SBS 4.5, 2 NIC's, Cox High Speed Internet???

[ReneeFox]

My server's external NIC card hasn't been able to communicate with Cox ever since they made everybody dynamically assign IP addresses. Even though I have taken out the server's DHCP Server long ago, it still won't talk to Cox's DHCP Server. I even tried to put their DHCP IP address in the NIC's configuration, tried using a relay agent, etc., to no avail. My server has an internal NIC that can't be removed or SBS will fail all over the place. It worked great when I could assign an IP address to the external NIC, and I am using a hub. Do I have to have a router when this all worked fine with just a hub before? Server is running Small Business Server 4.5 with Windows NT Server SP5. I checked various help on this site and couldn't find anything that relates to my problem. PLEASE HELP!!! I'm paying for an extra IP address to come from Cox's DHCP Server that I haven't been able to use yet.

[jschoen]

If I am understanding you correctly you have your server and another computer, hooked to your hub and then to the cable modem, and you are paying for two ip addresses from cox. To be honest that I think the way you have it should work if you have two ip addresses. I know for a fact that you can save on the cost of two Ip addresses by getting a router, and to make sure the server works with it, I think it is called DMZ hosting, make sure the router you buy supprts it and you shouldnt have any problems.

[ReneeFox]

Well, the key thing to note here is that both computers must be able to receive the dynamically assigned IP address from the Cox DHCP Server, and my server refuses for some reason; or the Cox router refuses to talk to the NIC in my server. I actually have 3 computers connected to the hub, the 3rd being a laptop running Windows 98. It has no problem getting the dynamic IP address, and neither does my Windows XP Pro machine. Just the SBS 4.5/Windows NT Server 4.0 machine (with the laptop powered off so it isn't interfering on the hub). The MAC address shouldn't be a factor since Cox will pick it up if it sees the server machine; for whatever reason, it doesn't. SBS (Small Business Server) being a key factor here, because it has so many pieces to configure in order for the external NIC to remain external, and the internal NIC to remain internal to DNS, WINS, etc.. Either it's a configuration problem, or I have to get a router which I can't afford right now (booooooooo).