setting up a private network using linksys router

Question

Scenario: A database server running SQL Server 2005 Express and SQL Server Management Studio 2005 Express Edition, and a web server running IIS 5.0 using Windows XP Professional. There are also two other computers with Windows XP and Windows 98

I have a Linksys router which I use as an access point for wireless (laptop). There are 5 ports behind it: four for clients and one for Internet.

I would like to setup a LAN -- something like a private hosting area with two clients.

What should i do? Where to connect what and what would the changes in settings be?

Right now it uses DHCP or something to assign IPs.

Where will the web server be attached, to the Internet port?

Where will the database server be attached?

Any guide, links, help. Thank you.

Answer 1

You should probably invest in a second router and create a DMZ. This way, you can setup some firewall rules and protect yourself a bit from the public Internet. It's more complicated, but you can better protect your private network this way.

Basically, you will put your server(s) between the routers. The server(s) will need to have 2 network cards, one connected to each router. Each router should be on a separate logical subnet and you will need to setup routing rules between them. The public router will be connected to the Internet through the router's WAN port. The private router will have the client's connected and will not have anything in its WAN port. Unsolicited traffic from the public Internet should not be routed to the private network.

You can continue using DHCP on the private router to serve IP addresses to the clients, but you will want to assign static addresses to the server(s). You can also setup the private router's firewall to send traffic from the clients and the Internet using stateful packet inspection.

It sounds complicated and it is. If you want to do it "right" and be safe, this is a good approach. There's a reason that companies pay network administrators a lot of money to do this kind of stuff every day.

• Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) general information
• Lock IT Down: Implementing a DMZ
• How do I set up a DMZ for safer home web hosting?