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I'm setting up a small network for an air cadet squadron I help to run. We've just moved into a brand new HQ which is kitted up with ethernet ports throughout the building so I thought I may as well make use of it.

Now I have the server connected and all the workstations and I'm operating an Active Directory service; I'm quite new to this so it's been a learning curve but it's all gone smoothly so far. But the next step is connecting the router for internet access..

The telephone line comes in through the office, and there's an Ethernet port straight next to it, so would it literally be as simple as connecting the router and running an Ethernet cable to the port then setting the gateways of the workstations to the router's IP?

Or is there a more efficient way to do this? I'm running 1 Server (2008 R2) and 15 workstations (Win 7)

Thanks Luke

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  • Where do all of your 15 workstations connect to? Where do all of the network ports in your building terminate? Do you have a network switch? Oct 14, 2014 at 11:25

2 Answers 2

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For the purposes of this answer, I am assuming you have your workstations and server connected to a central network switch.

If you're running DHCP on your 2008 R2 server, you will need to disable the DHCP that usually comes activated on the ISP's router. You'll need to set up the router's LAN interface on the same subnet as your main network - it's best to do these two fist steps before connecting the router to your network switch - i.e. connecting the router to a laptop or other computer directly using an Ethernet cable. This avoids any addressing and setup conflicts.

Once configured, connect one of the router's LAN ports into your network switch, and either alter your DHCP settings to set the default gateway to the router's LAN IP, or manually set each of your workstations' gateways if you're using static addressing (note: you should be using DHCP if you value your sanity).

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  • sorry about late reply, but this seems pretty Straight forward - thank you so much! Oct 16, 2014 at 19:01
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Craig Watson has given the best answer. If you worry about the security, you can put a Linux machine and make it as Router. Then direct all the workstations to the Linux machine. The linux machine should be connected to the ISP's router. Linux machine should have 2 LAN cards.

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