Microsoft KB Archive/308201

= How To Create a New Zone on a DNS Server in Windows 2000 =

Article ID: 308201

Article Last Modified on 10/31/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Small Business Server 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q308201



IN THIS TASK
SUMMARY
 * How to Create a Forward Lookup Zone
 * How to Modify the Forward Lookup Zone Properties
 * How to Create a Reverse Lookup Zone
 * How to Modify the Reverse Lookup Zone Properties
 * How to Create a Host Record
 * How to Add a CNAME
 * How to Add an MX Record
 * How to Add a Name Server

REFERENCES



SUMMARY
This article is a step-by-step guide for creating a Domain Name System (DNS) zone for a new domain.

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How to Create a Forward Lookup Zone
A DNS zone is the range of IP addresses for which your DNS server hosts naming information in the DNS namespace. The DNS Forward Lookup zone is used to resolve computer host names to an IP address (&quot;forward name resolution&quot;).

To create a new forward lookup zone:
 * 1) Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.
 * 2) Under DNS, expand   (where   is the host name of the DNS server).
 * 3) Expand Forward Lookup Zones.
 * 4) Right-click Forward Lookup Zones, and then click New Zone. The New Zone Wizard starts. Click Next to continue.
 * 5) Click Standard primary, and then click Next.
 * 6) In the Name box, type the name of the zone.

The name of the zone should be the same as the DNS suffix of the host computers for which you want to create the zone. For example, type .com, and then click Next.
 * 1) On the Zone File page, click Next, and then click Finish.

The new zone is listed under Forward Lookup Zones in the DNS tree.

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How to Modify the Forward Lookup Zone Properties
To modify or verify the zone properties:
 * 1) Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.
 * 2) Under DNS, expand   (where   is the host name of the DNS server).
 * 3) Expand Forward Lookup Zones.
 * 4) Under Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example,  .com), and then click Properties.
 * 5) In the Allow dynamic updates list, click Yes.
 * 6) Click the Start of Authority (SOA) tab.
 * 7) In the Responsible person box, type the e-mail address that you want (in the format of &quot;username.domain.com&quot;). For example, if the e-mail address is support@ .com, type support. .com.
 * 8) Click Apply, and then click OK.

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How to Create a Reverse Lookup Zone
The Reverse Lookup zone resolves IP addresses to computer host names in the DNS namespace (&quot;reverse name resolution&quot;).

To create a new reverse lookup zone:  Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS. Under DNS, expand   (where  is the host name of the DNS server). Expand Reverse Lookup Zones. Right-click Reverse Lookup Zones, and then click New Zone. The New Zone Wizard starts. Click Next to continue. Click Standard primary, and then click Next. In the Network ID box, type the network ID.

The network ID is the portion of the TCP/IP address that identifies the network. For example, type 192.168.0, and then click Next.For additional information about TCP/IP networks, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

164015 Understanding TCP/IP Addressing and Subnetting Basics

 On the Zone File page, click Next, and then click Finish.</li></ol>

The new zone is listed under Reverse Lookup Zones in the DNS tree.

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How to Modify the Reverse Lookup Zone Properties
To modify or verify the zone properties:
 * 1) Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.
 * 2) Under DNS, expand   (where   is the host name of the DNS server).
 * 3) Expand Reverse Lookup Zones.
 * 4) Under Reverse Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example, 102.168.0.x Subnet), and then click Properties.
 * 5) In the Allow dynamic updates list, click Yes.
 * 6) Click the Start of Authority (SOA) tab.
 * 7) In the Responsible person box, type the e-mail address that you want (in the format of &quot;username.domain.com&quot;). For example, if the e-mail address is support@ .com, type support. .com.
 * 8) Click Apply, and then click OK.

NOTE: When you create the forward and reverse lookup zones, the DNS service automatically creates an &quot;A&quot; record for the DNS server. However, it does not create a PTR, or reverse lookup record, for the DNS server.

To create a PTR record for the DNS server:
 * 1) Right-click the reverse lookup zone (for example, 192.168.0.x Subnet), and then click New Pointer.
 * 2) In the Host IP number box, type the host portion of the DNS server IP address. For example, if the DNS server is on a &quot;C&quot; class network and has an IP address of 192.168.0.10, the host portion of the IP address is 10. In this case, type 10.
 * 3) In the Host name box, type the host name of the DNS server. For example, type dnsserv. .com.
 * 4) Click OK.

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How to Create a Host Record
Each computer requires a host record or &quot;A&quot; record to identify the computer in the DNS system. The host record consists of the host name of the computer along with its corresponding IP address.

To create a host or &quot;A&quot; record: <ol> Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.</li> Under DNS, expand   (where  is the host name of the DNS server).</li> Expand Forward Lookup Zones.</li> Under Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example,  .com), and then click New Host.</li> In the Name (uses parent domain name if blank) box, type the name of the host that you want to add. For example, if you want to add a host record for a Web server, type www .</li> In the IP address box, type the IP address of the host that you want to add. For example, type 192.168.0.100 .</li> Select the Create associated pointer (PTR) record check box, and then click Add Host. A message similar to the following message appears:

The host record www. .com was successfully created.

Click OK.

</li> When you are finished adding hosts, click Done.</li></ol>

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How to Add a CNAME
A CNAME (or &quot;Canonical Name&quot;) is an alias or an additional host name that is resolved to the IP address of an existing host computer in the DNS namespace. For example, if you use the same computer as both a Web server and an FTP server, you may want to resolve both the WWW host name and the FTP host name to the same IP address. Using a CNAME, you can resolve both names to the same IP address.

To create a CNAME:
 * 1) Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.
 * 2) Under DNS, expand   (where   is the host name of the DNS server).
 * 3) Expand Forward Lookup Zones.
 * 4) Under Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example,  .com), and then click New Alias.
 * 5) In the Alias name box, type the alias that you want. For example, type ftp.
 * 6) In the Fully qualified name for target host box, type the fully qualified host name of the host computer that you want. For example, type www. .com, and then click OK.

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How to Add an MX Record
An MX (or &quot;Mail Exchanger&quot;) record is used to identify a host computer as a Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP)/Post Office Protocol (POP3) server. To add an MX record, use the following steps. Note that you must first create the &quot;A&quot; record for the mail server host.
 * 1) Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.
 * 2) Under DNS, expand   (where   is the host name of the DNS server).
 * 3) Expand Forward Lookup Zones.
 * 4) Right-click the zone that you want (for example,  .com), and then click New Mail Exchanger.
 * 5) In the Mail server box, type the fully qualified domain name of the host computer that acts as the mail server. For example, type mail. .com.
 * 6) Click OK.

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How to Add a Name Server
To identify an additional name server:
 * 1) Start the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.
 * 2) Under DNS, expand   (where   is the host name of the DNS server).
 * 3) Expand Forward Lookup Zones.
 * 4) Under Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example,  .com), and then click Properties.
 * 5) Click the Name Servers tab, and then click Add.
 * 6) In the Server name box, type the host name of the server that you want to add. For example, type namesvr2. .com.
 * 7) In the IP address box, type the IP address of the Name server that you want to add (for example, type 192.168.0.22 ), and then click Add.
 * 8) Click OK, and then click OK to return to the DNS window.
 * 9) Expand Reverse Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want, and then click Properties.
 * 10) Click the Name Servers tab, and then click Add.
 * 11) In the Server name box, type the host name of the server that you want to add. For example, type namesvr2. .com.
 * 12) In the IP address box, type the IP address of the Name server that you want to add (for example, type 192.168.0.22 ), and then click Add.
 * 13) Click OK, and then click OK to return to the DNS window.

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