Setting up network 1st time

I am going 2 B setting up a network for the 1st time.I have a Server and 15 Prof boxes.Am going to make Server the DC,do I link them all together using NIC,i.e Bus topology, or use Hub and go dirct from each PC to HUB individulally.PC's automatically pick up which is the DC.

Also,when I make the Server the DC,do I config the internet connection through that?,ie.get a ISP dial up number.IS the Server now the preffered DNS and DHCP ??

Please help, I am desperate.

Mobsta

Morison,

If this is the first time your setting up a network, be prepared to face the problems [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
No matter how well you set it up, there will always be a problem poping up somewhere, but don't let that frighteen you! Its all good experience and a big learning curve.

As far as the topology's concern, I would hightly recommend you go for the star configuration, where you have a central hub or switch and each workstation has a dedicated UTP cable running to one port of the hub/switch. This is far better than the Coaxial-BUS topology which is outdated and less fault tolerant. One cut in the coax cable, and your whole network is offline!

Now as far as DC (Domain Controller) and Internet connection, your not mentioning something extremely important.... what O/S are you using on the server? NT4 or Windows 2000 Server?

If your using Windows 2000 then things will be a lot easier since the Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is built into the product and will help you share a single Internet connection with the rest of the network. You simply create a new dial up connection on the server (assuming there is a model acctached to it and configured) and once the connection icon is created, you can right click on it, goto its properties and enable the Internet Connection Sharing option.

After that your clients simply need to use the Windows 2000 server as a DNS server and gateway. This can be done manually or automatically via DHCP.

Hope this helps !

Cheers,

Gooda day Chris,

Thank you very much for your reply, sorry that I didnt say what OS it was.It is W2000 Server like you said.Also the clients PC's will be 2000 Prof.Okay that all sounds good.

The other thing I have been told that I will have to do is the cable wiring, I know about the RJ45 colour coding etc, but I havent done the actual WALL BOX wiring,which the cable from the PC runs to. You also said that I should run a cable straight from each PC to the Hub so that would just be a normal straight cable?

I think I might have to configure a print and file server as well, any help how I join these to the domain etc. and also the cabling.

Sorry to be such a pain.

Thanks again.

Morison,

Don't worry too much about the wall boxing.
Most wall sockets have colour codes at the back of them where the utp cable is suppose to connect to, this will help you wire the cable properly.

If your not to sure about, simply do a search on google.com and you will find plenty of websites to guide you through the installation.

As far as the 'normal straight cable' which you will need to connect your pc's to the hub, you can find them covered at the 'utp straight through' page. I would recommend you follow one standard throughout your lan to avoid future problems.

And closing this post, installing a print server is very simple and nothing you should be too concerned about.
When the times comes, let us know what exactly your considering doing and we will help you through it.

The file server however is slightly more complicated as it also involves implementing security and access policies - if you dont want everyone to have access to all available data on the server!

When you want to force a computer to 'join' a domain, you simply right click on the 'My computer" icon, goto the 'computer name" tab and click on the 'Change' button in order to join a domain. From there on, you will need to tell it which domain you wish to join and also use an account in the domain that has the right to join computers to it, the domain's administrator account will do this just fine.

If you dont manage to score the first time, don't worry, most people never get the first time right, and its a great learning curve.

Good luck !

Cheers