Without Wi-Fi technology the life of most modern people is unthinkable. First of all, it is very convenient: you can use the Internet both at home and at a train station or airport, in various institutions and enterprises. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand how the this technology and be able to use it correctly.
What is a virtual router?
A device that forwards information packets between segments (computers) within a network. It is routers that allow us to use wireless internet: computers or other devices that we connect to any network are united by a router into one network, allowing them to simultaneously use the Internet.
A virtual router is a technology that allows you to create a virtual device based on just one network card that performs all the same functions as a real one. At the same time, the device itself does not physically exist: one might say, our computer becomes a router. There is no need to fuss with wires and setup.
Any computer with installed Windows 7 provides this opportunity.
There are two possible ways to do this:
- Use technology implemented at the kernel level and configure the connection via the command line;
- Use additional software, which takes on the task of setting up and provides a convenient interface;
Having figured out why we need this, we will consider both options in detail.
What are virtual routers for?
Surely you've had to share Wi-Fi from your phone more than once? For phones with operating system For iOS, just enable “modem mode” in the settings, enter the network name and password - you’re done! Your phone at this moment becomes a full-fledged Wi-Fi distribution point. Each time you use this function on your phone, you actually create a virtual router, uniting the users connected to you into a single network. The only difference is that it's a little more difficult to do on Windows.
So, the main reasons for use:
- The need to “distribute” Wi-Fi to another person as quickly as possible;
- Saving money by not having to purchase a router;
- Lack of an electrical outlet nearby to connect the router;
Installation and configuration
Method 1. We use the technology built into Windows 7.
We need the command line. To call it, press the key combination Win+R:
Run "Run" using win+R
Enter “cmd” in the window that opens and click OK
Run window in Windows 7
A command prompt window will open. Type netsh command and press Enter.
Then we write the following line:
wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=»name» key=»password» keyUsage=persistent
Here name is the name of the future network, password is the password, respectively. Keep in mind that the password must consist of more than just numbers or letters
Press Enter, if everything went well, we see the following:
Don't close the command line! We will still need it.
The network adapter (virtual Wi-Fi) has been created, however, let's check. Go to the Control Panel, go to the Network Sharing Center and shared access, then go to the “Changing adapter settings” section
Among the list of networks we should see the following:
As you can see, our connection has been created, but does not work. Open a command line window and write:
wlan start hostednetwork
After which we see a notification that everything is running:
Go to the “Network and Sharing Center”. Now our point works:
Ready! At this stage, the creation of a virtual Wi-Fi router is completed.
Method 2. Using specialized programs.
To set up virtual Wi-Fi points, without resorting to the command line and to be able to manage our network, you can use special programs.
What is the significant difference between this method and the first? The thing is functionality. Let's say you wanted to change your network name or password without running to the command line and without wasting time entering some commands there. Or, for example, you want to monitor which computers are connecting to you and, if desired, block them. These capabilities are provided by software such as Connectify.
You can download this program either from the official website or from any other source. Installation is also as simple as possible and will not cause any problems.
There are only a few obvious fields in the main program window: Name, Password and Internet to Share. We set the last parameter to automatic, since the program itself will select required connection for distribution.
Click the Start Hotspot button and you're done! In the Clients tab we see a list of devices connected to us, which we can easily block:
Results
We got acquainted with what virtual routers are and what they are used for, and looked at the main ways to organize them on your computer. Which method to use is up to you. In any case, the technology of creating virtual routers is a skill that is extremely useful for any user. In addition, by studying this topic more seriously, you can learn many more interesting things for yourself.
Any computer with wifi adapter can be configured as a virtual wifi router without using third party programs. But every time you restart the computer, you will have to create the virtual network again.
Let's figure out what is special about creating a virtual router using only one operating system, and using special programs.
Creating a virtual router using Windows
Remember that the main requirement when creating a virtual network using the operating system is that the connected client devices must work with WPA2-PSK/AES encryption. Otherwise, they will not be able to connect to your virtual router.
Creating an access point
To implement a virtual network, you need to open the command line and, as an administrator, run the command: netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allowed ssid=”My Virtual Wi-Fi” key=”Password” keyUsage=persistent
Command meanings:
- My Virtual Wi-Fi – name of the wireless network. Come up with any one so that you can find it in the list of wifi networks.
- Password – access password to the created network.
Running a command
After implementing this command, the network card should appear in your device manager - “Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter”, and in the folder network connections a wireless network connection will occur 2.
Virtual router adapter
To start your virtual network, open the command line again and enter this command - netsh wlan start hostednetwork. Now the network should work, you can check this by searching for wireless networks on any wifi device. If you want to turn off the virtual router, then in the command line instead of – start, enter – stop, and the network will stop broadcasting.
Removing an access point
To remove a virtual router from your computer, you need to run the command netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=disallow on the command line as an administrator.
The virtual router adapter will now disappear from Device Manager.
Internet access from a virtual router
Go to the Network and Sharing Center, then change adapter settings. You should select your Internet connection and go to its properties. There, go to the access tab. Check the box next to - allow other network users to use the Internet connection of this computer. Just below, indicate the connection to which you allow access. We have a wireless network connection 2.
Selecting a connection property
We check, connect to the created network, try to access the Internet.
In this option for creating a virtual router, everything is good and fast, but there is one inconvenience - when you restart the computer, all the manipulations described above will have to be performed again. Therefore, in order to avoid this, you can use special software to implement virtual networks. With its help, setup is simplified and when you restart the computer, you don’t have to start everything again every time.
Creating a virtual router using the application
On the Internet you can find a dozen applications that help you create virtual networks. But now we will look at one of them, this is mHotspot. A small application that does not require installation, consisting of a single file.
Download the program from the Internet, run executable file, the following window should appear.
Mhotspot application menu
The Mhotspot application menu has three buttons: “SETUP HOTSPOT”, “START”, “STOP”. First, click – SETUP HOTSPOT, this is the access point setup.
Setting up Mhotspot
Now enter data from the corresponding fields: Hotspot name – write the name of the future virtual network, this name will be displayed during the search wireless networks. Password - write the password, you will have to enter it to access the virtual network. This measure will protect your network from unauthorized users. Save by pressing the button – OK. That’s it, you can press the Start button, and your virtual router should work.
Setting up Internet distribution
Now we need to set up Internet distribution from an existing connection. Go to: Control Panel - Network and Internet - Network and Sharing Center - Change adapter settings.
Virtual wireless connection
In this window, look for Wireless Network Connection 2. Hover your mouse over it and the text “Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter” should pop up. For convenience, it is possible to rename it to – Virtual WiFi. Now find your internet connection.
There can be several of these connections, because you can use the Internet from a 3G modem or through a provider cable. Choose exactly from which you want to distribute the Internet.
Go to the properties of the selected connection and check the boxes according to the example in the picture below.
Internet access
After clicking the button - Ok, you need to reconnect this Internet connection, and the virtual router should distribute the Internet.
When you restart your computer, if you want to distribute the Internet via wifi, just launch the application – Mhotspot and click – Start. Now you don’t need to enter anything, because the program has remembered the previously entered data. The application can be closed, the virtual router will continue to distribute the Internet.
How to set up a Virtual Wi-Fi connection
Over the course of their existence, wireless networks (Wireless Local Area Network-WLAN) have gone through many changes that affected security, range and speed, but the basic principles of operation have remained unchanged.
Wireless networks can operate in two modes: when two or more devices are connected directly to each other - point-to-point, or when they are connected through an access point (Access Point-AP). In the first case, they talk about a simple network (ad-hoc mode). Usage this mode work is quite rare and is used mainly for data exchange when it is not possible to use an access point. The second mode, using an access point, is called infrastructure mode and in most cases is used in conjunction with wireless router which is connected to the Internet. But using two operating modes simultaneously on one physical wireless adapter is not provided for by the Wi-Fi concept itself.
In search of new ways to use wireless networks, the concept of virtualization has been proposed, which removes certain restrictions on the use of such networks and thereby expands their capabilities. This approach to using wireless adapters has been implemented by several companies with corresponding technology names. At Intel, it's Intel My WiFi, and at Microsoft, it's Virtual WiFi.
Virtual Wi-Fi is a software layer that abstracts wireless network card and creates several virtual adapters. Each virtual adapter can be separately configured to connect to different wireless networks, but they will all use the resources of only one physical wireless adapter.
What can this technology be useful for? For example, creating a personal network (Wireless Personal Area Network - WPAN) in which you can quickly connect a PDA, phone, printer, camera, laptop and other device with a wireless adapter for simple exchange information; use a laptop as a hotspot to provide Internet access to wireless devices using an Internet connection on the laptop, be it Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 3G or WiMax. Another example would be when the radio signal is not stable enough or does not cover the required distance between the access point and wireless devices. In this case, a computer or laptop with Virtual Wi-Fi technology can act as a repeater, thereby improving the radio coverage of the wireless network.
In Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2, Virtual WiFi technology was included in the system and implemented at the kernel level, in addition, work was done on a simple implementation of a Software Access Point (SoftAP), while from wireless device manufacturers, Now you only need to implement SoftAP support in your drivers. In this regard, in the current implementation of Virtual WiFi in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2, it is possible to create only one virtual adapter that will only work in access point mode, while providing WPA2-PSK-AES encryption.
By the way, support for Virtual WiFi in drivers is a mandatory requirement for certification of wireless adapters for compatibility with Windows 7.
Virtual WiFi is designated as Wireless Hosted Network, in Russian designation as Hosted Network. In connection with the introduction of Virtual WiFi into new operating systems from Microsoft, new commands have been included in the network shell for managing a distributed network. Here are some of them:
- netsh wlan set hostednetwork allowed|disallowed - Allow or deny use of the network.
- netsh wlan set hostednetwork<идентификатор_SSID> <парольная_фраза>persistent|temporary - Configure network parameters, where SSID – network SSID; Key - User security key used by the network; keyUsage indicates the security key is permanent or temporary
- netsh wlan show settings – Shows the network property and its status.
- netsh wlan show hostednetwork settings=security – Displays the security settings of the hosted network. (Shows, including the password specified in key when setting up netsh wlan set hostednetwork)
- netsh wlan start hostednetwork - Start hosted network.
- netsh wlan stop hostednetwork - Stop network hosting.
What does it look like Setting up Virtual Wi-Fi in practice: we need a laptop or a regular Personal Computer with wireless devices, Windows 7 and a driver supporting Virtual WiFi.
If the above described criteria are met, then call the command line with administrator rights and run the following command in it:
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid="MS Virtual Wi-Fi" key="Pass for virtual wifi" keyUsage=persistent
In this example, “MS Virtual Wi-Fi” is the name of the wireless network, “Pass for virtual wifi” is the password to access this network. You can set these values at your discretion.
After executing this command, the system will find new equipment and a new one will appear in the device manager network adapter, or rather virtual – Microsoft Virtual WiFi miniport adapter. But again, this virtual adapter will only appear if our wireless adapter driver supports Virtual WiFi.
By going to Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - changing adapter settings, we will see a new connection, Wireless Network Connection 2, which will show the status - no connection. Therefore, the next step will be to launch the network. To do this, in a command prompt run with administrator rights, run the following command:
netsh wlan start hostednetwork.
After this, the network will start and the software access point (SoftAP) will work. You can verify this by going to Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center. Since we use a Wi-Fi Internet connection, we found that Windows 7 was connected to several wireless networks at the same time. Now other wireless devices can connect to our access point.
If we want to provide access to the Internet to other wireless devices that are connected to our software access point, that is, to organize a Hotspot, then we need to go to the Control Panel tab - Network and Sharing Center - changing adapter parameters and connection properties , which is connected to the Internet (in our case, this is a Wi-Fi connection, but it can be anything: ethernet, 3G, WiMax, etc.). On the Access tab, check the box Allow other network users to use this computer’s Internet connection, and in Connection home network indicate which network adapter to provide (share) the Internet to, in our case, it will be Wireless Network Connection 2, which refers to the virtual wireless adapter.
On the client side, you can see several wireless networks, and when connecting to our organized access point, the client will automatically receive an IP address from the internal DHCP server and will be separated from the external network by NAT (Network address translation).
The convenience of using Virtual Wi-Fi is obvious, but here's how to use command line for configuring and starting a network (and you need to start a hosted network every time after rebooting the computer with administrator rights), it’s not entirely convenient. And, unfortunately, there is no built-in graphical shell for setting up Virtual WiFi. Therefore, it is not surprising that third-party utilities appear that perform the function of this very shell. Now there are several such utilities - Connectify and Virtual Router Manager. Their configuration is kept to a minimum - you need to specify the SSID and password for access. They are loaded along with the system and immediately enable the distributed network and are able to display all connections to our distributed network.
Connectify
Simple and convenient program for distributing the Internet via Computer Wi-Fi or laptop. Those. the program will help you create a virtual access point from the Wi-Fi adapter of your device and allow you to connect to it from your phone, tablet or TV. Naturally, the Internet to your PC or laptop must come through another network connection, from where it will be distributed. The program is absolutely free and has support for the Russian language.
Setting up the program does not raise any special questions, but if you couldn’t figure it out, then see the instructions below, which show all the details of setting up the program for distributing Wi-Fi from a computer. I will try to describe the setup in the most understandable language possible, even for the most novice users.
1. First, you should make sure that the Wi-Fi adapter is working correctly. In Device Manager, check for the presence of drivers for the device. Picture below.
2. Download the Switch Virtual Router program from the link below or from the official website.
3. Install the program and run it. In the settings on the right we indicate Russian Interface language.
On the left, enter a custom name for your virtual network and a custom password (at least 8 characters).
Click apply and OK. The main program window is shown. Click the arrow at the top right and it appears additional customization. Here, in the Drop-down list, select a wireless connection and click OK. Use the same button to collapse this menu.
4. Then you can press start and your WiFi router, but there will be no Internet there. This can be seen by clicking on the “network indicator” in the system tray. In the window that appears we see that our virtual network does not have access to the Internet.
5. Go to Network and Sharing Center by clicking on the inscription at the bottom.
We see that my Internet comes through a cable connection named DIR-632. And our virtual network SVR website has a connection name - . (Your name may be different, it doesn’t matter). Just remember it and click on the inscription “ Connection via local network
"on the connection through which the Internet comes to the computer. The window below appears.
Click on the button Properties and a new network settings window appears.
Next, click on the tab Access(top of the window). In this tab, check the “Allow other network users to use this computer’s Internet connection” checkbox. Below we select the name of our wireless connection, we had it and Wireless network connection 4 click OK.
After this, if you click again in the tray on the “network connections icon”, we will see that our network already has access to the Internet.
Now we need to restart our virtual router again in order for the Internet to appear on it. After that, you can connect from it through any smart phone, tablet, laptop, TV and use this Internet.
If you have any questions, be sure to write about them in the comments, we will sort them out.
Virtual router manager is designed to help if you do not have a real one wi-fi router, but it needs to be distributed. Her the main task– imitation of a wi-fi router, so you can forget about any wires and inconveniences. The program is reliable and licensed, there are no viruses in it, and you can download virtual router manager completely free of charge. The program is compatible with the operating system Microsoft Windows XP, Seven and above.
What devices is the program compatible with?
The key condition for the correct operation of the program is availability of wi-fi on the distributing and receiving devices. Receiving devices can be: iPhone, iPod touch, netbooks, laptops, audio devices, wireless multifunction devices, smartphones, Android or Zune phones and others. The distribution device (usually a computer) on which the program is installed must have a wi-fi adapter.Where can I download Virtual Router?
You can download virtual router manager on the official website or on torrents. Please note that the file must only have the extension ".exe" or ".msi". Anyone can set up the program, even without reading the instructions. Using the program is even easier than installing it.How to get started with virtual router manager?
To distribute wifi on Windows you will need to perform the simplest manipulations:- indicate the name of your network correctly;
- enter password;
- Click on the “Start” button.
Entering a password is necessary for the security of the transmitted data, so that another person cannot unauthorizedly connect to your virtual distribution. All devices that you connect via virtual wifi will be displayed in the program window. If necessary, you can even find out the IP and MAC addresses of each device by looking at them in the program window.
Working with the program
At its core, the Russian version of the virtual router manager is a shell, that is, it is capable of performing all the settings for you. To gain access via wifi, just launch the program and then minimize it to tray. With these actions, every time you turn on the computer, it will automatically start.
Setting up the program
The setting comes down to filling or selecting in 4 lines:- to create wifi network, you need to come up with any name for her in the top field;
- in the next field we come up with a password consisting of at least 8 characters;
- in the “Shared Connection” drop-down menu, select the connection through which the computer connects to the Internet;
- In the bottom drop-down menu, select the desired connection type.
How to choose the right connection type?
In order to competently create a wifi network, you need to select the desired type of connection - this is important! There are two modes: access point or ad hoc.- Ad hoc. This mode provides a point-to-point connection. Translated into simple language, only one device can be connected to a virtual router.
- access point. This mode will allow you to connect to an “access point” (distributing wi-fi device) big number receiving devices. Possible problems and their elimination