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hi all again..

will explain the current set up i have at home at the moment to save any questions.

have a wireless router in the attic, 3 pcs in various locations round the house.
1x connects via ethernet to the router, ( my main gaming pc )
1x connects via wireless ( web browsing )
1x connects via those new adapters that use the homes electrical wiring.( web browsing )

no network has been set up and each pc is only connected to the router for internet access only.

i put together an old machine to install win2k3 trial server OS on to so i can start playing around with networks. so i can see it working rather than just read about it.

1st question. how would it be best to wire this up.
should i hard wire the server pc into the router, or can i connect it via ethernet to my main pc that is already hardwired to my router.
2nd question not sure what i did but i tried connecting my main pc to my server pc via ethernet, as my main pc has 2 ethernet ports on it. and just messed about flying by the seat of my pants to see what happend. using the network set up wizards and such.. any way..................... after an hour or 2 of not really getting any where i thought i would take a break and read up on the correct way to do it not my hit and miss way.. and now i cannot connect to my router via the ethernet connection.
i have removed all connections from the server and turned it off.
i have enabled the wireless ability on my main pc just so i can get online. but i have obviously done some thing that has stopped me been able to connect to the router and the internet via my previous ethernet connection.

 

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ok main problem sorted.. i think what ever i did was on one of my network ports on my main pc. i swapped the ethernet cable to my 2nd port on my pc and bing bang bosh im back online and connected to my router..

so what ever i did was on the original port connected to my router.

but i would still like to know the most best way to connect up my server with my existing pc and routers, with regards to wiring that is.

 

When I had my server running in my flat, I had it directly connected to the router. I also had it take over the dns and dhcp roles from the router to allow me to play about with it.

If you intend to do the same, then its essential that the server is DIRECTLY connected to the router. Whilst i believe you could connect it through your PC to the network, you would be unable to access the DNS/DHCP functions from the server should your pc be down/powered off.

 

I assume your router is your main broadband connection to the internet...either DSL or Cable, Correct? Assuming it is, it also seems to be providing DHCP, DNS, and WLAN services. Here's what I would do.

Get a small, 4-port switch and put the switch inbetween the router and any PCs you need to connect with Ethernet patch cables. Obviously, your wireless computer will still use the WLAN connection and so that won't change. I have no experience networking using a house's electrical wiring so I don't know how that's set up.

If you use a switch, you can add PCs to your home network more or less at will as long as the switch has enough available ports. I suggested a 4-port switch because it's the smallest and cheapest and it doesn't look like you have more than 4 computers you plan to add using patch cables.

I've got three PCs and a small server hooked together using a switch to create my home LAN and the switch is cabled to my DSL device for Internet access. My server device provides DNS, DHCP, and WLAN services to all my computers including the two wireless laptops my kids use.

I'd suggest that if you are going to add a server to the mix, you give it a static IP. That'll make it a tad easier for the other computers to access whatever services it provides. You can also configure it to serve up DNS and DHCP since you are practicing for the Network+ exam.

As far as breaking and fixing things goes, that's how you learn.

 

Dont foget you can use services mmc snap in management tools to manage DNS & DHCP on your win2k3 server.

You can toggle these on /off between your router and server to create different setups.