Unmanaged to Managed Network Switch

Hi,
I am somewhat of a networking novice trying to put together a domain. I
currently have a three server domain, all on Win 2003. My currently topology
is a Cisco Internet Cable Modem, leading to a Linksys 4-port router, leading
to an 8 port unmanaged Belkin GB switch. All servers have static IP's, and
everything works very well. When I try to replace my unmanaged switch with a
Dell 5324 managed switch, I loose all connectivity. To configure the network
switch, I used VT100 terminal emulation to assign a static IP, a subnet mask,
and a default gateway (the router's IP address). I did NOT configure any
SNMP settings.
My questions:
1. Do I need to configure SNMP on the switch?
2. Do I need to configure SNMP anywhere else in my network?
3. Do I need to register the switch's IP address with my DNS server?

Another question, that is somewhat unrelated. My current gateway is this
entry model Linksys router, which is about five years old. I want to replace
this with something that will route packets for me, and provide some firewall
protection. My ultimate goal for this network I am building is to have a
terminal servers in the DMZ, and a clustered SQL Server and stand-alone
BizTalk server behind the firewall. Any suggestions on what to replace my
Linksys router with? I would like to avoid VPN, if it can be done securely,
as I THINK (I could be mistaken) that VPN requires that clients have static
IP's. I do not want my TS clients to have this requirement.

Any advice, words of wisdom, etc, would be very appreciated.
Thanks

 

No.

The switch doesn't need an IP# at all for basic functionality. The IP# is
only so you can access the switch remotely for "management" purposes,....not
functional purposes.

There is not enough information to say why you are having problems with the
Switch. Saying that "I loose all connectivity" isn't enough,..it has to be
broken down.

1. Can machines ping each other but not the Internet?
2. Can machines ping other machines on the Dell Switch but not machines on
the Belkin Switch?
3. The four ports on the "router" also count as a third switch,...you have
to keep that in mind as well.
4. Can machines on the Dell switch ping the Switch by the IP# you gave the
Switch?

Never make your LAN dependent on the Internet Sharing Device for "routing".
The Internet Sharing Device should be only for the Internet and nothing
else. LAN Routing should be done with a separate and independent LAN
Router. It is just good network design practice that I always recommend.
Use other techniques and methods at your own risk.

The Linksys box can already do what you want. Any other device (even $$$$
ones) would work the same way. There are more complex systems such as MS
ISA Server2004,...but if you have to ask these questions, then you may not
be ready to tackel ISA, it is a whole different animal.

VPN is the most flexable.

Mistaken. There is no such relationship. The "Internet published" Servers
would need static IP#s, but then all Servers and infastructure devices
should already be static to begin with as per a good network design. The
infastructure should never depend on DHCP to be able to exist.