Hello,I don't do a lot with server setups, as we only have about 8 Windows Server 2003 systems throughout our networks, so please excuse my ignorance.This is what I would like to do - We have 4 different internet lines to one of our locations, (different upload and download speeds for different uses - and some more reliable than others) and we have 4 different routers acting as gateways to these connections - e.g.: 10.5.6.13, 10.5.6.14, 10.5.6.15, 10.5.6.17One of these lines are for our WAN traffic, one is for email and unfiltered internet browsing, one for filtered internet browsing, and one for video conferencing.However, when we have issues with one or more of the lines, I need to switch people to different lines so they still have internet access. Many of our computers also require a static IP address for various systems.Currently we have a primary DHCP scope on our Windows 2003 Server domain controller, which is set, for example, with a gateway/router of 10.5.6.17. However, I have perhaps 20 users setup with static DHCP reservations, and have their router/gateway assigned to a non-primary line. When a line goes down or I need to change the line they're using, I have to manually change each reservation's router setting. Then they do a connection repair or restart their computer, and it takes effect.I would like to be able to group these different users in regards to gateway use - basically drag the reservation for their computer from one group to another, which in turn would change their gateway.Is it possible to have multiple DHCP "scopes" on the same subnet? Moreover, is it possible to exclude all but reservations from a particular scope. (similar to the way MAC address filtering works)This would let me have the users all setup the way they should be, and if one line goes down, I can just change the gateway in the scope options for the whole group - rather than each user individually.Is there a way to do this? Or some other management option I should look at that would accomplish this?

Generall to accomplish what you are trying to achieve would most likely be done using a different design, but in any case...If you place a router in front of these four and have your computers use the same gateway, you can control ALL of your outbound traffic from that one router. If you need to manually switch traffic through a different internet connection, you just change the route on that central router.It may look something like this:Clients 10.0.0.0/24 | | Router | | | | / | | \ / / \ \ / | | \ 1 2 3 4Depending on the router that you place in the central location, you can do source routing, load balancing accross the 4 lines, filtering, etc...You may want to consider replacing the four lines with one that has more capacity and just get more intelligent devices that can route/filter packets accoring to the needs of the business. Having one bigger pipe is probably more cost effective than 4 smaller individual ones.Is it possible to have multiple DHCP "scopes" on the same subnet? Moreover, is it possible to exclude all but reservations from a particular scope. (similar to the way MAC address filtering works)I understand what you are trying to do, but the DHCP server would not know which scope to choose from if all of the clients are on the same subnet. If you create four distinct subnets, place another router or the same one that I proposed in this thread, with the appropriate DHCP relay settings in place, you would be able use multiple scopes each with their own specific options. Visit my blog: anITKB.com, an IT Knowledge Base.

Thanks for the suggesions. I was hoping for a way to do this without requiring extra hardware and such. I take it that means there's no way to setup "groups" of DHCP reservations which can have different "scope" settings? I want to keep the same subnet, but be able to change the gateway for groups, rather than individual reservations.If anyone has any ideas on how to do this without adding extra routing, it would be appreciated.

If the machines are all in the same subnet and on the same network segment, there is no way to force a particular machine to use a particular scope. DHCP is a pretty simple-minded application. The client broadcasts a request and a DHCP server answers. Even if you had four DHCP servers, each with one scope, you could not force a particular machine to use a particular DHCP server.Bill

I take it that means there's no way to setup "groups" of DHCP reservations which can have different "scope" settings? No, there is no way to group the DHCP reservations.Here are the only two options I see.Another option, which I dont particular like very much but will work, is to configure your systems with more than one gateway. If the link goes down on one of your WAN links, you could disable the internal NIC on that router. When your computers figure out that the primary gateway is not available, they will use the secondary.Hope this information has been helpful. Visit my blog: anITKB.com, an IT Knowledge Base.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback! I've tried several options, but it's good to get some advice from the experts!