Windows Server 2008 + Belkin Router

[torque454]

Hello. Newbie here. I am playing around with Windows Server 2008 and a combination of two networks. Currently the server is in one room, along with a hub and two computers (wired). The rest of the computers are in other rooms as is the cable modem and the Belkin router.

I am playing around with all kinds of things such as windows deployment services, network bridging (server and computers in the other rooms are connected to the belkin wirelessly.) The 2nd computer in the server room is connected to a hub which is also connected to the server. So there are two different networks. As I type this out, it came to me that I need to connect the server to the belkin with a wire, meaning it needs to be moved into the other room. That would eliminate part of my problem. But here is the other problem.

I want the router to share the internet, but Windows 2008 to be the DNS and DHCP servers. Is this possible? If its not, can the server be a domain controller and use the DHCP/DNS servers that the router has?

This is all very complicated and confusing to me, but also very fun. Gives me something to do :-D I just dont fully understand it yet. Help!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lexluethar]

It is, realize that routers do NOT pass DHCP packets. DHCP broadcasts packets, a routers work at the third level of the network layer and don't pass broadcasts.

The only way to accomplish this is to either setup a DHCP Relay agent using another Server 2008 box on the other network, or configure your router to pass the DHCP traffic through. If you setup a Hub or dumb switch where the router is you wouldn't have this issue.

 

[torque454]

Guess i'm not sure what you mean. Heres what I did last night which resulted in major network problems.

I turned off the routers DHCP, gave it its IP (192.168.2.1). Then enabled the 2008 DHCP/DNS servers. The 2008 DHCP was configured to assign all computers (except itself since it has a static IP) an IP of the same range/subnet AND assign the gateway IP to the routers IP, and the DNS IP was the IP of the 2008 box which is 192.168.2.3. I dont understand why it wouldnt work. The clients would get the IP, and it was correctly configured (IP, DNS, and gateway), but they still wouldnt access the internet no matter how many times i reset the adapter or release and renewed the IP.

I'm going to wire the server into the router tonite and eliminate the second network. Everything will be wireless then except of course the server itself. I dont really think the two networks are the problem, because I bridged the wired and wireless networks both on the server, and the problem exists on both networks instead of just one. For some reason I just seems the router doesnt want to share the internet unless it assigns the IP's.

I dont understand it. Ugh!

 

[Lexluethar]

You are using a router to segment your network - that is your problem.

A router will STOP all DHCP packets and will not pass them through. So if you are using a router to connect your two networks together - and you are wanting to use a DHCP server to service both networks it will not work 'out of the box.' You need to either set your router to forward those packets or you need a second DHCP server setup as a relay agent.

 

[torque454]

I dont know how to make the router forward the packets or if it is even possible. I may have to make the router a switch only and use the server to share the internet as well as serve the dns and dhcp servers, and be a domain controller....