Hi, Can anyone help me with what is probably a really stupid question but has got me a bit confused. I am looking to get a server setup and need to be armed with some information before I get taken for a ride so I thought I would do a bit of leg work to get a basic appreciation of the ins and outs. Running SBS 2003 on a server with a switch over a hub it was suggested that to share broadband internet access simply plug in a netgear modem internet gateway (DG814) into one of the available ports. I read in online networking guides that you also need a router in the network but i do not understand where it would go... or is the gateway in fact a router in itself and I am just getting confused?. Thanks for your insight. Kevin

That hardware combines the functions of a DSL modem and a NAT "router." You wouldn't need to buy any other hardware to share your internet connection.

Thank you Tropic, I think I got confused with terminology, the gateway appears to be a router. I actually just phoned NetGear and for the benefit of anyone else fumbling around you can use a newer product called the DG834 which is combined also, if yu do not have that many need for ports it is also a switch too. You know what it's like when you are new to things, I thought a router was a special extra that needed to be added in somewhere but obviously technology is quite advanced now. So its just server, switch and a DG834. Do I need a seperate print server.. ? more digging :-)

If your printer is hooked up to the machine you are using as a server then you can just use your original server as a print server as well.

A Local Area Network (LAN) is a client-server relationship between clients and (usually) a DHCP (Dynamic Host Communication Protocol) server. The DHCP server is actually a piece of sofware that resides on another device and handles traffic between clients and clients or clients and the Internet. When we say "server" we generally mean a general-purpose computer with DHCP server software installed to it. It can store files on its hard drive(s) or communication with printers that can be accessed by the clients as well as route traffic around the LAN. A "router" is a more specialized piece of equipment that only handles DHCP server functions: You can't plug a game controller into it and play PGA Golf Pro 2004. Routers usually come with a mult-port networking switch built in so you can plug more than 1 client into it. Otherwise you'd have to buy an external network hub or switch to add clients. They usually only have 1 WAN (Wide Area Network) port to connect to the Internet (via a modem or other device) but sometimes they'll have a backup WAN port to dial out over the phone if your regular connection goes on the fritz. The thing to remember is that a "router" is a specialized version of a "server" and includes the DHCP Server protocol software and usually 4, 8, 12, or 16 or more LAN ports to plug clients directly into it.