Special thanks to Adrien de Croy of Qbik Software and Ching-Hwa Yu of VI Engineering for their insightful help, and to Richard Biggerstaff Jr. of ETSU for his help in testing.
These instuctions are for WinGate Version 1.3.06, released on February 2, 1996.
What You Need to Get Started:
There are two main parts to setting up this connection:
The machine that has the modem and the working connection to your Internet Service Provider will be called the Gateway machine. The WinGate software runs ONLY on the Gateway machine. After setting up the Gateway machine, you must configure the Internet applications on the workstations to use proxies. This document addresses both issues.
Part A: Configuring the Gateway Machine
Step 1: Install the Network Adapter in the Gateway Machine
Power down your machine and install the network adapter card according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Do not install any software drivers for the adapter - there is a good chance that Windows 95 will auto-configure the adapter when you turn on the machine.
Restart Windows 95 and watch to see if it auto-configures (you'll see a message telling you what it is doing and it will reboot). If it does not auto-configure your network adapter, press the
Since you already had a working dial-up connection on the Gateway machine (and therefore, already had TCP/IP installed) Windows 95 created a second set of TCP/IP properties uniquely for your Network Adapter. To check this, press the 
button, select Settings..., then Control Panel. Double-click the Add New Hardware icon. Follow the prompts and Windows 95 will install your adapter and reboot. button, select Settings..., then Control Panel. Double-click the Network icon. You'll see a dialog box like this. Notice that the both the dial-up adapter and the network adapter (NE2000 Compatible in this example) have their own TCP/IP properties. If you only have one set of TCP/IP properties listed, add another TCP/IP protocol - it will be assigned by default to the network adapter.
Step 2: Install and Configure WinGate on the Gateway Machine
WinGate is an application written by Adrien de Croy of Qbik Software. If you don't have a copy of WinGate, you can download it from the Windows95.com Network Utilities Shareware page. Please make sure that you also fill out the online registration form at Qbik's Web site.
Once you download the software, simply run the WGSetup program provided with WinGate. This presents a simple dialog box into which you should enter the machine names of your ISP's POP3 server (normally something like mail.provider.com), your service provider's SMTP server (normally the same as the POP3 server), their IRC server, news server, and finally their DNS server (you may need to contact your ISP for this).
WinGate's Other Services come with default ports, which should be fine unless you are running a server on your machine. If you're currently running a Web or FTP server on your machine, you'll have to enter other port numbers besides the defaults.
After entering that information, hit OK, and WGSetup will create settings for WinGate in the registry.
Step 3: Configure TCP/IP on the Gateway Machine
Because of the way WinGate works, you'll need to assign some special (known as "private") IP addresses to each of the machines on your LAN, including the Gateway machine. Press the
There are six sections in this dialog box. We'll deal with them in order. In each case, you can click on the section title to get a picture of the dialog box with the correct options selected.
button, select Settings..., then Control Panel. Double-click the Network icon. You'll see a dialog box like this. Select the TCP/IP properties that are assigned to your physical network adapter, NOT your dial-up adapter. Press the Properties... button. You should get the TCP/IP Properties box.
IP Address
Select the Specify an IP address option. Then type in 192.168.0.1 as the IP address. This is a private address that won't exist anywhere on the Internet, so you can let the Gateway machine use it for the internal LAN only. Next, fill in the Subnet Mask text area with 255.255.255.0.WINS Configuration
Select the Disable WINS Resolution option for now. I'm still experimenting to see how WINS works over this type of connection. If anyone has solutions, problems, etc., please email me.Gateway
Leave this entry blank.Bindings
By default, the Client for Microsoft Networks option is checked. Leave it alone.Advanced
No changes are needed from the default.DNS Configuration
Select the Enable DNS option. Enter your user name in the Host box. In the Domain, put in the name of your provider, like abc.com or partyon.com or whatever.In the DNS Server Search Order section, put in the IP address of your provider's name server and press the Add button. To find this number, you can log into your provider with a terminal windows and type nslookup. Your provider's server will return the DNS address. If that doesn't work, try 131.107.1.7 and/or 204.95.111.254 (those belong to Microsoft).
In the Domain Suffix Search Order section, type in the domain suffix (usually the same as the domain) and press the Add button.
When you're all done setting these options, press the OK button. Then press the OK button in the Network dialog box. Windows 95 will ask you to reboot. Press Yes and run to the fridge for a quick snack. Your Gateway machine is configured! You can now work on the Workstation(s).
Part B: Configuring the Workstation(s)
Step 1: Install the Network Adapter in the Workstation(s)
Power down each Workstation and install the network adapter card according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Connect your network cables and make sure that they are properly terminated. You cannot simply connect one end of an ethernet cable to the Gatway machine, and the other to the Workstation. You must use "T-connectors" with terminators on one end of the T-connector at both "end" machines in the string of computers. Do not install any software drivers for the network adapter - there is a good chance that Windows 95 will auto-configure the adapter when you turn on the machine.
Restart Windows 95 and watch to see if it auto-configures (you'll see a message telling you what it is doing and it will reboot). If it does not auto-configure your network adapter, press the
button, select Settings..., then Control Panel. Double-click the Add New Hardware icon. Follow the prompts and Windows 95 will install your adapter and reboot.
Step 2: Install TCP/IP on the Workstation(s)
Press the
button, select Settings..., then Control Panel. Double-click the Network icon. You'll see a dialog box like this. To install TCP/IP, hit the Add... button, double-click Protocol, then select Microsoft, then TCP/IP, and hit OK.
Step 4: Configure TCP/IP on the Workstation(s)
As was stated before, you'll need to assign some private IP addresses to each of the machines on your LAN. Since you've already given a private IP address to the Gateway machine, you'll need to provide unique IP addresses in the same subnet to the Workstations on the LAN. If you don't know what that means, don't worry. Just number all your LAN worksations consecutively, starting from 192.168.0.2, then 192.168.0.3 and so on. For example, since you used 192.168.0.1 for the Gateway machine, use 192.168.0.2 for the first Workstation, 192.168.0.3 for the second, etc. Make sure you choose a different private IP address for each machine, and remember which number you chose.
On each of the Workstations, press the
There are six sections in this dialog box. We'll deal with them in order. In each case, you can click on the section title to get a picture of the dialog box with the correct options selected.
button, select Settings..., then Control Panel. Double-click the Network icon. You'll see a dialog box like this. Select the TCP/IP properties. Press the Properties... button. You should get the TCP/IP Properties box.
IP Address
Select the Specify an IP address option. Then type in the unique private IP address you chose for this machine. IT MUST NOT BE THE SAME AS ANY OTHER MACHINE ON THE LAN, INCLUDING THE GATEWAY MACHINE! Next, fill in the Subnet Mask text area with 255.255.255.0.WINS Configuration
Select the Disable WINS Resolution option for now. I'm still experimenting to see how WINS works over this type of connection. If anyone has solutions, problems, etc., please email me.Gateway
Leave this setting blank.Bindings
By default, the Client for Microsoft Networks option is checked. Leave it alone.Advanced
No changes needed are from the default.DNS Configuration
Select the Enable DNS option. You'll also need to set up a HOSTS file, explained in the next step. Enter any name you want the machine known by (internally - the Internet cannot see these machines) in the Host box, you can leave the Domain box blank.In the DNS Server Search Order add the IP number you allocated to your gateway machine (e.g 192.168.0.1). WinGate acts as a DNS server by forwarding DNS requests to the DNS server of your ISP.
Step 5: Set up a HOSTS file on the Workstation(s)
A HOSTS file acts as a local database that tells your computer where to go when it's looking for a certain address, kind of like a "mini-domain name server." Using NOTEPAD, create a new text file. The only entry in this file should be the IP address and name of the gateway machine, separated by at least one space. It should look like this:
192.168.0.1 gateway
Make sure you press ENTER at the end of the line of text, otherwise Windows 95 may have trouble recognizing it. Save your file in the \WINDOWS directory with the filename HOSTS with NO file extension (for those who care, the HOSTS file entries do not replace or interact with NetBIOS names in any way). To save a file name with no extension in Notepad, surround the name in quotes, and add a dot to the end.
Step 6: Test the LAN's TCP/IP Connection
Fire up all the machines (including the Gateway machine). Do not dial your Internet Service Provider yet; you still have a couple more things to set up. However, now is a good time to make sure that everything is working smoothly up to this point.
From the Windows 95 command prompt, type ping gateway from each of your Workstations. If you get a response back, then the TCP/IP connection between the machines is working. If you get a Request timed out message, or a Bad IP Address response, check your physical connection between the machines, then go back and check all previous steps.
Once the Gateway machine replies to pings from each of the Workstations, it is time to test your DNS setup.
Start WinGate and Dial in to your service provider, Make sure you have DNS forwarding enabled in WinGate, and a valid name for the host to relay DNS requests to. Next go to a workstation, and type
ping ftp.microsoft.com
You should get a message back saying:
Pinging [aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd] with 32 bytes of data
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
Destination host unreachable
This means that your workstation was able to look up the name, but that the host is unreachable (which is correct). If you don't get the first line, there is something wrong with your DNS settings, and you should check the previous steps.
Step 7: Configure the Workstations' Internet Software to use Proxies
Proxies allow one computer connected to the Internet to serve as the "middle-man" between the Internet and machines connected across a LAN. Organizations using security firewalls make use of proxies to allow machines on their LANs to use the Internet, without the risk of outside users being able to access the LAN. This is much like how proxies work with the WinGate setup as well.
You'll need to set up proxy information in each Internet application that you run on each Workstation. Basically, apps that support proxies ask for the name of the proxy server (in this case, you've defined it as gateway) and the "port" to which they have to connect. Different kinds of Internet resources use different ports for communication, so port numbers will differ depending on which type of application you plan on using. Following is a list of Internet services and the ports that are reserved for their use:
Following are instructions for setting up proxies for most popular Internet applications:
Fill in the following information in the fields it requests:
For each FTP session name you create, select Advanced and enter gateway for the Firewall field and 21 as the port. IMPORTANT: also select the User with no logon option.
Service Port# Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FTP 21 File Transfer Protocol
Telnet 23 For Logging into an Account on a Remote Host
SMTP 25 For Sending Mail
Gopher 70 Text Menu-based Browser
HTTP 80 WWW Protocol - Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mosaic
POP3 110 Downloading Mail
NNTP 119 Internet Newsgroups
By default, WinGate is set up to use the above port number for each of the corresponding services. In most cases, this will work just fine. All you need to do is "point" your Internet applications to the right port on the Gateway machine running WinGate. If you have trouble with the proxy information, try using the private IP address you set up for the Gateway machine rather than the machine name "gateway" when asked for the hostname of the proxy server in your Internet applications.
Netscape
In versions earlier than 2.0, Go to Options, Preferences, Proxies. In versions 2.0 and beyond, select Options, Network, then select the Proxies tab.
HTTP Proxy: gateway Port: 80
SOCKS Proxy: gateway Port: 1080
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Go to the Control Panel and double-click the Internet icon. Select the Advanced tab, and select Use Proxy Server. In the Use Proxy Server window, enter:http://gateway
If you're already running a server on the Gateway machine, however, you should enter:gateway:port number
Don't worry about the Bypass proxy on area - that's used only when accessing Internet resources that are on your LAN.
WS_FTP
Go to Options, Session Options, and select Use Firewall. Make sure that Use PASV Transfer Mode is NOT checked. The WinGate FTP gateway will return an error message if you try to use an FTP client in PASV mode. Choose Save as Default, and exit the Options dialog.
Telnet Clients
Since Telnet is inherently a command-line based service, there is no special setup for the telnet client. To use it, however, you must first telnet to the Gateway machine (you can use its IP address). You will then be presented with a prompt like this:
WinGate>
Then simply type in the name of the host you wish to connect to, and optionally a port number as well (separated by a space). WinGate will display Connecting to *****. When you receive a Connected message, you're connected to the remote host.
Mail Clients
Set your SMTP server (sometimes called your mail relay host) to gateway. Set your POP3 server (sometimes called mail server) to gateway. If you are using Eudora, set your POP account to your_username@gateway. Be sure to also set your return address properly, as otherwise Eudora will use the your_username@gateway as your return address, which doesn't exist - people won't be able to answer your email.
News Readers
Set your NNTP server (sometimes called your news server) to gateway.
Other client apps
There is a list maintained of apps and how to set them up at the Qbik site in their FAQ
Getting Connected
Everything should be ready to go! Start your dialup connection on your Gateway machine, and then start up WinGate on the Gateway machine ONLY (you could put WinGate in your Startup directory if you wish). Fire up the Workstations and try using some Internet apps. If they aren't working correctly, but you're sure they can access the Gateway (you can ping the gateway), double check the proxy settings for the apps you are trying to use.
Final Notes
If you have support questions concerning WinGate, you should register the software and direct your support questions to Qbik Software. For more information about features and/or options with WinGate, please refer to the WinGate documentation.
©1996 Steve Jenkins
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