Can't assign an IP to default FTP site.....Must use 'All Una

[Klark 0]

Hey guys... Here's the deal...

 

I'm running Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Using IIS for the websites and FTP sites. I have 2 websites, and 2 FTP sites.

 

On the default/primary website, I can assign a specific IP to the website as long as that IP is the main IP specified in the network settings. This is the main website for our intranet...ie: http://shella ...Shella is the name of our server. If I assign this site a different IP than the main IP specified in the network properties of this machine, we CANNOT access the website. WTF?

 

On the second website, I can assign a specific IP to this site also, but the only way get to this site is by typing the sites IP into the Internet Explorer address bar...ie: http://192.168.0.30

 

One the default/primary FTP site, I can ONLY use 'All Unassigned' ...under the section where you assign an IP to this particular site. I CANNOT use a specific IP. WTF? By the way, our default/primary FTP site is ftp://shella

 

And the second FTP site, it is similar to the second website...ie: I can assign a particular IP to it, but I can only get to it by typing in that IP....ie: ftp://192.168.0.30

 

And YES, I have multiple IP's assigned to our server...Infact I have about 10 assigned. We are using Compaq NC3134 and NC3135 Quad NIC's.

 

 

So my questions are as follows:

 

Does Windows 2K Advanced Server only support one website and one FTP site per machine ?? ...or should I say, Only one web/FTP site that we can access by typing a name into the address bar instead of the IP ??

 

If NO, then how do I set up our 'second' sites to allow us to type their names into the address bar and access the sites ??

 

Also, on our default/primary FTP site, Why can I not assign a particular IP to it ?? The only way it works is if I have 'All Unassigned' assigned to it. This is not really a problem, but it still concerns me.

 

Also, Isn't assigning each web/FTP site its own specific IP better than using 'All Unassigned' ?? ...I ask this because we are trying to get the most bandwidth possible...and not having a specific IP for each web/FTP site seems like a cheap way of sharing IP's, inturn limiting our bandwidth.

 

Please help in any way possible....And Thanx in advance !!!

 

Klark

[CUViper 0]

Well, the NetBIOS names (ie 'shella') are usually associated with the first IP address on that box. If you want a name for the other IP's, you need to register the name in either a wins server or a dns server.

 

You don't need to have multiple NIC's to get multiple IP's, by the way. You can assign many IP's to the same interface. The only time you really need more than one nic is if you are exceeding the 100mbps bandwidth 8), or if the machine is acting as a router or firewall. But if you are using it to overcome bandwidth limitations, you will need some kind of load-balancing scheme to manage it.

 

Back to multiple IP's, you can actually run every website on a single IP if you so desire. This is nice if you have a lot of sites, so you don't have to tie up so many IP's on one web server. To do this, you set up each website to respond to a specific host header name. For example, if you set up a machine to be both 'shella' and 'shella2' with only a single IP, then one website will have a host header name of 'shella', and the other 'shella2'. Then when you try to view either website, IIS will look at the headers to sort out which site you want.

 

Everyone feel free to correct this if I made a mistake, or add anything I missed...

[clutch 1]

OK, lots of stuff here, so let's just concentrate on getting you familiar with the 3 methods of hosting multiple WWW and FTP sites (some of which covered by CUViper already):

 

Different IP Address: If multiple IPs are assigned to a given server (AND can be reached by pinging them), you can use a different IP for each site. If you plan on using different names for each site as well, this can be done by using Host Header Names (explained in a bit) or mapping the name in your chosen name resolution method (using WINS, bind http://intranet1 to 192.168.1.100, bind http://intranet2 to 192.168.1.101, etc.) so that the name used by the requesting client gets translated to the proper IP, and sent to the handling server.

 

Different Port: You can host multiple sites on the same IP using multiple ports, such as 80, 81, 8080, etc. without the need to bind multiple IPs or use Host Header names.

 

Host Header Names: This is generally my chosen method, as it doesn't require the use of mapping ports or binding extra IPs to a given server. This method *can* have some side-effects using older, non-IE versions of web browsers. Basically, you map the site name (such as "intranet1" or "www.intranet.com") to a site, and when the request comes into IIS, it will read the host header and respond to the client with pages from that particular site. This method will REQUIRE that you map whatever the name is (such as "shella") using WINS/LMHOSTS to the IP of that server (192.168.0.30) so that clients that request http://shella will know where to go. If you don't, you will only be able to get to the *server* (not site) using the IP, but you will NOT get the site since the host header of "shella" wasn't in your address request.

 

So now, it sounds like you don't have any name resolution scheme that is binding the intranet site names to specific IPs, so you should do that first. Also, I would recommend not using all those NICs (like CUViper was hinting to) because you can have some "interesting" behavior show up if you aren't used to that type of configuration.

 

How to make "Shella" show up as a site on a server using host headers:

 

1. If "Shella" is not the name of the server, then bind that name to the IP of the hosting interface using either a WINS server or the LMHOSTS file on the client. Make sure that the client can now ping that name and get the right IP. If not, since it is a NetBIOS name, use nbtstat -R (capital R) from the command line to flush and renew the NetBIOS name resolution cache table (if using a DNS name, like intranet.mydomain.com, use ipconfig /flushdns to perform the equivalent function) and then try again. Also, when using the LMHOSTS file for the first time, it will have a ".SAM" extension on it, just remove the extension so the file will become active to the client OS (I hate LMHOSTS files in general, so I use WINS whenever possible ).

 

2. On the site that is to respond to "Shella", enter that name in the Host Header properties, and save it.

 

3. Try connecting to the site now, as it should work.

 

If you have any other questions, let me know. I have use all three setups many times, so I am fairly sure we can get a combo that works for you.

[Klark 0]

Ok...cool. But this raises some more questions from me. In my network properties, I am NOT using NetBIOS or WINS....and I cannot find anywhere on the server machine that it states that I am. Though I AM using DNS, so how do I register the second website's name with the DNS server on this machine ??

 

As far as NIC's, we have quad NIC's that use the Compaq teaming utility with Cisco's Fast EtherChannel....allowing us up to 800mbps thru our Cisco 2924 switch. Basically, the Compaq teaming utility disables the TCP/IP protocol of each port on the quad card, then it creates a virtual 5th port with TCP/IP....so the server basically thinks it has one physical card installed. The main IP of the server is 192.168.0.10, and I have about 6 other IP's assigned to it...but I could get rid of them if needed.

 

I tryed assigning the sites different header names (shella and shella2)...but it didn't work when I tryed to view http://shella2 ...so I'm not sure I did it correctly, Mainly because I'm totally lost with the LMHost and the NetBios thing.

 

As far as setting things up on the client machines, that is outta-the-question....This is a very large LAN party, and having the clients set up there LMHost files or NetBios stuff is practically impossible.

 

By the way, I CAN ping all of the IP's assigned to the server machine. But when using the Host Header Names...shella2, I CANNOT ping the site by typing ping http://shella2 ...or anything else without using the IP addresses. Sorry if I seem really stupid with this....but I'm just learning now.

 

And YES, the name of the server is shella ...this is why we can type http://shella and get to our default/primary website and default/primary FTP site.

 

So after stating all of the above facts, what would be the best option for us ?? And I don't care how long it takes to get it right....we just need it right.

[clutch 1]

OK, I am under the impression that you haven't administered NT based OSs for long, is that correct? If so, first GET ALL OF THE SECURITY UPDATES IMMEDIATELY! Also, it sounds like you have WAY too much hardware for the simple things you are trying to accomplish, but it should work.

 

Now, how many clients are going to connect to this server, and will you be using NT/2K DHCP (or at least a DHCP system that will provide a WINS IP and broadcast format) for them to get their config settings? The naming convention that you are using for your sites mandates a need to use a NetBIOS name resolver, and WINS is generally the easiest and most stable. If, however, you can get away from that and use http://shella1.mydomain.com and http://shella2.mydomain.com for your websites, then what you want to do is enter "A" records on the LAN DNS hosting box that will point those names to the main (or virtual) IP of the webserver, so when someone enters one of those names in his/her browser, it will pass that name info to the DNS box, get the IP, and then have the request go to the server (at this point it will hit the server and be handled as a Host Header name). Also, make sure that you have the corresponding (sub)domain name bound to its appropriate site.

 

To setup WINS, all you have to do is add it as a networking component in the "Add/Remove Windows Components" portion of the Add/Remove Programs applet. Once you have that installed, you can create static mappings (similar to DNS) for shella1 and shella2. Then, you setup the client to use that server as the WINS server for the network and it will find shella1 and shella2 just fine when it is entered into the browser.

[Klark 0]

As I said, I'm learning and I have not administered anything...nothing, nada, zilch, zippo !!

 

So let me get this straight, I need to add WINS now ?? Even though I have DNS ?? I'm so lost...

 

You said something about creating static mappings similar to DNS....I have no idea what you mean. All I did was install 2K Advanced Server, and then I configured Active Directory....which then led me to the DNS installation. After that I set up our sites with IIS.

 

Also, it sounds to me like your suggesting another physical computer for DNS ?? ...Now I am truly lost.

 

"Now, how many clients are going to connect to this server, and will you be using NT/2K DHCP (or at least a DHCP system that will provide a WINS IP and broadcast format) for them to get their config settings?" ....We have about 60 users that will connect to this lan. Yes, I am using the DHCP and DNS servers on Shella, which is our ONE and ONLY server...Other than a couple standard Win2K machines which are our game servers. Also, I have no idea what 'config settings' you are refering too....

 

Our network is working nicely...just not as nicely as we would like it. I am beginning to believe that this is way over my head...I don't even know the difference between WINS and DNS....so I think I'll just quit now before I embarass myself anymore....or end up screwing up what works so far.

 

Clutch, how much do I have to pay you for phone support ??...if I could buy a couple hours of your time on the phone one evening. Cause the money is not a problem...

 

Thanks for all your help so far....Klark

[clutch 1]

Check your mail, and we'll see if we can get this running properly.