Alex Ruben
How To Enable and Configure LAN Routing on Windows Server 2025: A Step-by-Step Guide
Getting LAN routing to work on Windows Server 2025 can be a bit of a headache, especially if you’re new to the whole thing. Sometimes, the server’s just sitting there, not forwarding packets like you’d expect, or maybe the routes aren’t set up right, causing communication breaks between subnets. This guide walks through the essential steps to turn your server into a proper router, letting different IP ranges talk to each other smoother. The bonus? Once it’s set up, managing different VLANs or isolated networks becomes way easier—no more manual workarounds. Just a heads up, this stuff isn’t super intuitive—be prepared to dive into server manager and maybe troubleshoot a few network edge cases. But with these steps, hopefully, you’ll get that routing fully functional without pulling all your hair out.
How to Fix LAN Routing on Windows Server 2025
Verify Current Network Configuration
This first step is to understand what the server’s already doing—it’s kind of weird, but sometimes misconfigured IPs or subnet masks cause routing issues right out of the gate. Open Server Manager and go to Local Server or directly check network settings via Network & Internet (> Settings > Network & Sharing Center). Look at the connected network interfaces (through Network Connections) or via command line using ipconfig /all. Make sure IPs are assigned correctly and subnet masks match your network plans. On Windows, you can also ping other devices or gateways to confirm connectivity—if pings fail, fixing IP assignments or subnet configs might be your first stop. For example, if your server gets IP 10.0.0.200/24 and your main network is 10.0.0.0/24, but some devices are at 192.168.1.10, you’ll notice the disconnect right away.
Install the Remote Access Role
This part is kinda critical because Windows naturally won’t route traffic unless it’s told to. Fire up Server Manager, then go to Manage → Add Roles and Features. Bounce through the wizard, and on the Server Roles step, check Remote Access. Now, here’s the trick: when you get to the Features section, make sure to add Routing under the Role Services. On some setups, installing just Remote Access doesn’t enable routing by default—it’s hidden behind the role services. Confirm it’s checked, then keep clicking Next and hit Install. Wait for it to finish. You’re basically telling Windows, “Hey, I want this server to act as a router.”
Configure Routing and Remote Access
Now, jump into Tools → Routing and Remote Access. When it opens, right-click on your server name and select Configure and Enable Routing and Remote Access. The wizard pops up—choose Custom Configuration because we want to route, not VPN or NAT — that’ll come later. Check LAN Routing—this is the key step: it activates the core routing functions. After confirming your choices, click Finish and then Start Service.
It’s kinda weird, but sometimes the service takes a moment to actually kick in, especially if Windows yells about permissions or incorrect configs. Just be patient, or restart the RRAS service from the Services tab if it’s not responsive. That way, it’s guaranteed to be up and running.
Manually Add Static Routes
This is where things get a little more hands-on. If devices across subnets aren’t talking, chances are the routes aren’t set or aren’t pointing the right way. In the RRAS console, expand IPv4 and right-click on Static Routes. Choose New Static Route. Then, fill out the destination network (like 192.168.2.0), subnet mask (255.255.255.0), and the gateway IP (probably the IP of your main router or another server acting as a hop). Repeating this for each subnet you need to connect isn’t so bad once you get the hang of it. It’s a manual fix that essentially tells the server, “Hey, when you see traffic destined for this network, send it to this gateway.”
Check Network Interfaces and Routes
After everything’s configured, double-check your interfaces and routes from time to time. In RRAS, look under IPv4 > General and verify all network interfaces appear correctly and are assigned the right IPs. Also, from client PCs, ping across subnets—if it works, you’re golden. If not, you might need to revisit the route entries or IP configs. On some setups, a quick reboot of the RRAS service or server itself can clear up lingering issues and force configs to reload properly.
Extra Tips & Common Pitfalls
This whole process kind of requires a lot of cross-checking. Make sure your subnet masks are consistent—mismatched masks can cause routing failures even if everything looks fine. Also, verify that default gateways are correct on all devices. Your server’s gateway should be the next hop to reach other subnets—mistakes here will leave you scratching your head. Sometimes, Windows needs a little nudge: restarting the RRAS service or even rebooting the server fixes stuff that refused to work before. Keep an eye out for conflicting routes in the routing table—run route print in Command Prompt if you need to see what’s there.
Summary
- Check your IPs and subnet masks first
- Install Remote Access with Routing role via Server Manager
- Configure RRAS, enable LAN routing, and start the service
- Add static routes for each subnet manually if needed
- Verify interfaces and test connectivity with ping
- Restart RRAS or the server if things act sluggish
Wrap-up
Getting LAN routing working on Windows Server 2025 isn’t as straightforward as flipping a switch, but once these steps are done right, the server should start forwarding packets like a champ. The trick is to double-check network configs, get RRAS set up properly, and sometimes do a quick reset. If it feels like it’s not working, check your routes and IPs—sometimes it’s just a small mistake. Fingers crossed this helps someone save a couple hours of head-scratching — works for me, at least.