Dual NICs?

I am bringing up a new Windows Server 2003 server with dual NICs - one
private and one public. I am not sure how I should make the network
connections:
(1) Should the public NIC be connected directly to the router, or should
there be a switch between the them.
(2) Should the private NIC be uplinked to a separate switch to which all
our internal machines are connected?

Thanks in advance,

Mervin Williams

The public NIC can go directly into your router and the internal can go into
a switch that is linked to your internal network.

"Mervin Williams" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I am bringing up a new Windows Server 2003 server with dual NICs - one
>private and one public. I am not sure how I should make the network
>connections:
> (1) Should the public NIC be connected directly to the router, or
> should there be a switch between the them.
> (2) Should the private NIC be uplinked to a separate switch to which
> all our internal machines are connected?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Mervin Williams
>

"Mervin Williams" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I am bringing up a new Windows Server 2003 server with dual NICs - one
> private and one public. I am not sure how I should make the network
> connections:
> (1) Should the public NIC be connected directly to the router, or
should
> there be a switch between the them

Switch is optional.

> (2) Should the private NIC be uplinked to a separate switch to which
all
> our internal machines are connected?

Switch (or hub) is required. No "uplink",... it is just a normal
connection. "Uplink" connections are for connecting two hubs/switches
together.

Then you must configure the Server as a Router or a NAT Device (depending on
which applies) by using RRAS.

--

Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]
www.wandtv.com

Just out of interest....

I have heard someone describing that their W2K3 server has two nics, both
were connected to their switch in the same way. They seemed to think that
they'd get workload sharing or something(?). I tried to explain that he
probably had a public/private configuration, one nic for internal LAN and
2nd nic for outside world (connected to router), but he still maintained
that they were both connected to the LAN in the same way. I was about to
ridicule them, then thought I'd better double check that he was being as
silly as I thought, and that it was not me being ignorant.

Any useful comments?

KarlS

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 10:49:12 +0100, "KarlS"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I have heard someone describing that their W2K3 server has two nics, both
>were connected to their switch in the same way. They seemed to think that
>they'd get workload sharing or something(?). I tried to explain that he
>probably had a public/private configuration, one nic for internal LAN and
>2nd nic for outside world (connected to router), but he still maintained
>that they were both connected to the LAN in the same way. I was about to
>ridicule them, then thought I'd better double check that he was being as
>silly as I thought, and that it was not me being ignorant.
>
>Any useful comments?

A VLAN can run separate virtual networks through the same switch gear,
so you could both be right. The IP addresses and netmasks assigned to
the NIC would most likely tell you.

Jeff

"KarlS" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I have heard someone describing that their W2K3 server has two nics, both
> were connected to their switch in the same way. They seemed to think that
> they'd get workload sharing or something(?).

Unless they were using *specially* designed Nics that come with specialized
software & drivers to perform Nic Teaming,... then they will not get any
kind of load balancing or load sharing,...absolutely not.

175767 - Expected Behavior of Multiple Adapters on Same Network
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;175767

But there are other reasons for doing that,..as Jeff mentioned.

--

Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]
www.wandtv.com

That is for multiple Server, not multiple Nics.

--

Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]
www.wandtv.com

"Mark S" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Server 2K3 has something built in to networking called Network Load
> Balancing. I'm not sure I've seen a setup using this to share load
> between two nics on the same machine though. Typically, it's used
> between multiple servers.
>

Most of the answeres seemed a little out of focus so....

Yes you can team network adapters for agragate throuput and fault tolerance.
It requires "special hardware".

All or my core services servers use multiple teams for
both speed and multihoming.

"KarlS" wrote:

> Just out of interest....
>
> I have heard someone describing that their W2K3 server has two nics, both
> were connected to their switch in the same way. They seemed to think that
> they'd get workload sharing or something(?). I tried to explain that he
> probably had a public/private configuration, one nic for internal LAN and
> 2nd nic for outside world (connected to router), but he still maintained
> that they were both connected to the LAN in the same way. I was about to
> ridicule them, then thought I'd better double check that he was being as
> silly as I thought, and that it was not me being ignorant.
>
> Any useful comments?
>
> KarlS
>
>
>

Ig you want to go multihomed:

public port should go into a firewall device and only the needed public
ports should be exposed/translated. Firewall device goes into router.

Private connection gets patched into a second firewall device. Firewall
device is then attatched to the internal LAN.

Tha being said, multihoming is not needed on the server. A multiport
firewall can do all this with less cable mess.

"Mervin Williams" wrote:

> I am bringing up a new Windows Server 2003 server with dual NICs - one
> private and one public. I am not sure how I should make the network
> connections:
> (1) Should the public NIC be connected directly to the router, or should
> there be a switch between the them.
> (2) Should the private NIC be uplinked to a separate switch to which all
> our internal machines are connected?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Mervin Williams
>
>
>