okay, with that out of the way let's look at some of your options. Your Mac router has to be on anytime you want to use the Internet from another computer/device. Connecting your Mac through a NAT router to your cable model or DSL gives you an extra firewall protecting your Mac from the meanies out on the net. Now there are also some potential downsides to this as well, these include: Like me you've burned out a cheap consumer router with a high number of connections (think bittorrent) and would rather give the Mac direct access to the net to eliminate NAT errors and/or improve bandwidth. You have an old Mac (or better yet Mac Mini) that you want to serve as a home server, so why not let it be your router as well?

Like me you're a cheapskate and you don't want to drop $180 for an Airport Extreme Base Station (or even $50+ for a third-party 802.11 base station). Now before we begin, you might ask: why would I want to do this? Here's a few possible answers: However, what if you want to do something a little bit more complicated? In this tutorial I'll cover some other ways for turning your Mac into a router, including over FireWire and adding a second ethernet port via USB (which can be really tricky). with a cable or DSL modem plugged into the built-in ethernet port), all you have to do is go to the Sharing pane of your System Preferences select it and hit start. For instance, if want to turn any Mac with a built-in Airport card into a wireless router (e.g. No doubt you know that sharing your internet connection on your Mac is easy.