MacOS – Make OS X Server a wireless bridge without DHCP

internet-sharingmacosNetworkosx-serverwifi

I have a Mac Mini running OS X Server 10.10 (Yosemite). It gets it's network connection over ethernet. I would like to bridge that connection through WiFi. That's easy enough with Internet Sharing, but then I end up with a new private network.

This question makes it clear that Internet Sharing cannot be used this way: Internet sharing without DHCP

However, since this is OS X Server, is there a way I can manually configure things to have the same setup without using the Internet Sharing feature?

Best Answer

I'm assuming you have another device handing out the DHCP leases. If so, try modifying the DHCP settings on the Ethernet Interface directly, and then turn on Internet Sharing. To do this:

System Preferences > Network, click the "Location" menu, and click "Edit Locations," name your new location, and click "Done". For Ethernet, click the "Configure IPv4 menu and select "Using BootP," click "Apply". In the left field, select "Wi-Fi," click the "Advanced" button, go to the "TCP/IP" tab and change "Configure IPv4 to "Using BootP" as well. Click "Apply," then go back to System Preferences and click "Sharing," and enable "Internet Sharing" in the left field. Set "Share your connection from:" to "Ethernet," and click the "Wi-Fi" box in the "To computers using:" field.

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MacOS – Lion won’t give out DHCP addresses with Internet Sharing

I finally figured it out.

You said your Firewall is off. You should double-check. This will definitely cause Internet Sharing to not work. System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Firewall.
In the "Sharing" panel, change your Computer Name to something simple. Instead of "Elliot's MacBook Pro", use "MBP".
- Turn off Internet Sharing (if it's on). Make sure you have set "Share your connection from:" to "Ethernet", and "To computers using:" to "Wi-Fi". Change the "Wi-Fi Options..." and save.
If that didn't work: Turn off Wi-Fi on your Lion Mac. Make sure you have internet access from Ethernet, and that it works (test a site in a browser).
For your Wi-Fi connection, set "Configure IPv4" to "Using DHCP". In the "DNS" tab, delete any existing entries.

Hope this helps!

Internet sharing without DHCP

From the bootpd man page:

For each of the properties dhcp_enabled, bootp_enabled, old_netboot_enabled, netboot_enabled, and relay_enabled, the corresponding service can be enabled or disabled for all interfaces, or enabled for just a specific set of interfaces. To enable or disable globally, use a boolean value true or false respectively. To enable just for a specific set of interfaces, use either a string, for a single interface, or an array of strings, one element for each interface.
 For example, to enable DHCP on interfaces en0 and en1, disable BOOTP on all
 interfaces, enable NetBoot on en1, and enable relay agent on interface en1,
 /etc/bootpd.plist could contain:
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
 <plist version="1.0">
 <dict>
         <key>bootp_enabled</key>
         <false/>
         <key>dhcp_enabled</key>
         <array>
                 <string>en0</string>
                 <string>en1</string>
         </array>
         <key>netboot_enabled</key>
         <string>en1</string>
         <key>relay_enabled</key>
         <array>
                 <string>en1</string>
         </array>
 </dict>
 </plist>

To disable dhcp globally, use:

    <key>dhcp_enabled</key>
    <false/>

Don't forget to send a SIGHUP (kill -1) to bootpd after making changes to the configuration file.

Best Answer

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Internet sharing without DHCP

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