Running Internet Explorer 5 on Windows 98 in your browser, with internet and LAN access

I recently demonstrated the concept of protocols by showing how Internet Explorer 5, a browser from 1999, can still access a modern web server built in 2024, and more importantly, how fundamental knowledge, as opposed to latest trends, can stay relevant for a long time.

Basically, I followed this article: Terence Eden (2021), “Run Internet Explorer 5 in your browser!” I learned about v86, an x86 emulator that compiles machine code into WebAssembly at runtime, allowing Windows 98 to run in the browser at a reasonable speed.

For my demonstration, I need to access a website running in my local area network (LAN). For this I also had to set up local networking.

I run a relay server. krishenriksen/node-relay is a virtual ethernet switch that runs on the websocket protocol. I use this Docker Compose file.
```
services:
  relay:
    image: krishenriksen/node-relay:latest
    privileged: true
    ports:
      - 127.0.0.1:8180:80
```
To verify my setup, I visited http://localhost:8180/ in the browser, and I saw the message “Upgrade Required” which indicates that the relay server is now running and accessible.
Launch Windows 98 in v86 with networking_proxy settings. For this, I used this URL: https://copy.sh/v86/?profile=windows98&networking_proxy=ws://localhost:8180
Enable networking. Double-click on networking.bat on the Windows 98 desktop. After this, I was able to ping my machine using its local IP address.
Access the website. I opened Internet Explorer 5 and typed in the local IP address of my machine.