192.168 network within a 10.52 network. Am I accurate on this?

[Jayce]

I'm bouncing some ideas around here and I'm not sure if I'm correct on this or not. I'm a little anxious to post here even though in a matter of 30 minutes tomorrow at work I could set up a test environment proving or disproving this idea...

I'm tinkering with Linux based thin clients within a Windows network. We have Windows servers on the core end for the most part (DHCP, DC, File, Print). I've been trying to figure out how to easily adapt more than 1 Linux server to the mix which network boots. It works with 1 but I want to seclude 1 lab of 30 clients to server A, another lab of 30 clients to server B, etc.... Anyway make a long story short, I came up with this idea, so tell me if this makes sense.

Our network = 10.52.x.x

WHAT IF...

I got a server with Linux on it and installed DHCP. This server has two NIC's. One I would set to 192.168.x.x network and that port would be the DHCP controller for the 192 network. The other NIC would be part of the 10.52.x.x network with external access. I would arrange the ports in the switch room so everything in Lab 100 goes to switch A, and Lab 200 goes to switch B, etc. So the switches would be segregated from the rest of the network. Their only "link" would be the 10.52 NIC within the server to get external access.

Is my train of thought correct? Would I thereby be able to get external network access on the clients even though they are in a 192 network, but their parent server has a 192 NIC as well as a 10.52 NIC?

 

[S0ULphIRE]

So you're pretty much saying you've got two subnets (10.52.x.x and 192.168.x.x) connected to one router (linux box) which has appropriate permissions/gateways setup so it can access the internet. Yeah that'll work. You'll just have to setup the 192 NIC on the linux box to use the connection on the 10.52 NIC.

disclaimer though, it's 7:30AM and I had 3 hours sleep last night and no breakfast and you write like a madman.

 

[Jayce]

More or less. I'm not sure I'd call the Linux box a router, but moreso a gateway.

30 clients - 192.168.x.x addresses - NIC A on server - DHCP - Linux Server..... Then......... Linux Server - No DHCP - Static IP set @ 10.52.x.x range - external access to the outside world and rest of the internal network.

My concerns:
- I do not want NIC A to hand out 192 addresses "outside" of the lab. Our Windows DHCP server is "the" DHCP server, so whatever addresses NIC A hands out needs to be for the lab client ONLY.
- I'm curious what kind of speed issues I would face by having two NICs doing separate jobs. I suppose if anything it would benefit me, dedicating one NIC for internal and one NIC for external. Eh?

 

[S0ULphIRE]

If the linux box is routing traffic between subnets (which it will be) then it's a router. lol not that it matters at all though

You can put in a series of checks on the linux box to make sure DHCP addresses don't get assigned to any computers but Lab A computers. MAC address filtering, setup a vlan on the switch, etc.
As for speeds, so long as both NICs are gigabit, you shouldn't worry too much unless you have awesome internet speeds