Microsoft KB Archive/830381

= Server Responsiveness Degrades and Queries Time Out When You Run the DNS Server Service =

Article ID: 830381

Article Last Modified on 7/24/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition

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SYMPTOMS
When you run the DNS Server service under Microsoft Windows Server 2003, after a short time of operation, within 60 minutes or less, you may notice a degradation in server responsiveness, and queries may start to time out.



Hotfix Information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required.

Restart Requirement
You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix Replacement Information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File Information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date        Time   Version      Size     File name --- 07-Oct-2003 06:58  5.2.3790.90  421,376  Dns.exe



WORKAROUND
There is no suggested workaround. To minimize the effects of the problem, periodically stop and then restart the DNS Server service.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
As soon as Windows Server 2003 starts servicing client DNS queries, the CPU utilization for the DNS process will start increasing in a linear fashion. At some point, typically within an hour, the CPU utilization for the DNS process may hit 100 percent on each CPU, depending on the relative performance of the hardware.

As the CPU utilization increases toward 100 percent, you may also notice a leak in Private Bytes for the DNS process.

If the load level is sufficiently high and if it is sustained for a sufficient length of time, there will be a noticeable degradation in the DNS server's responsiveness.

As the system degrades in responsiveness, queries will start to time out. If you use the NSLOOKUP tool with a higher-than-normal timeout setting (for example, 20 seconds instead of 2 seconds), you will notice that most queries are in fact still being serviced. However, it takes a long time for the DNS server to respond.

Additional query words: Win2003 Server DNS

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbbug kbfix kbqfe kbwinserv2003presp1fix KB830381

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