In my lab I managed to get a 10 gig link to the inter-campus network but want to share this to the other workstations in the lab. I'm guessing setting up a type of nat/gateway on the lab server that will have the 10 gig interface. I'm just trying to figure if I'm on the right track here in my thinking. PS: I have no control over the network so I can't change dhcp or dns. Also can't go the default gateway route as the admins will be keeping an eye on the 10gig network to ensure its only for research and no funny business.

On the workstations, with /etc/hosts, add entries for the various hosts on the 10 gig network and their IPs(which are different from the general network). Then add a separate route on the workstations to point IPs of the 10 gig network toward the lab server. The idea is to avoid having users log onto the server to transfer files on the 10gig network, and then again back to their workstations. Is this the right way of thinking about this?

Seems reasonable to me. Make a network map beforehand so you know which subnets have to go through the 10G line. Also make sure that the routes survive a reboot.

Maybe in order to have some more control you might use the machine you get that 10G line on as a complety gateway for the lab. Mean also hook up the "normal" line to it and have all the servers go through it everytime. So you only have to make the routing decisions on that machine. But this heavily depens on the setup you have right now. Also this would mean you would need to setup an dhcp server or another mean of ip addressing for the clients.

Yes that is something I've considered but the university's existing IT department manages the network and does not look favorably on people running such custom setups. But thanks for letting me know I'm on the right path.