Understanding Gateways And Dns Proxies; Understanding Static Ip Addresses - Nortel BayStack 100-S Install Manual

Understanding gateways and DNS proxies

When you access Internet Web sites through the Instant Internet unit, the unit
functions as both a gateway to the Internet and a DNS proxy:
• Gateway – A gateway is a system that links different networks and enables
them to communicate with each other. Instant Internet is the gateway that
links your company's network to the Internet. Depending on your
configuration, you may need to configure your workstations to use the Instant
Internet unit as their gateway to the Internet.
• DNS Proxy – A DNS (Domain Name Service) proxy translates
human-readable domain names into computer-readable IP addresses. For
example, the domain name www.nortelnetworks.com for the Nortel Networks
Web site might translate to the IP address 134.177.3.28. After Instant Internet
translates a domain name into an IP address, the workstations on your
network can communicate with the Web site associated with that IP address.
Depending on your configuration, you may need to configure each of your
workstations to use Instant Internet as their DNS proxy.

Understanding static IP addresses

If you are already using static IP addresses for your network workstations, you
have two options. You can:
• Change from static IP addresses to dynamic IP addresses by setting up the
Instant Internet unit as a DHCP server. This is the recommended
configuration. If you do this, you must configure each of your workstations
to allow the Instant Internet unit to assign their IP addresses.
• Continue to use static IP addresses. If you do this, you must also assign a
static IP address to the Instant Internet unit and configure each of your
workstations to use the Instant Internet unit as the gateway to the Internet and
as the Internet DNS proxy. Refer to
IP addresses (no BootP or DHCP server)" on page
Installing the BayStack Instant Internet Management Software Version 7.11
Chapter 2 Understanding the installation environment 25
"Preparing a TCP/IP network with static
82.