Help needed for network design setup and implementation

I think the delay in starting up may be DNS related. If you can do it, it would be best to run your DNS and DHCP on your Win2003. This will allow it to run the local DNS and you can then put your ISP's DNS settings in the DNS Forwarder's section. You will have to turn DHCP off on your router of course. You can of course still leave the router as the default gateway.

With this setup in place you avoid the risk of local DNS queries being sent to your ISP's DNS servers causing undue delays like the one you're currently experiencing. If you need any help setting up the DNS and DHCP, let me know.

You are right about the DNS issue. I had to unisntall AD so I could re-install DNS on Win2003 as well. But another problem came up none of the Desktop computers is able to ping the Server which is also the DC and as such they cannot join the Domain. What do I do here?
After I set DNS up on the Server, I assigned a static IP address to it and put my ISP's IP address in for forwarding.
I intend to make this Server a Print and File Server as well. Do you think installing and configuring DHCP and DNS on it won't affect the Server's performance?
Thanks a million.

On the pinging issue, are you pinging using hostname or IP address?

Also do the desktop PCs have IP addresses? Check using IPCONFIG.

Did you disable DHCP on the router and are you positive that the DHCP server service is running on your server?

Regarding the effect of your server taking on DNS/DHCP/File/Print roles, there should be no issues whatsoever due to the size of your network. You need to be hitting quite high client numbers before this becomes an issue.

I checked the dektop computers again and found out that the Norton Anti-Virus/Internet Security pre-installed on the system was the caus eof the ping problem. I also the cause of the dekstops' inability to join the domain.
All that has been dealt with.
Should I enable Windows firewall on the Server?

Since you have a NAT router, I presume you want to enable the Firewall on your server for internal security reasons. If you've got W2K3 SP1 installed, run the Security Configuration Wizard. This guides you through the process of opening ports depending on what services you're running on your server. Personally, I don't have my firewall enabled, but that's my assessment of the potential risks in my system.

Hi all,
Before I run SCW, I have a problem on the network.
Everyhing is running smooth except that the network is slow. Opening web pages, takes some time.
Is there anything I can do about this?