enabling ICS under command line

is it possible to enable Internet Connection Sharing under command line on Windows 2000 pro or Windows XP pro ?

or how can I schedule a time for when to enable or disable ?

thanks

Yes it is possible to program ICS from the command line, but it is messy and probably not something a novice should attempt (if you are one). The reason for the GUI wizard, is ICS makes several changes to your system. Here is a list of the things it changes.

IP address set to 192.168.0.1 Configured with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 on the LAN adapter that is connected to the small office or home office network.

Autodial feature Enabled.

Static default IP route Created when the dial-up connection is established.

Internet connection sharing service Started.

DHCP allocator Enabled with the default range of 192.168.0.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.

DNS proxy Enabled.


Each of these items can be configured using the netsh.exe utility. Here is an example of what you would need to put in a batch file to program JUST the "DHCP allocator"



The reason I haven't provided any more code than this is I have never done this before and don't have an existing script to draw from. What I have presented above is what I was able to piece together in about 30-45 minutes of reading on the internet. There is no definitive answer out there, but the pieces of the puzzle exist if you are willing to search them out and put them together.


Here is what I do know you can do to configure the various settings needed to enable ICS.

Use netsh.exe for:
-- setting interface ip address and subnet mask
-- installing, enabling, and setting autodhcp
-- installing, enabling, and setting dnsproxy
-- set static default route (I think but am not sure)

Use sc.exe (command line utility that controls services) for:
-- start ICS service

I do not know how you would enable the AutoDial feature


Good luck,

Raklet

The "autodial" feature is implemented as a service in XP too. But this is all I can contribute here...

hth,
M.

Really? Which service is it? I looked through the list but didn't see one titled "autodial".

Sorry, I can't supply the original english name because I only have a localized windows version.

It is "Verwaltung für automatische RAS-Verbindung" in german which translates to "Manage automatic RAS connections".
The description (translated) says: "This service connects to a remote network when a program references a remote-DNS or NETBIOS address".

Can you find it now? I don't know that much about windows services, it says "svchost.exe -k netsvcs", no idea if this is only a wrapper thou...

hth,
M.

Got it. "Remote Access Auto Connection Manager"

svchost.exe is a system resource for win xp
svchost - svchost.exe - Process Information

Process File: svchost or svchost.exe
Process Name: Service Host Process
Description: The Service Host Process is generic host process for services that are run from dynamic-link libraries (DLLs)
Common Errors: N/A
System Process: Yes