ICS vs. NAT.....

[Guest_imported]

I have a small LAN headed by a Windows 2000 server; The server is also configured to be a DHCP server (and it works well), is outfitted with two NIC cards, and a cable modem. I'm not sure whether I should use ICS (internet connection sharing), or set up the machine as a NAT server......

If I set up ICS, I believe it will set up my cable modem NIC to static (rather than DHCP)......

....but then if I go with NAT, I'm afraid it's gonna screw up my already-working DHCP server configuration.

Can someone please help me? Thanks in advance!!




More information.....

> I already have the LAN setup; The server machine has two > NICS, one connected to the cable modem, the other one >>connected to an 8-port hub (along with all the client >>machines).

I hope this extra information clarifies things....

 

[samara]

there're some points to consider,
1) ICS designed for small networks, it dosent support DHCP, DNS servers and cant be set for multi segaments networks.

2) NAT is more professional, supports DHCP, DNS , IP filtering and ip Mapping

hope this would help YOU...

Mohamed Aly
samara_79@hotmail.com

 

[SirLee]

Samara, could you enlighten us all how ICS is technically working? Is this not some kind of NAT as well?

 

[samara]

OK, you are welcome
ICS "Internet Connection Sharing" works on Win98 SE and later, works on PC with Modem and NIC installed.
1)this PC acts as a router between your internal Network and the Internet
2)the Modem gets its IP address from your ISP and the NIC card always takes IP (192.168.0.1) and acts as "DCHP allocator" Which assgin other NIC cards in the network IP address from range (192.168.0.2 ---> .254).
3)DHCP allocator dosent support DNS server inside your network OR other DHCP server also, and cause it uses the 192.168.0. range, it cant work in multi segaments networks.

Hope this Would help YOU...

Mohamed Aly
samara_79@hotmail.com

 

[ShaithisDanoveur]

ICS is a NAT provider. It provides DHCP services to configure your network devices. DNS services are provided via DHCP calls to the ICS host. If the ICS host uses an upstream proxy server, the ICS clients will also use that proxy server. Full network services including traceroutes, pings, etc are afforded to ICS clients. Support for most network applications and games is available using ICS if implemented correctly.

ICS is easy to setup if you follow the instructions and drink 2 cups of coffee first.

However,content filtering and certain custom application handling aren't strong suits with ICS, and ICS isn't designed for large scale use.

By contrast, a true NAT server takes a lot more to configure it, but is far more configurable as well. You get full control over DHCP including lease reservations, the ability to filter content (depending on the NAT/proxy provider), and DNS/Proxy services are also available with some NAT packages.

Both solutions offer the ability to redirect port traffic to specific machines.

For home use, ICS is generally the way to go. It's easy, it works, and it's free.

For SOHO or business use, go with a commercial NAT/Proxy product, such as Wingate or Winproxy.

If you're looking for a PURE nat product, go with NAT32.

Of course, you could always get a NAT box in a full hardware solution rather than software-driven.

 

[Seumas13]

Or you can configure DNS, DHCP, NAT and Routing with Windows 2000 or 2003 Server (and probably XP-Pro)- it comes in the box and works well without buying anything else.

Yes, it is considerably trickier to configure than ICS, but FAR more flexible.

BTW: Once you configure ICS on XP-Pro or 2003, you can change the address of the LAN-side NIC, and the DHCP range if you want. But if you ever run the wizard again, it will change it back to 192.168.0.1 ...