Help on setting up a network.

Hello, guys im alittle new to networking in general.


Ive done the stuff where you get dsl and a router and hook up to 3 computers into a router to create a network.


But what i want to do is.

Im going to have to start off with 5 to 7 computers, all of them running windows 2003 server i dont remember if they are going to be home or "pro"?

What i want is i want the ability to set up a master computer, and run everything else through it. that way i can keep en eye on what is going on with my network.

Is there remote administration on the OS? how would i enable it? What do i need to look for?

Basically im trying to set up a little lan gaming area. Ive never done anything like this before, im not too sure how much i would trust the people who would be on it, so i know i dont want to give them any administration privledges.

Oh and im going to set it up on a large DSL connection.

Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

hm... well, first there's no windows server 2003 home or pro edition, it's just server 2003 or small business edition.

Secondly, If you want one main computer then you only want one main server and the rest as clients, definetly not 7 servers!!

You probably want to set up a domain from the main server for the clients and give them restricted access.

If you would like, also check out the link in my signature and e-mail The JP Group about your networking issue and help on further specific details on privledges and administration for the rest of the computers.

Hope I was of some help.

Firstly, I guess you probably mean Windows XP, rather than Windows 2003 server, as this comes with Home and Pro editions, and you definitely don't want 7 servers like PSJassal said. If you're setting up a gaming network, you'll want to use XP to isntall games on, not Windows 2003 server.

The master computer, perhaps should be windows 2003 server. You could use XP, but XP isn't really designed as a server. Be advised that when using XP home, it can only accept connections from another 4 machines. With XP pro, you can connect to another 9 machines. So, if you are ever planning on having more than 10 machines in your network, the server probably should be running Windows 2003 server, rather than XP.

Remote administration is quite easy in XP Pro and Windows server 2003. Just use the thing called Remote Desktop - you can connect to it using the remote desktop client and administer your computer easily. These clients can be installed on pretty much all versions of windows. However, XP home doesn't include Remote Desktop, and you wouldn't be able to use it.

Probably, you want the main computer to be Windows 2003 server, then you can install DHCP and DNS. You can then get it to hand out IP addresses to the clients and act as a DNS server for the local network. This would make setting up clients more easy.

For the DSL connection, you can easily share it. In Windows, there is a feature called Internet Connection Sharing - just right-click the connection in the Network Connections in the Control Panel, select Properties and click the Advanced tab. You can share the connection from there. All you need to do on the clients is set the default gateway to the IP address of the main computer with the Internet connection (this needs to be static).

HTH,

Edwin

If the gaming server is going to be accessible from the internet I would suggest to put it in a DMZ behind the firewall and NOT add it to a domain. Everything else I think edwinbrains covered nicely, except ICS I hate that hehe use a firewall router and a switch.

Ok thank you guys for the help.


I know its not going to be windows xp,

Its going to be windows 2003, thats what i remember from the specs when i was at home.

Im going to be getting the package where i can legally install it on upto 5 computers. when i get some more computers, ill end up buying more version of windows.

On the hardware side, should i get something like a 7 port router, or should i use the modem plug that into my "server" and then use something like a hub.

Im assuming DHCP and DNS are something i can install in windows 2003, but ill do alittle research on this.

But to make this work ill definatly have to have a static ip address? is there any work arounds for a dynamic address?

But anyways thank you guys this is alot of help.

Purzner,

I highly recommend you do as much research possible on google before going into this.

I woudln't recommend using a hub for a gaming network with half duplex. I don't even know if hubs are even sold these days. Try using some sort of a switch or a router.

You have to worry about static IPs if this is going to be a gaming network on the internet. But for something private, you can set up IPs any way your router allows you to.

If this is going to be something for internet users but your ISP does not offer static IPs, you can use dynamic DNS. Some companies offer this service, such as http://www.dyndns.org or http://www.dnsexit.com.

P.S. research more.

A router is probably easier to setup - you just connect the Internet in one port, the clients in the other ports and it'll include a DHCP server so that your clients should all be configured correctly to communicate and access the Internet. It should also include everything you need in terms of firewalls. The Internet would also be available all the time (you wouldn't need another computer on).

If you want more control, you could plug a modem into the server and then use Internet sharing software like Internet Connection Sharing. You could then setup things up in a similar way to the router, but it's more hassle. I'd go with the router. Btw, definitely go for a switch rather than a hub. They're not much more expensive, but a lot faster and better in the long term.

Windows 2003 includes DHCP and DNS and nice wizards to get you started

If you want a gaming server accessible from the Internet, a static IP address would be better. You can use dynamic IP addresses, with services such as no-ip.com, but if you can get a static, then all the better.

Within your local network, your server wants a static IP address, as well as your router (if you get one). The other clients won't need static IP addresses, and can get them automatically assigned from the DHCP server.

Hehe - those posts are pretty similar. Your's wasn't there when I was typing mine