Why should my server connect to the router?

Updated: March 10, 2009

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

The router is required to separate your network from the Internet and to help provide firewall protection from the Internet. In addition, the router enables multiple computers to use a single IP address on the Internet for your business.

Windows SBS 2008 requires that the local area network (LAN) use private IP addresses, which are not routable on the Internet. A router is the gateway to the Internet from the LAN. The internal network adapter on the router is assigned a private IP address in the same subnet range as the server, client computers, and other devices on the network, such as 192.168.1.1, and the external network adapter is assigned a public IP address, which is provided by the Internet service provider (ISP).

To read the most recent version of this topic, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/FWLink/?LinkID=119410). The most recent version might contain additional information that was not available when Windows SBS 2008 was released.