[Howto] Enable networking with WinVICE

The information in this article applies to the following versions of VICE:

all Windows versions starting from 1.13

PROBLEMEXPOSITION

Starting with WinVICE 1.13, there is support for two ethernet cartridges allowing network access: The "The Final Ethernet" (TFE) and the "Retroreplay-Net" (RR-Net) cartridges. If you want to enable support for these, you have to follow the instructions below.

!WARNING!

Installing support for networking with VICE requires you to install 3rd party products on your machine. The VICE team cannot be made responsible for any problems and/or damage which arises from this! The rejection of any warranty for VICE applies, too.
The product which has to be installed, WinPCAP, is a capture library. That is, it captures every packet which is available on the network, regardless if it was destined for your machine or not. From this, it follows that it is a real security flaw using WinPCAP in a network. Using WinPCAP can result in disclosure of any information that is available on your network which is not secured by other means! Installing WinPCAP, you acknowledge that you're well aware of this security flaw and that the VICE team cannot be made responsible for any problems and/or damage which may arise from the use of WinPCAP!

PREREQUISITES

At that moment, The ethernet emulation for WinVICE only works if you have a real ethernet card on your machine and you are connected to the net via it, that is, you must have direct access to any station you want to access. Ethernet is emulated as if the VICE emulator was connected to your ethernet card via a hub. Every protocol, in particular PPPOE or other protocols, are only supported if the corresponding emulated program supports these!

SOLUTION

For networking support, you need administrative rights (administrator account or similar) on your windows machine. Without this, there's no chance to have networking work!

If you have administrative rights, follow the following instructions to install networking with VICE:

First, read the above warning!
Get WinPCAP from their site. There's only need for the WinPCAP auto-installer in order to let VICE run.
Install the WinPCAP package you just downloaded. For this, you need to have the right to install new drivers to your system. In general, the administrator account does have this right.
Now, start WinVICE as you do always. Do this with the user account you have used in the previous step to install WinPCAP! Choosing the VICE menu entry Settings/Ethernet, a dialog box shows up, allowing you to select Ethernet as NONE, TFE ("The final ethernet") or RR-Net. If this is possible, WinPCAP has be installed successfully to your system. If not, check the WinPCAP FAQ to find a solution.
The only program using ethernet we know to date is Contiki. To use Contiki, get a version of it from the website. Make sure that it is a version which is enabled for ethernet (TFE or RR-Net)!
Run this version of Contiki inside x64. Now, enable ethernet with TFE or RR-Net settings, depending on which type you want to use. Since these two are almost identical, only some addresses are changed, it's more of a matter of taste which one to use. Select the ethernet device you want to use with ethernet if you have more than one.
You need an IP address in order to let Contiki run on your network. The virtual ethernet device of VICE runs as if it were connected to your host computer's device with a hub. No network address translation (NAT) or the like is performed! Get an IP from your network administrator as if you had a new machine to connect to your network. In fact, you have one, although it is only emulated.
Now, run Contiki, enter your IP configuration using the IP from above, and everything should work.

Enjoy the new surfing experience.

It's not necessary to log on as administrator in order to run the ethernet emulation. Anyway, this is necessary the first time you start VICE after you've booted. After you've done this, you can log off and log in with another account to run VICE. To circumvent this, see the FAQ section below.

FAQ

Why do I have to log in as administrator in order to start VICE with network support?
This is because the WinPCAP driver is not loaded at system startup, but rather on-demand when someone like VICE needs it. Not every user is allowed to start services, thus, you have to log in as a user with these rights in order to start it. The administrator is a person having this right. On many machines, an account belonging to the "main user" group is allowed, too. On these machines, you don't need administrator rights in order to start VICE with networking support.
If you don't like this solution, you have another option. See Q-18 at the WinPCAP FAQ.
I have problems with networking support; furthermore, there's a firewall on my machine

This is a know problem with WinPCAP, it does not work well with all firewalls, see Q-10 at the WinPCAP FAQ. Unfortunately, we don't have a solution for this. Disabling the firewall, as suggested in Q-10, might not be an option for you, but we cannot do anything about it.
I have another problem not covered here.
Have a look at the WinPCAP FAQ, there might be a solution for your problem.

STATUS

This document is for information purpose only. The behaviour reported is intentional in the VICE versions listed at the beginning of this article.

REVISION

August 25,2004: Added reference to the same information for Unix based systems
October 14, 2003: Before, it was mistakenly said that you find ethernet on Options/Ethernet. This is not true, it is Settings/Ethernet.
October 8, 2003: Added section PREREQUISITES.
September 15, 2003: Original release of this document

Last Reviewed: August 25, 2004

Knowledge Base - Article 13-005