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I have an (virtual) internal Win 2008 R2 Server as a DC and also running Exchange 2010.

I have one NIC configured. However I have seen set-ups where one NIC is configured for external and another NIC is configured for internal.

Can someone point out to me the benefits of this (if any) and also point me in the way of further information on this?

EEAA
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Paul Brown
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    I think you're far enough from Best Practices already, no need to put your DC on the web. – Chris S Jan 17 '12 at 23:20
  • I know this... it's a play box that I'm learning on. Thanks for your excellent comment though, I very much appreciate your time :) and helpful guidance. – Paul Brown Jan 17 '12 at 23:34

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I've had multiple NICs for host servers, where there will be several virtual servers running inside. I can assign separate nics to individual servers and improve network performance this way.

I've also seen multiple NICs in a fail-over situation, where the switch port for one nic is disabled, but can come online automatically if a failure is sensed in the other connection.

I have a server with one NIC facing the external network, another facing the internal network, and another facing a dmz, but this server is my gateway and firewall. It does things like virus protection at the edge for the rest of our internal network. It is not my domain controller.

I have not seen a DC placed on the public internet, but maybe I've just lived a sheltered life.

Joel Coel
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