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JSI Tip 7353. How do I configure a NAT server in Windows Server 2003?
Jerold Schulman
October 20, 2003
4 Min Read
NOTE: The text in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article is provided so that the site search can find this page. Please click the Knowledge Base link to insure that you are reading the most current information.
Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q324264 contains:
For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 310357 .
IN THIS TASK
SUMMARY
How to Configure a Routing and Remote Access NAT Server
How to Configure a Routing and Remote Access NAT Server to Assign IP Addresses and Perform Proxy DNS Queries
How to Configure a Windows Server 2003-Based Computer to Use a NAT Server
SUMMARY
This article describes how to configure a network address translation (NAT) server by using Windows Server 2003. The Windows Server 2003 Routing and Remote Access service includes the NAT routing protocol. If the NAT routing protocol is installed and configured on a server that runs Routing and Remote Access, internal network clients with private Internet Protocol (IP) addresses can access the Internet through the external interface of the NAT server.
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How to Configure a Routing and Remote Access NAT Server
When internal network clients send a request for the Internet, the NAT protocol driver intercepts the request and forwards the request to the destination Internet server. All requests appear to come from the external IP address of the NAT server. This process hides your internal IP addresses scheme.
To configure a Routing and Remote Access NAT Server:
On the Administrative Tools menu, click Routing and Remote Access.
In the Routing and Remote Access MMC, expand your server_name (where server_name is the name of the server that you want to configure), and then expand IP Routing in the left pane.
Right-click General, and then click New Routing Protocol.
Click to select the NAT/Basic Firewall check box, and then click OK.
Right-click NAT/Basic Firewall in the left pane, and then click New Interface.
Click the interface that represents your internal network interface, and then click OK.
In the Network Address Translation properties, click Private interface connected to private network, and then click OK.
Right-click NAT/Basic Firewall in the left pane, and then click New Interface.
Click the interface that represents your external network interface, and then click OK.
In Network Address Translation properties, click Public interface connected to the Internet.
Click to select the Enable NAT on this interface check box, and then click OK.
The NAT server can automatically assign IP addresses to internal network clients. You may want to use this functionality if you do not have a DHCP server that is already assigning addressing information to clients on the internal network.
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How to Configure a Routing and Remote Access NAT Server to Assign IP Addresses and Perform Proxy DNS Queries
The NAT server can also perform Domain Name System (DNS) queries on the behalf of NAT clients. The Routing and Remote Access NAT server resolves the Internet host name that is included in the client request and then forwards the IP address to the client.
To configure the Routing and Remote Access NAT server to assign IP addresses and perform proxy DNS queries on the behalf of internal network clients, follow these steps:
Right-click NAT/Basic Firewall in the left pane, and then click Properties.
Click the Address Assignment tab, and then click to select the Automatically assign IP addresses by using the DHCP allocator check box.
In the IP address box, type a network ID.
In the Mask box, type a subnet mask.
Click the Name Resolution tab, and then click to select the Clients using Domain Name System (DNS) check box.
If you use a demand-dial interface to connect to the Internet, click to select the Connect to the public network when a name needs to be resolved check box.
In the Demand-dial interface box, click the interface to dial.
Click Apply, and then click OK.
NOTE: After you follow these basic configuration steps, internal network clients can access servers on the Internet.
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How to Configure a Windows Server 2003-Based Computer to Use a NAT Server
Click Start, point to Control Panel , point to Network Connections, and then click Local Area Connection .
Click Properties.
Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) .
Click Properties.
In the Default gateway box, type the internal IP address of the NAT server.
NOTE: If your computer receives its IP address from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, click Advanced, click the IP Settings tab, click Add under Gateway, type the internal IP address of your NAT server, click Add, click OK, and then proceed to step 6.Click OK, click OK, and then click Close.
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