InternetSharing(8)					    BSD System Manager's Manual 					InternetSharing(8)

NAME

     InternetSharing -- simple NAT/router configuration daemon

SYNOPSIS

     InternetSharing -d

DESCRIPTION

     InternetSharing is the back-end for the Internet Sharing feature.	It is responsible for configuring the network interfaces, the DHCP server
     bootpd(8), the network address translation daemon natd(8), and the Internet domain name server named(8).  named(8) is run in caching-only
     mode and allows the DHCP server to always offer the same DNS server address to the DHCP clients, regardless of the value of the actual DNS
     server addresses.

     The single command line option -d places additional debugging information to stdout/stderr.

     InternetSharing is launched by launchd(8) both at start-up and when the user turns Internet Sharing on in the Sharing preferences pane.

     By default, InternetSharing configures the IP addresses for non-AirPort interfaces starting at 192.168.2.1, walking up by one class C network
     (subnet mask 255.255.255.0) for each subsequent interface i.e. 192.168.3.1, 192.168.4.1, 192.168.5.1, and so on.  The AirPort interface by
     default is assigned 10.0.2.1.

CONFIGURATION

     InternetSharing reads the property list com.apple.nat.plist stored in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration.

     Details of the com.apple.nat.plist are subject to change and are not completely documented here.  The plist is a contract between the Sharing
     preferences pane and InternetSharing. Any details provided here are for informational purposes only.

     The plist is a dictionary with a single sub-dictionary called NAT containing properties to control which interfaces to use and other set-
     tings.  It may also have a sub-dictionary called AirPort that is used to configure the AirPort interface when it is put into access point
     mode.

     One property worth mentioning is SharingNetworkNumberStart.  This property controls the behavior of InternetSharing when it configures IP
     addresses for the local interfaces.  The property is encoded as a string containing the dotted decimal network IP address, assumed to be a
     class C network.  For example:
	     <key>SharingNetworkNumberStart</key>
	     <string>192.168.100.0</string>

     If the SharingNetworkNumberStart appears directly in the NAT dictionary, it controls the starting IP address chosen for the non-AirPort
     interfaces.  If the property appears within the AirPort sub-dictionary, it controls the IP address assigned to the AirPort interface.

     The purpose of the property is to allow the user to avoid address collisions with existing NAT'd networks.

SEE ALSO

     bootpd(8), launchd(8), natd(8), named(8)

Mac OS X							 Feburary 26, 2007							  Mac OS X