Microsoft Windows Networking Essentials by Darril Gibson

Author:Darril Gibson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sybex
Published: 2011-04-01T16:00:00+00:00

Windows Server 2008 includes all the software components to configure it as a software router. You don’t need to purchase any additional software. The only item that is required is to have at least two network interface cards (NICs) installed. One NIC would connect to one network, and the other NIC would connect to another network. You then configure the server as a router, and it takes care of the rest.

Although it’s much more common to use hardware routers, here are some examples of when you may want to use Windows Server 2008 as a software router:

Development Environment You can create a temporary subnetwork without purchasing additional hardware. For example, if you want to isolate some computers in a separate subnet for testing or development purposes, a software router is an inexpensive alternative.

Replacement of Failed Router If a hardware router fails, in smaller environments you may temporarily replace it with a software router until you purchase and receive a replacement.

Understanding Default Routes

A default route is the path that IP traffic takes when another path isn’t identified. Most computers determine default routes based on their configured default gateway settings. Chapter 5 covered some basics of how TCP/IP determines whether traffic should go through a router. As a reminder, consider Figure 9-2 for the following scenarios.

Figure 9-2: Moving traffic on a network

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