Changing from peer-to-peer to server based environment

I am trying to help someone who has a small office with DSL.

He originally had his Verizon DSL with a Westell 6100 modem connected to the uplink port on a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router. The four workstations in the office would connect to the router either via cabled or wireless connections. The router acted as the DHCP server. All workstations had connections to the internet through the DSL line, but there was periodic trouble with machines seeing each other.

He decided he wanted to add a server running MS Small Business 2003 server to the network. He wants the server to act as the DHCP server and have all the workstations be able to access shared data and programs from the server.

The server now has 2 network cards. I began by attaching the DSL modem directly to one of the NICs in the server. I tried several IPs, including the one that had previously been assigned to the wireless router, but was not able to get a LAN connection. After speaking with Verizon, they said the MAC address of the Linksys router was set in the modem and the modem had to be connected through the router. Sure enough if I did not change any IPs and connected the modem to the uplink port in the router and connected the server to another router port, I had connectivity. I went through all the configuration screens to find where the MAC address was set or could be changed, but I could not locate it. I reconnected the modem directly to the server and continued to modify IPs until I got a connection, then attempted to connect the server to the uplink port on the router, but even though I had turned off the DHCP on the router that caused me to loose connectivity.

In frustration, I reattached the DSL modem to the uplink port in the router, disabled one of the NICs in the server, reset the router to handle DHCP, and connected the server to the network as a peer device. The workstations are able to log into the domain, but are having trouble accessing network devices - such as the office printer.

Is there a way to connect the DSL line to one of the NICs in the server, connect the 2nd NIC in the server to wireless router and allow the server to act as the DHCP server. The router should simply act as a hub that allows wireless connectivity to the workstations.

What configuration settings do I need to check on the modem? router? server? The router seems to be causing some type of conflict that I have not been able to narrow down.

Reply to
JRC
Loading thread data ...

"JRC" hath wroth:

The title mentions peer-to-peer, which has NOTHING to do with anything you mentioned in your question. Watch the buzzwords please. Also, you seem to have neglected mentioning any IP addresses, which makes specific advice a bit difficult.

I'll assume that the Windoze 2003 server has a static IP address on at least one of the ethernet ports. I'll also assume that you have some form of routeing setup in the Windoze 2003 server between the two ethernet ports or users on one port will not be able to see users on the other port. To make *MY* life simple, I'll just assume everyone is connected to one of the ethernet ports.

No problem having the Windoze 2003 server act as a DHCP server. However, you didn't mention if you also wanted the Windoze 2003 server to act as an NAT router. I'll assume you do NOT which means the WRT54GS will act as the company router.

OK, we can start here. The LAN IP addresses of the WRT54GS and the Windoze 2003 server have to be compatible. For example, if the server IP address on one of the ethernet ports is 192.168.55.3, then the WRT54GS LAN IP address should be set to 192.168.55.1. This IP address should NOT duplicate any existing IP address and should NOT be inside the assigned DHCP range. You will also need to disable the DHCP server in the WRT54GS. That should give you connectivity from the Windoze 2003 server. The rest should be easy.

Note that the "55" above was selected by me at random and can be almost any number from 0 to 255.

Verizon is apparently authenticating using the MAC address of the connected computer (not the modem or router). Reconfigure the system temporarily to the original configuration that worked. Go to this page: |

formatting link
Mac Address Cloning and clone the working PC. Save the settings. When you reconfigure the network back to the Windoze 2003 server configuration, you should have connectivity.

No clue. My guess(tm) is some Windoze 2003 server configuration. The unspecified network printer may be a network print server which has it's own IP address. My guess(tm) is that your reconfigured network has moved the IP address block 192.168.xxx.xxx to something else and the printer just didn't follow. I usually use static IP addresses for print servers, which certainly will cause trouble if the IP address or block moves. Check your IP's. Better yet, document your IP's.

Yes, but you would need to effectively start over and setup the Windoze 2003 server to act as an NAT router. The WRT54GS could be setup as an access point, effectively disabling the router section. My guess(tm) is that you don't want to do this. I certainly would not want all my clients internet packets going THROUGHT the Windoze 2003 server, thus slowing it down.

See MAC address cloning.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.