How to manage data sharing in a little Intranet on Windows

Question

I should set up a network for a little enterprise. The requirements can be summarized as follows:

1. All the "business" softwares have to be stored in a single computer (let's call it "the server"). The other computers (in this case there should be at most 2 or 3 computers) can execute these softwares through the server. So there are no local copies of those softwares on clients, only on the server.
2. The main computer (the server) shares also a printer.
3. All the computers in the network, are interconnected through a single wi-fi modem/router. Some of them are connected through the wi-fi interface and others through an ethernet cable.

Here is the most tedious problem with which I'm dealing: the server, in order to perform some special procedures, has to connect to a special modem which connects it to a remote private network. In order to do so, the server disconnects from the local enterprise network. In the meantime, clients are not able to execute softwares anymore and cannot print anything.

PAY ATTENTION: when the server is connected to the private network, it still needs to execute the "business" softwares.

So, my questions are:

1. Is it possible to keep the server connected to both the networks without denying the access to softwares, data and printers to anyone? If yes, how?
2. If not, how can I design the topology of the network in order to share softwares and other data among all the computers (server and clients)? It's important that when the server connects to the private network every computer (including the server itself) can still access softwares, data and printers.

I hope I was clear.

Thanks.

Answer 1

You say that: in order to connect to the remote private special network, it has to disconnect from the local network. Then you say that you also need to keep it connected at all times so that all the clients can run software that lives only on the server.

By the terms you've defined, this is impossible. You need to split up these functions into two separate servers, or talk to the special private network people and find out what in their software requires the server to disconnect from the local network.