Comments on: setting up small LAN with server

By: holyson

holyson — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:20:36 +0000

lan setting

By: holyson

holyson — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:19:22 +0000

how to set up LAN and it’s server computer to be under work group by using windows xp
proffesional

By: holyson

holyson — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:16:51 +0000

globalization and the effects of moral erosion in africa

By: buddyfarr

buddyfarr — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 08:22:12 +0000

although HenryH is correct, SME server is a great option, it would be very difficult to manage if you do not know linux. it is very easy to setup but how about security? it would be very hard for someone with little to no network management skills to audit and manage a linux box.

I have an SME server running my father’s business and except the occasional power outage it does not go down. runs his web presence, email, file storage flawlessly. and that is running on an old compaq proliant server that is a single core 300 MHz processor. heck if you check with some big companies nearby your place you could probably find one that is tossing out an old server that you could use. even ebay has a lot of them.

that is the great thing about SME or just about any linux distro. you can run it on old hardware with no problem. try that with server 2k3.

but back to the problem, if the user is at an entry level then either put aside some time and learn linux or use a windows server OS. although windows is easier I would say that it would be better to learn linux and get the free SME server up and running. it is a great system with great support and will do everything you need. and it will save you a lot of money by not having to purchase an expensive OS for only 10 workstations.

By: henryh

henryh — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 20:02:07 +0000

Have a look at SME server. (http://www.smeserver.org/)

There are several options available, each of which will provide you with a secure (monitored) interent connection & server file storage (and log-on).

The software is free so you could install it on an old computer to evaluate and try several of the options. The forums are active and helpful.

I have installed it to several small businesses and it just sits there, year afr=ter year doing it’s thing without anyone thinking about it.

Set-up is through a Q & A process and administration is through a web page/menu.

Good luck…

By: astronomer

astronomer — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:03:25 +0000

Based on the sketchy information provided, I will assume you want the 10 workstations to surf the internet, be managed by a central server, be DHCP clients, and you will not have any services for external systems. Also the router is NATing private addresses for outside access and is a DHCP client of the ISP. You are probably already using a class C private net on the LAN.
With that number of clients, you may want to examine whether a domain is worthwhile, but if you want a central server to manage things:
Build a windows domain controller, (either 2000 or 2003, for a beginner, I don’t recommend doing this with linux).
Set up integrated active directory DNS with a private domain.
Disable any DHCP server services on the router. If it is already set up with an internal IP compatible with your existing network, you don’t need to change addressing.
Set up the server as a DHCP server and hand out the internal IP of the router as the default gateway and itself as DNS server. Also create a large enough scope in your net to handle all of the DHCP clients.
Configure DNS to forward external requests to the ISP DNS server.
Create domain user accounte for everyone.
Join the domain with all of your clients.

I have left out a lot of details but this model would give you central management and allow the systems to reach each other, the server, and the internet. One big problem with this model is a single domain controller has to be up at all times or domain logins and internet access will fail for all clients. This is the reason most organizations run at least two domain controllers.

You may have noticed that most of this is about domains and DNS, not the actual LAN. Your hubs and internet router should be fine for low traffic access. If you have a standard class C private net and the router has a port and IP on that net, the only real network issues amount to having the right IPs, subnet masks, and default gateways on each system.
Hope this points you in the right direction.
rt