HELP! Internet Connection Sharing not available...

Hi,

I'm just trying out the 180 day trial of Windows Server 2003 and have
setup up a small network with 1 server and 4 pc's.

I want to enable the Internet connection sharing option on my ADSL
connection so that other pc's can access the internet but this option
isn't present on the advanced tab.

My question is.... is this feature present in the trial version of
Windows Server 2003, and if it is how the hell do I get it to appear to
enable it?

I've read many posts on this but haven't found the answer yet so any
help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

Jason

If you have two adapters installed, ICS should be available on the Advanced
tab in Local Area Connection properties - Advanced tab. See:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;324286

If your Windows 2003 Server is a domain controller or you have configured
DHCP or RRAS, you should use RRAS/NAT instead of ICS:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;816581

Doug Sherman
MCSE, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP

"Jason70" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> I'm just trying out the 180 day trial of Windows Server 2003 and have
> setup up a small network with 1 server and 4 pc's.
>
> I want to enable the Internet connection sharing option on my ADSL
> connection so that other pc's can access the internet but this option
> isn't present on the advanced tab.
>
> My question is.... is this feature present in the trial version of
> Windows Server 2003, and if it is how the hell do I get it to appear to
> enable it?
>
> I've read many posts on this but haven't found the answer yet so any
> help would be much appreciated.
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> Jason
>

"Doug Sherman [MVP]" wrote:

> If you have two adapters installed, ICS should be available on the Advanced
> tab in Local Area Connection properties - Advanced tab. See:
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;324286
>
> If your Windows 2003 Server is a domain controller or you have configured
> DHCP or RRAS, you should use RRAS/NAT instead of ICS:
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;816581
>
> Doug Sherman
> MCSE, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP

Well, no wonder I too can't find the "Allow other network users to connect
through this computer's Internet connection check box". Thanks for the
information.

It would be more than nice is the books that I very recently bought from
Microsoft Press were up-to-date versions. The book that I am working through
now, which indicates that ICS *can* be used after a server is promoted to a
domain controller, is "Implementing, Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft
Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure" by J. C. Mackin and Ian McLean,
for exam 70-291. If I can get the test for this one passed, I will have a
current MCSA.

Dennis Calhoun
A+, Network+, MCP+1

The problem is that ICS is a very simple-minded program which was
developed for W98. It simply uses the host machine as a gateway and a DNS
proxy. I think you will find that ICS will still install in a server running
AD (although many of us think it should be disabled).

ICS is not really suitable for an Active Directory setup. AD requires
the use of the local DNS to find the SRV records. Proxying DNS requests to
an ISP won't find them! The recommended method is to use the local DNS, and
configure this DNS to forward to a public DNS to resolve "foreign" URLs. It
is also recommended that RRAS not be installed on a DC .

Dennis Calhoun wrote:
> "Doug Sherman [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> If you have two adapters installed, ICS should be available on the
>> Advanced tab in Local Area Connection properties - Advanced tab.
>> See:
>>
>> http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;324286
>>
>> If your Windows 2003 Server is a domain controller or you have
>> configured DHCP or RRAS, you should use RRAS/NAT instead of ICS:
>>
>> http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;816581
>>
>> Doug Sherman
>> MCSE, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP
>
> Well, no wonder I too can't find the "Allow other network users to
> connect through this computer's Internet connection check box".
> Thanks for the information.
>
> It would be more than nice is the books that I very recently bought
> from Microsoft Press were up-to-date versions. The book that I am
> working through now, which indicates that ICS *can* be used after a
> server is promoted to a domain controller, is "Implementing, Managing
> and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network
> Infrastructure" by J. C. Mackin and Ian McLean, for exam 70-291. If I
> can get the test for this one passed, I will have a current MCSA.
>
> Dennis Calhoun
> A+, Network+, MCP+1

"Bill Grant" wrote:

> The problem is that ICS is a very simple-minded program which was
> developed for W98. It simply uses the host machine as a gateway and a DNS
> proxy. I think you will find that ICS will still install in a server running
> AD (although many of us think it should be disabled).
>
> ICS is not really suitable for an Active Directory setup. AD requires
> the use of the local DNS to find the SRV records. Proxying DNS requests to
> an ISP won't find them! The recommended method is to use the local DNS, and
> configure this DNS to forward to a public DNS to resolve "foreign" URLs. It
> is also recommended that RRAS not be installed on a DC .

Yes, I understand that, but I've been trying to follow along with the
practice exercises that the book calls for, then found that it would not work
right. As a stop-gap measure, I've temporarily configured RRAS and NAT on one
of the systems in my lab, a domain controller, just so I can stay as close as
possible to what the book calls for.

At a later point, I will install and configure a DHCP server, authorize it
and then stop using the very limited DHCP capabilities that NAT includes. It
just bugs me that the book calls for doing something that will not work.

I have to wonder if Service Pack 1 for Server 2003 Enterprise Edition is the
point at which ICS was mostly removed from the domain controller enviroment
(the Windows Firewall/ICS service is still included, but ICS seems to be
otherwise missing from configurable options in Network Connections properties
for all devices). If so, then what the book calls for might well have worked
if I had not installed SP1.

Dennis Calhoun
A+, Network+, MCP+1