Internet through wifi

Question

I am renting a place that only provides internet through wifi. My laptop has no problem connecting, but my desktop doesn't have a wifi card.

I have a Linksys WRT54GX4 router. Is it possible for me to send internet from my laptop to the router, then to the desktop?

I know that the opposite configuration works out of the box, where machines connected to the laptop via AD HOC wireless connection will have internet if the laptop is connected via ethernet cable.

Both machines are running arch Linux.

Does your Desktop have an ethernet port on the board or as a card? — eyoung100, Dec 30 '14 at 18:42
Then why not buy an Ethernet cable, and plug the desktop into port one of the router(IIRC it has 4 - All Colored Yellow) ports. If you can't do that, use Tentacle's answer below. Just make sure you buy a well supported dongle. When in doubt, read the [manual](http://downloads.linksys.com/downloads/WRT54GX4_ug,1.pdf) — eyoung100, Dec 30 '14 at 19:25

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 30 '14 at 18:45

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There is no need to involve the laptop. Just set up your router as a repeater (google is your friend if you don't know how) or buy a USB wifi dongle and connect directly.

answered Dec 30 '14 at 18:45

Cthulhu Tentacles

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score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36

The easiest solution would be to make your router get its Internet connection from wifi and plug an Ethernet cable between your router and your desktop computer.

If you can't do that, you can make your laptop a relay. Plug a cable between your laptop's Ethernet port and your desktop's, or use your router as a switch if you want to be able to connect more than one machine.

If you're able to connect multiple machines to the wifi network, you can make your laptop bridge its wifi interface with its wired interface. This way the desktop will effectively be on the wifi network, can get an address with DHCP this way, etc. See Using bridge utils to connect two computers via Linux
If you can only obtain a single IP address, make your laptop perform NAT. This way your desktop will be able to reach out to the Internet but won't be reachable from the outside. See How do I share internet with Windows from my Linux box?

Internet through wifi

2 Answers2