Hi all,

 

--- Please note i'm not asking anyone to do my job for me, if this needs a lot of advice I'm happy to pay an hourly rate for over the phone advice ----

 

I'm a freelance computer guy doing as much as I can... this week I took a call asking if I can do a server setup in a small business. I've done small XP Pro based server setups before so thought sure why not. Like a moron I didn't ask any more questions (you know like, what OS, how many clients etc) and so was taken aback to find an office with 28 devices on the network (22-24 workstations) and a fully fledged HP ProLiant server with SBS 2003 waiting for setup. All they want it for is a file server with VPN available to the directors from their homes.

 

I don't charge a huge amount (No doubt why they went with me) due to only having been doing this for a year so ploughed on thinking it'd be great learning experience. I'm two days in and having at last got SBS to stick with a static IP and connect (ish) to the routers it's now stuck after a reboot on "Configuring Network Connections" (or something similar) during boot up... that's my first problem.

 

As far as I can tell from online tutorials there should have been a To Do List wizard situation happening, which is why I thought it didn't look too bad after getting to the office - only that wasn't there. So I clicked "Complete Setup" instead today having pissed about with options in Administration settings for the first few hours and after about an hour or two it eventually got round to rebooting - that's where I am now.

 

A little info on the network:

- 2 BT Routers (2 seperate broadband connections) going into Network switch... apparently the connections get spread evenly

- 20+ clients connecting directly into same switch

- The Server is connected into this same switch so it doesn't make use of the two NICs

 

Currently the network uses an XP Pro based WorkGroup server. All machines have static IP with their Primary DNS set to the Router IP (router #1) and Gateway to the Router. The IP range is something like 62.239.x.128-200 - the Subnet mask is 255.255.255.192 and the Router subnet is the same.

One of the Routers is set to be the DHCP server with about 12 slots open (62.239.x.178-190). This was all setup before I ever went there.

---

So... what did I do on SBS settings?

I changed the Local Network Connection TCP/IP settings to mimmick that of the existing file server simply as a temp measure to get it reconised on the server. Changed to a static IP (in the range where it was available), the subnet mask, the gateway and the DNS used (which was same as gateway) - this got the Server showing up on both Router config screens. I setup the Domain in the initial wizard as companyname.local.

 

Beyond that though I'm stumped. How do I get client PC's to connect to it (all clients on XP Pro) - I tried simply changing from Workgroup to a Domain on one machine but it couldnt find the domain or simply didn't work.

Also I notice I can't view any web pages through the server even though I'm connected to the routers...

 

What settings am I missing?

 

As stated at the top... beyond the first query (why is it stuck... how do I stop it being stuck) I am aware this is a lot to ask for free so am happy to pay someone for instruction via telephone.

Hi Mark,

 

Welcome to the site! Please, post an ipconfig /all from the server and a workstation. Open a command prompt by opening Start -> Run from the Start Menu and type cmd. From the command prompt type ipconfig /all >ip.txt. Attach this file to your answer.

 

Unfortunately (well... im kind of glad to get out of there!!) I'm not at the office anymore, am home for the day but will be going back on Friday or Monday.

 

ok fingers crossed. I've asked them to call tomorrow morning with status update for server.

---

Given what I've said I have input for Connection settings (ip static, subnet as for rest of network + gateway/dns that of the router) is there anything that sounds wrong with that? If so what should I be using instead?

 

Following on from that how do I get one of the XP Pro machines onto the domain (companyname.local) - I tried using the Domain wizard in XP Pro but nothing happened/failed.

Mark,

 

Have a look here:

 

How to add new users and computers:
http://www.smallbizserver.net/Default.aspx?tabid=266&ArticleType=ArticleView&ArticleID=104&PageID=152

 

SBS had a 'Change IP' wizard for the servers IP address and you must use if you need to change it. I am very interested in answers to the questions I have in my first answer to you:

 

Please, post an ipconfig /all from the server and a workstation. Open a command prompt by opening Start -> Run from the Start Menu and type cmd. From the command prompt type ipconfig /all >ip.txt. Attach this file to your answer.