Microsoft KB Archive/301197

= HOW TO: Configure DNS in a New Workgroup Environment in Windows 2000 =

PSS ID Number: 301197

Article Last Modified on 10/30/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

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This article was previously published under Q301197



IN THIS TASK

 * SUMMARY
 * ** Installing the DNS Service
 * *** To Install the DNS Service on an Existing Server
 * To Install the DNS Service During Windows 2000 Installation
 * Configuring DNS
 * *** To Configure the DNS Service
 * To Enable the Forward Lookup Zone to Allow Dynamic Updates
 * Troubleshooting
 * *** The Options to Configure Root Hints or Forwarders Are Unavailable



SUMMARY
This step-by-step guide is intended for new workgroups without Domain Name System (DNS) servers. With DNS servers, users can use &quot;friendly&quot; names to contact resources. &quot;Friendly&quot; names are simple English names that represent a network resource. You can use DNS names to publish and name all of the networked resources in your workgroup.

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Installing the DNS Service
Before you can configure the DNS service, you must install it on the server. DNS is not installed by default during the installation of Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server. You can install DNS during or after the installation.

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To Install the DNS Service on an Existing Server

 * 1) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
 * 2) Double-click Add/Remove Programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.
 * 3) In the Windows Components Wizard, in the Components list, click Networking Services, and then click Details.
 * 4) In the Networking Services dialog box, select the Domain Name System (DNS) check box if it is not already selected, and then click OK.
 * 5) In the Windows Components Wizard, click Next to start Windows 2000 Setup. Insert the Windows 2000 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive if you are prompted. Setup copies the DNS server and tool files to your computer.
 * 6) When Setup is completed, click Finish.

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To Install the DNS Service During Windows 2000 Installation
To install the DNS service during the initial installation of Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server, follow steps 3 and 4 above when you are prompted to install and configure Windows components.

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Configuring DNS
To function properly, a DNS server requires a forward lookup zone for its local domain to host the locator records. A forward lookup zone contains information that is required to resolve names in the DNS domain. You might also want to configure a reverse lookup zone that enables users to determine the name of a local resource based on its IP address. In addition, to keep the administration of your DNS service as simple as possible, you should configure these zones to accept dynamic updates.

After you have installed the DNS service, use the Configure DNS Server Wizard to configure the DNS service.

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To Configure the DNS Service

 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click DNS to start the DNS Management console.
 * 2) In the navigation pane, right-click the DNS Server object for your server, and then click Configure the server to start the Configure DNS Server Wizard. In the Configure DNS Server Wizard, click Next.
 * 3) Select one of the following items, and then click Next:
 * 4) * If this is the first DNS server in the network and you will not need to resolve names from other domains, click This is the first DNS server on this network.
 * 5) * If one or more DNS servers will also be running on this network, or you will be forwarding DNS requests to another network (such as the Internet), click One or more DNS servers are running on this network, and type the IP address of a known DNS server.

NOTE: If the server on which DNS is installed is already configured to use a DNS server, the wizard queries for the root servers. If it finds these root servers, The wizard primes the root hints with the names of the root DNS servers. If the wizard is unable to find any root servers, it creates a root zone on the DNS server, thereby making it a root server.
 * 1) Click Yes, create a forward lookup zone, and then click Next. Click Standard primary to configure this server as a primary DNS server (a primary DNS server stores a master copy of the new zone in a text file), and then click Next. Type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the new zone, and then click Next. Accept the default setting to create a new file with this file name, and then click Next.
 * 2) Click Yes, create a reverse lookup zone, and then click Next. Click Standard primary to create the reverse lookup zone as a primary zone, and then click Next.
 * 3) In the Network ID box, type the first three octets of the DNS server's IP address in reverse. For example, if the server's IP address is 192.168.100.102, type 100.168.192 . Click Next. Click the default setting to create a new zone file with the file name that is automatically selected by the wizard, and then click Next. Click Finish.

After you have configured the new forward lookup zone, you should configure these zones to accept dynamic updates.

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To Enable the Forward Lookup Zone to Allow Dynamic Updates

 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click DNS to start the DNS Management console.
 * 2) In the navigation pane, expand the DNS server. Expand the Forward Lookup Zones folder.
 * 3) Right-click the forward lookup zone created for your domain, and then click Properties.
 * 4) On the General tab, click Allow dynamic updates, and then click OK.

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The Options to Configure Root Hints or Forwarders Are Unavailable
If Windows does not detect any DNS servers during the initial configuration of Windows 2000 DNS, the new DNS server is designated as a &quot;root server.&quot; The root server is the ultimate authority for all name-resolution queries. Therefore, the new DNS server cannot forward any name-resolution queries that it is unable to resolve to another server or up to the root servers on the Internet. A Windows 2000-based DNS server that is configured as a root server disables the options to add forwarders automatically.

If, at a later date, you decide that this DNS server should be integrated into a larger DNS environment such as the Internet, you need to remove the &quot;root&quot; forward lookup zone. To remove this zone:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click DNS to start the DNS Management console.
 * 2) Expand the DNS server object.
 * 3) Expand the Forward Lookup Zones folder.
 * 4) Click the zone that is marked with a period (.), and then press the DELETE key. Click OK.

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Keywords: kbhowto kbHOWTOmaster KB301197

Technology: kbwin2000AdvServ kbwin2000AdvServSearch kbwin2000Search kbwin2000Serv kbwin2000ServSearch kbWinAdvServSearch

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