Bridging with Windows 2003 Server

TeKniques

Hi all,

I've been reading about this and it seems logically possible, but I wanted to get some opinions from other IT experts before I attempt this.

*Situation*
I just moved into a new house and I have about 6 PC's, but I want to arrange them differently this time around. For instance, I have the main family PC in the living room which gets its Internet connection via a Netgear wireless router which is connected to the cable modem.

I also want to get Internet (as well as home network) to my other 5 PC's which I am placing in my new garage yay finally. So the question is: Can I bridge a network connection on the Windows 2003 Server machine with a WIRELESS usb adapter and then plug the other NIC cable into my 8 port Netgear wired router and then wire all the other machines into that 8 port router to achieve Internet access on all 6 PC's?

I apologize if the wording is confusing, I will clarify if need be. Thanks for looking in advance.

Webmaster

Yes, the bridging option in xp (and hence 2003, though I haven't tried it on that version, but I assume) is developed for such a situation, bridging a wireless and wired network (select both interfaces in Network Connections, right-click, and click "Bridge Connections"). Note that ICS and ICF cannot be running on any of the 2 network interfaces in the server, and all network nodes attached to these interfaces should use the same internal IP range (I.e. DHCP range from your wireless access router).

TeKniques

Thank you Webmaster. I had read that Windows 2003 server does not support bridging for the "web edition" and "datacenter edition". My copy came with the MCSE Sybex books and I have no idea which version that is, so I guess I will find out soon enough