General Discussion - Dual NIC's in one server

Author

Dual NIC's in one server

MrKill

2004-04-14, 1:33 am

Hi, I have a Windows 2000 File Server which is accessed a lot throughout the day. I installed a second network card hoping to maby balance the network out a bit because at certain times, the one network card would get overloaded.

My question is how do i set WIndows up so that it can use both NIC cards? Do I have to do anything in my DNS Server?

THanks a lot!

enforcer

2004-04-14, 8:16 am

quote:

You can install a second NIC in the server to help alleviate these problems. However, this configuration is less than ideal because you must place each NIC in that system on a separate subnet. As a result, you must fragment your network to accommodate your server's NICs.

http://www.winnetmag.com/Windows/Ar.../3957/3957.html

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;en-us;222079

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/..._roundrobin.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...ing/nlbfaq.mspx

curiousgeorge

2004-04-14, 10:09 am

That quote doesn't apply to W2K or XP machines. I have a lot of multihomed machines. You don't have to put every NIC in a separate subnet.

Treat the second NIC just like any other on your network. Make sure Round Robin is enabled in DNS. That's it!

Round Robin tells the DNS server to alternate traffic between multiple NICs that are assigned to the same machine, hence you get load balancing.

Also, the articles on NLB (network load balancing) don't apply. This is just one multihomed server, not a cluster. There's a big difference.

Hope that helps.

DaPunisher

2004-04-14, 11:00 am

What make/model server do you have?

MrKill

2004-04-14, 1:33 pm

Thanks curiousgeorge, Ill try that out rightnow!

DaPunisher I have a Dell 600SC Server running Windows 2000 Server

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