Nick

Hi

We have a Mac OSX accessing email on an Exchange (SBS) 2003 server, it also access network resources like shared folders & printers. I cannot make it access the internet for browsing without a drop in the server security. Therefore the best method looks like to give the Mac it's own ADSL connection for browsing preferably with a router. I could do this with a pc by adding a 2nd nic & connecting the router. Is this possible with a Mac?

RichB

I can't say for sure but the network prefs allow a certain amount of configuration and do list MAC addresses but as I only have one, I can't say for sure.
Also if you go and spec a new mac you can add a second gigabit and/or fibre card so the answer must almost certainly be yes.

Now I am no expert with SBS but if your PC clients use the SBS server as their DNS server can the Mac not be setup in the same way?
Why do you say 'I cannot make it access the internet for browsing without a drop in the server security'?

Rich

class_A

Yes they can. Have you tried using Mozilla/Firefox on the Mac to authenticate against ISA Server on the SBS box?

Markus

Yes they can have two NIC's. I've got built in ethernet, plus an Airport card, both are seen by the network control panel as network devices, both have MAC addresses. As I've spare PCI slots I could no doubt fit a few other compatble NIC's in there.

What exactly is/is not happening? Why can the Mac not access the internet? What OS version is it running?

Nick

The Mac is connected to an SBS2003 Premium network - after a lot of kicking & screaming it can access shared folders & Exchange email using Entourage. To connect to the Internet via ISA Server, I would have to remove authentication & this would void the browsing restrictions that are set up for other users. There is an additional issue with network topology & network backbone bandwidth. If the Mac sent a large DTP file by email (with a 20gb email attachment for instance), half the network users would probably have to have a very long lunch break. Hence an idea to give the Mac it's own internet access. If I used a Router, I could restrict web sites from the Router's firewall, but I would need a 2nd nic in the Mac.

class_A

Do you have to remove authentication though, I thought Mozilla browsers could now do NTLM (albeit a little while since I did it)? Regardless, it seems like you have another valid reason for giving the Mac seperate access if it is to be used as a file transfer station, although you could employ bandwidth shaping in ISA Server.