driverdownloads

Question: Dear all. I am having trouble with my first ever foray into domains. Unfortunately I am not at work right now, so I do not have access to the offending articles, but I will try and give as much info as possible.

To start with we are running 1 2k3 server (sbe), 4 w2k pro "work stations" and 1 xp pro "work station". Up until the server turned up, all machines obtained their IP for the ADSL Modem Router (DLink DSL-504T) and all appeared in the same "WORKGROUP". Please also note, that upto this point, we have only tried connecting the XP Machine due to location and not wanting to FUBAR the whole network.

The server has 2 network cards, one of which will connect to the router, and the other to the LAN. Doing an IPCONFIG /ALL on the server shows the following (Truncated as from memory)

NIC - LAN
IP Add. 192.168.1.11
G/way 192.168.1.1
Subnet 255.255.255.0
DNS 192.168.1.1

NIC - LAN Server Connection
IP Add. 192.168.1.6
G/way 192.168.1.1 (I think - is either .1 or .11)
Subnet 255.255.255.0
DNS 192.168.1.6

We think we have set up all the accounts on the server AND the workstations correctly, but ya never know.

So far we have been able to see the server in the network places on the XP machine, and we have been able to login, I think it was using user@domain though. When trying to join the domain we have been using the following process:

Right click "My Computer" -> Properties -> Computer Name -> [Change]
Move the radio button "Member Of" to "Domain" and enter domain... which we believe to be business.local (as the server name is BUSINESS-SERVER and business.local appears in IPCONFIG).
Click OK - and wait for the error message "Domain Controller at business.local could not be contacted"

The XP Machine does have Norton installed (bleuch), but that shouldn't create to much of a problem as it can be removed easily enough.

I did manually set the DNS on the XP Machine
pri: 192.168.1.1
sec 192.168.1.6

And having read some other posts on here, think that my problem may lie here and that I should remove the current pri, and promote the sec. This is something I will have to try when I get to work. However in the mean time, could you provide any other suggestions.

Thanks in advance. I will post more info when it comes available, including full IPCONFIG results.

driverdownloads

I really hate to correct olafdc here... but I need to because the info isn't really correct.

Also, just FYI, it's important that you post any questions regarding Small Business Server in the SBS Topic Area because otherwise you may get advice from someone who isn't familiar with this specialized product. For instance, while it seems that jasonr0025 understands that you need to use the wizards for adding computers, the comments regarding dcpromo and "setting up" rras or isa aren't pertinent because you don't dcpromo an SBS (it is done automatically during the installation process) and you don't set up rras or isa... you just run the Configure Email and Internet Connection Wizard (CEICW -- which is linked as Connect to the Internet in the Server Management Console > To-Do List).

I don't think there is a need to completely start over unless you really think you may have made some modifications to your server that would be difficult to undo.

In any case, you need to understand how to configure your NICs if you are going to get this right anyhow. Just so I understand, when you said that the server was originally set up by Dell, I am assuming that you mean that the OS came preinstalled. But did you also have a Dell Installation Rep come out and configure the server? I'm assuming that they didn't, and that you got a pre-installed OS, but that's only half of the work... the To-Do list is the 2nd half (and most important part) of the installation.

I'll also assume that your current network set-up looks like this:

DSL or Cable Modem ---- Router/Firewall ---- WAN NIC -- SBS -- LAN NIC ---- Switch ---- LAN Workstations

If this is not how you have things configured you need to set them this way. If you don't have a switch on the LAN side of your server, please put one there and then connect the workstations to that, not to the router. You must disable DHCP on your router, and then because it was enabled when you connected your SBS to it, you must re-establish the DHCP on your SBS by following the instructions found at the bottom of Â*Â*Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 Getting Started guide - APPENDIX CÂ*Â* Network Configuration Settings Â*.

Your ROUTER's configuration should be as follows:
WAN IP: as assigned by your ISP
Subnet Mask: as assigned by your ISP
Gateway: as assigned by your ISP
LAN IP: 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Then, you need to have the following settings on each of your NICs:

WAN NIC (EXTERNAL):
IP Address: 192.168.1.11
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS: 192.168.16.2
WINS: Leave blank
NetBIOS over TCP/IP: DISABLED

LAN NIC (INTERNAL):
IP Address: 192.168.16.2
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: Leave Blank
DNS: 192.168.16.2
WINS: 162.168.16.2
NetBIOS over TCP/IP: leave as default

Once you've made those changes, please run the Change Server IP Address Wizard found in the Internet & Email Pane of the Server Management Console. Use 192.168.16.2 in this wizard to set everything correctly.

Follow that with the CEICW. You will need your ISP's DNS server IP addresses for this wizard because you will enter those as the forwarders on the appropriate page. A visual how-to for this is at The CEICW

Since you have properly added users and computers using the wizard on the To Do list, then you now need to finish that process by going to the workstation, making sure it's set to receive it's IP Address automatically (DHCP enabled), and open Internet Explorer to navigate to http://roadlink-server/connectcomputer to join it to the domain. DO NOT join the workstations to the domain manually through system properties or you will bypass almost 80% of the tools that SBS provides to help you manage your domain and it's components.

You'll find a diagram of this suggested configuration here: Two Nics, a static IP address, ISA, router

Full networking information is available at How to configure Internet access in Windows Small Business Server 2003 and if you are not using the Getting Started Guide, you really should be. It's located here: Microsoft TechNet: Windows Small Business Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 Getting Started Guide.