Hello everyone i recently got my first server up and running. I have a few problems and since this is my first real network experience i am a bit lost.

My configuration is 1 Server Machine Running Windows Server 2003, and the workstation is running Windows XP Pro, network switch, and ISP modem.

Issues
1. DNS: i can't ping my server by name. I am doing file sharing by the server's IP address. I don't know how to configure the DNS on my server.

2. Default Gateway: I didn't have a default gateway and no internet access on my server. So what i did was configure my servers default gateway to the same on my workstations that were provided by the ISP modem. I have everything connected through a network switch.

3. Sharing: i am sharing a folder from the server and in order to map the network hdd i have had to log in every user into every workstation and map the hdd on every workstation so when they log in they can see the hdd. Can't this be easier? In school i log into any machine and can see all the network shared hdd automatically without configuring anything.

4. Group User Policy: Ever since i changed the default gateway on the server machine. The DHCP got unauthorized(turned off?) and the GPO isn't working for any of the users now. How can i resolve this?


After all those problems the users still can log into the network with their user names from the active directory. I don't know how they still can. As you can tell I am very very lost and desperately seeking advice. I have nobody to call and have read a lot online to try to help me, but couldn't find anything. I would appreciate any and every help i can get. Thank you soo much guys for all your help!!