Port Priority on Server 2k3

[Boli]

Bascially I am going to install windows Server 2003 on my internet server and I want more control on the network traffic. The internet will be shared over a bridged conenction (USB modem --> LAN card --> HUB --> Other computers)

I have looked into this briefly (using VirtualPC, but not the actual computr as of yet) and I have found out that you can "forward ports" with different priorities to different people on the network. (I could for exmaple gve one computer 50% of the bandwidth, leaving everyone else to fight over the remaining)

What I hope to do is rather than prirotise differnt IPs on the network is so priortise PORTS instead so some ports have more "priority" over others.

For instance if someone is running an P2P saharing program it bascially slows the internet up for everything else. And as that P2P program uses a certain set of ports and internet traffic gos via the port 80 Is it possible to increase the prority of port 80 over the network.

So any requests on the port 80 "outrank" the other bandwidth traffic so every computer on the newtwork gets full speed internet without having to stop countless downloads/uploads.

It is near impossible to run both a P2P Sharing program and brouse the internet, or even sign into MSN, if thr MSN ports had prioroity over the P2P sharing program then theorectically its requests woudl be dealth with fiorst and you would not see an drop in perfromance over the MSN network.

I was thinking of installing Smoothwall but there are a few features of server 2k3 such as being able to use the machine as a file server that appeal to me in this. And as I prefer that the internet downtime is as small as possible and I have no real wish to start to learn any Unix based system, that isn't straightforward (such as smoothwall)

Can anyone offer me advise, All machines on the network are NT based (3x XP, 1x2K), so if anyone has any experiance on server 2k3 (or even server 2000) it would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

[iggiebee]

Boli, (assuming you are using some form of DSL) save yourself plenty of aggravation, and buy a Broadband/DSL router. They are cheap, extremely easy to configure, end most importantly in your case it performs Network Address Translation (NAT) that in conjunction with port triggering makes it possible for *all* computers in your LAN to use P2P.

BTW, some of them do have optional dual DSL capabilities.

[Boli]

I can set it up so ports are forwarded and such that isn't a probelm it is the fact that when one is running a p2p - brousing the internet is next to impossible when using it. If the internet (port 80) ran at a higher priority than the P2P ports then this slowdown when using P2P will be negiable. I'm justing trying to figire out how that camn be done.

I am working with what I have, and I have a second machine (one whihc I can justify to be on 24/7 folding for you guys ;P) and I don't have a router.

[iggiebee]

I can set it up so ports are forwarded and such that isn't a probelm it is the fact that when one is running a p2p - brousing the internet is next to impossible when using it. If the internet (port 80) ran at a higher priority than the P2P ports then this slowdown when using P2P will be negiable. I'm justing trying to figire out how that camn be done.

I am working with what I have, and I have a second machine (one whihc I can justify to be on 24/7 folding for you guys ;P) and I don't have a router.

You can not have two devices on the same WAN IP using the same port (i.e. 80) it is simply not possible. You need to assign different ports to the P2P IMHO