ConfigMgr Console
Building a CM Lab – Gateway VM [2]

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Series Post 2, Setting up the Gateway Virtual Machine, a virtual router
If we have a lab and we want to keep it separate from rest of our environment, we need a gateway. You can do this with a linux VM, another physical router, or several other options. For our lab, we decided to use Microsoft Windows Server to be our gateway. After setting this up, looking back, it would have been easier to setup the DC first, so I’d recommend doing that, then setting this up.
- Gateway Server
- Name: GATEWAY.dev.recastsoftware.com
- LAN 1: DHCP (External Network)
- LAN 2: Static IP (Internal Lab Network) 192.168.1.1
- Windows Roles: RAS [MS Docs]
At this point, I’ve installed Windows Server 2019, set the Name, the IP Address, ran MS Updates and installed the RAS Role by running a powershell commands:
Install-WindowsFeature DirectAccess-VPN -IncludeManagementTools
Install-WindowsFeature Routing
Once that finishes, you can go ahead and setup the “Router” feature.









This is probably the easiest server you’ll be setting up. If you run into any issue, don’t worry, go ahead and setup the DC. Once you setup the DC, you need to remember to come back to the GATEWAY and join it to the domain.
Blog Post List
Series Introduction – Building a CM Lab from Scratch
- Domain Controller – Setting up your Domain Controller
- Gateway Virtual Machine – Creating a Router for your Lab using Windows Server
- Certificate Authority – On Domain Controller [Optional]
- ConfigMgr Server Pre-Reqs (Windows Features)
- Configuration Settings (AD & GPOs)
- Source Server (File Share)
- ConfigMgr SQL Install
- ConfigMgr Install
- ConfigMgr Basic Settings
- ConfigMgr Collections & App Deployment
- ConfigMgr OSD
- ConfigMgr Reporting Services