Networking config failures dual NIC configuration Dell Server/SBS2

My problems concerns network configuration to connect a new router to the
server for internet services, I am a newbie to new networking and servers so
I am out of my depth with terminology and configuration.

I have a new Dell 1600sc Server with Microsoft SBS 2003 basic. The network
configuration from Dell comprises two Broadcom NICs and a temporary PCI 56K
Modem for dial-up access. One NIC is on the mainboard and connects the
gigabit LAN via a Dell switch. The second NIC provides ADSL access via a
router/ADSLmodem to the Internet. The dial-up modem was used as a temporary
stop-gap while waiting for ADSL. The first NIC was originally configured
with a fixed IP address of 192.168.0.1; the second NIC was disabled to remove
any conflicts. We now have ADSL, and have connected a Netgear DG834G
integrated router (WAP, router & modem combined) to the second NIC via an
Ethernet (RJ45) cable. The modem connections (DUN) have been removed from
the system (to avoid conflict), leaving just 2 network connections.

The problem is that the new internet connection will not work. It is not a
fault with the router as it has been swapped and tested with an identical
model. All the indicators on the routers are as they should be and it is
being polled. Access to the router management is via the browser, address
http//192.168.0.1. as per Netgear instructions. However when I try to connect
to the router via the browser, I get the management page on the internal
Sharepoint website, not the router management system as I should.

The address for NIC connected to the LAN is also 192.168.0.1 so if I ping I
get the NIC not the router (I think). I have tried setting the IP address on
the NIC connected to the router to a higher address range and the gateway
address to the Router’s IP address with no success. I have tried changing
the address on the NIC connecting the LAN/Switch, this results in a very slow
system and Client access failure. I have tried using the Internet connection
wizard for different setup configurations as I am not clear as to what set up
is required for a combination router such as this one and had no luck there
either. I suspect there may be an issue with DHCP, but I know nothing about
its configuration, I also supect that this is a combination of several issues.

I desperately need help; Dell doesn’t want to know and neither do Netgear.
If anyone can give me a jargon free step by step help I would be extremely
grateful.

I have just been back to the customer this morning and none of the networks
are working now so you can imagine his mood and mine!

Thanks
Jon

 

Only use one Nic in the server.
Set all of its IP configuration to automatic.
Plug the Server into a common Hub or Switch along with all the other
machines.
Plug the "router's" LAN port into the same Hub or Switch.
Either reboot the Server or from a command prompt type the following two
commands:

IPCONFIG /Release
IPCONFIG /Renew

 

Thanks Philip, I will try this as a last measure as the Customer will not be
pleased that he has spent a lot of money with Dell who specified this
requirement from the start!! But actuallit is the way I would have done it
in my old NT days many yonks ago.

 

I understand.

Sale Depts may sell what they simply think you needed based on the
description they got for whoever they talked to. So if the person doing the
ordering misunderstood the technology or their needs,..or both,..they may
get something other than what they needed. For example people may get all
fire up about doing Network Load Balancing and think they need two
Nics,...so Dell would be more than happy to sell you a Server with two Nics
inspite of the fact that NLB does not use two Nics, but uses two Servers
with one Nic each.

Since this is a server you may want to consider a static IP# after you can
verify that the connectivity is working. Those "routers" typically only
asign part of an IP range,..so you could statically asign an IP from outside
that range as long as it is still the same subnet. Servers are usually
happier with static TCP/IP settings.

 

Hi Phillip, sorry for the delay in my response.

I have done as you suggested and plugged the router into the Dell switch and
set the IP addressing for theat NIC to AUTO. I still had a conflict problem
with 2nd NIC that I originally used for the router even when I had disabled
it; so I set its range to 198.168.100.0 and disbaled it again. Everthing
burst into life and I have set up the router etcetera and the Clients can
access the Internet.

BUT.... I now have another two problems to solve.

1. I now cannot access the Intranet website (comapnyweb...) I get eroor 404.

2. The Clients can not synchronise folders/files etc, and there are no
offline copies of the these either. This problem emerged two days ago when I
was trying to configure the two NICs. So I may have set up the shares and
synchronisation configs up wrongly and the changing of the IP addressing has
exacerbated the problem. I have tried to set this up again but no luck.
Again this is down to my lack of eperience with the new server SW. Can you
help please.

Thanks
Jon

 

First, do what I mentioned at the bottom of this post, then do this....
Just physically remove the NIC that you do not use from the machine. Delete
it from Device Manager *first* before removing it so it remove the Driver
and registry settings are removed before the card is taken out.

The Nic must be set to the first priority NIC for DNS, WINS, ect to work
properly.

1. Properties of Network Places
2. "Advanced" menu from the top.
3. "Advanced Settings..." from the drop down menu
4. The upper box is the one to adjust. Use the side arrows to place the
correct Nic at the top of the list.

 

Thanks Phlilip

Have done all that and all is now working fine except I am now left with
problems retrieving email. POP3 server is flagging connection problems so
exchange not working. I think it is to do with the ISP settings and I have
tried a new config. However perhaps you could explain one of the config
settoings for PO3; that is the the Domain Name. It requests the email Domain
name for the ISP but does not specify what it really means. Is this the name
originally set up in exchange or simply the ISP domain name (they say it isnt
hence the confusion) or the doamin anme establishe during Exchange setup?

thanks for your help and patience

Jon

 

It is the "Mail Domain Name" that the ISP used when they created your public
MX record. It is associated with an IP#,....*that* IP is the one you must
have exposed to the Internet and it is the IP# that your Mail Server must
"appear as" to the outside world.

The Mail Domain Name is what appears on the right-side of the "@" in your
email address.

 

Chances are that your NAT Box is forwarding to the wrong Server IP# since
that number may now be different than what you first configured the NAT
Device to forward to.

 

Thanks Phillip, but you have lost me on the jargon. I am a newbie to this
and may well have undertaken this task on initial setup/config of the server.
But I haven't the foggiest how to go back and reset it. As SBS is all
wizadry and this can be good but fall flat if something goes wrong. I cant
do much tonight (it is 2AM GMT) Will double chek later this morning

thanks
Jon

 

You'd better get someone to help you that can physically be there with you.
There is only so much that can be done with a newsgroup message.

 

Success. I should have trusted myself to use my past and experience and
knowledge with PCs and NT servers, as well as your kind assistance! All is
working fine now.

Lessons learned.#

SBS is not a simple set of software that any small can install and use as
Microsoft would have us belive. Fine if the wizards work but whoa beteide if
anything fails on the initial load! As ours did.

Don't go for douible NICs as Dell recommend.

Don't believe everything a Dell salesman (or any other for that matter)
tells you. Do your own thing and ask around.

Check your support contract. We were in the belief that we had cover when
we purchased our support contracts. We were..... but for hardware only.
Dell did not want to know and left us to struggle and find our own way. I
would have thought they might have provided some initial support, but no
way....... So much for the great claims of Dell about their Customer Care.
We shan't buy Dell again.

Lastly: I think there is a great market opportunity for someone to write
the definitive, jargon free, easy to understand, with lots of examples, i.e.
'The Definitive Guide to Servers and Networks fo the Small Business User'.

Thanks Phillip and all who helped.

Jon

 

I wouldn't say that. I am very pleased with the Dell products that we have.
I don't depend on Dell to tell me how to setup an OS properly that they
didn't write or design. Windows (any flavor) is not a Dell product nor their
responsibility in my opinion. The OS is MS's product and their
responsibility to see that it is sufficiently documented so that those in
the field have the tools they need to properly deploy it, and I feel they
have done that.

The Hardware however is a Dell Product and it is likewise Dell's
responsibility to see to it that it is properly supported by them,....I
never really have any trouble with ours, so I don't know how well they do
that, but the products have done well for us.

The "third spoke" to this is the IT Staff. It is the responsibility of the
IT Staff to know their jobs. I disagree with the way some companies who are
in need of an "IT Guy" to maintain their equipment and network system, so
they just grab some poor sucker that works in their organization that they
think is "good with computers" and drops it all in the guy's lap. I'm not
blaming the poor guy that is put in that situation, but am blaming the
people who put him there. The world of "IT" is highly technical and requires
skill and training. Companies and organizations need to get off this idea
that "...it's a computer,..how hard can it be...".

On the other comments I agree 100% !!