Dns on Windows Server 2003

Summary

While computers and other devices identify each other on networks or the Internet by using unique addresses made up of numbers, humans rely on the Domain Name System (DNS), the distributed database that allows us to identify machines by name. DNS does the work of translating domain names into numerical IP addresses, routing mail to its proper destination, and many other services, so that users require little or no knowledge of the system. If you're a network or system administrator, however, configuring, implementing, and maintaining DNS zones can be a formidable challenge. And now, with Windows Server 2003, an understanding of the workings of DNS is even more critical.

DNS on Windows Server 20003 is a special Windows-oriented edition of the classic DNS and BIND, newly updated to document the many changes to DNS, large and small, found in Windows Server 2003. Veteran O'Reilly authors, Cricket Liu, Matt Larson, and Robbie Allen explain the whole system in terms of the new Windows Server 2003, from starting and stopping a DNS service to establishing an organization's namespace in the global hierarchy.

Besides covering general issues like installing, setting up, and maintaining the server, DNS on Windows Server 2003 tackles the many issues specific to the new Windows environment, including the use of the dnscmd program to manage the Microsoft DNS Server from the command line and development using the WMI DNS provider to manage the name server programmatically. The book also documents new features of the Microsoft DNS Server in Windows Server 2003, including conditional forwarding and zone storage in Active Directory (AD) application partitions.

DNS on Windows Server 2003 provides grounding in:

• Security issues
  
• System tuning
  
• Caching
  
• Zone change notification
  
• Troubleshooting
  
• Planning for growth

If you're a Windows administrator, DNS on Windows Server 2003 is the operations manual you need for working with DNS every day. If you're a Windows user who simply wants to take the mystery out of the Internet, this book is a readable introduction to the Internet's architecture and inner workings.   

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Background

     A (Very) Brief History of the Internet

     On the Internet and Internets

     The Domain Name System in a Nutshell

     The History of the Microsoft DNS Server
     Must I Use DNS?

2. How Does DNS Work?

     The Domain Namespace

     The Internet Domain Namespace

     Delegation

     Name Servers and Zones

     Resolvers

     Resolution

     Caching

3. Where Do I Start?

     Which Name Server?

     Choosing a Domain Name

4. Setting Up the Microsoft DNS Server

     Our Zone

     Installing the Microsoft DNS Server

     The DNS Console

     Setting Up DNS Data

     Running a Primary Master Name Server

     Running a Secondary Name Server

     Adding More Zones

     DNS Properties

     What Next?

5. DNS and Electronic Mail

     MX Records

     Adding MX Records with the DNS Console

     What's a Mail Exchanger, Again?

     The MX Algorithm

     DNS and Exchange

6. Configuring Hosts

     The Resolver

     Resolver Configuration

     Advanced Resolver Features

     Other Windows Resolvers

     Sample Resolver Configurations

7. Maintaining the Microsoft DNS Server

     What About Signals?

     Logging

     Updating Zone Data

     Zone Datafile Controls

     Aging and Scavenging

8. Integrating with Active Directory

     Active Directory Domains

     Storing Zones in Active Directory

     DNS as a Service Location Broker

9. Growing Your Domain

     How Many Name Servers?

     Adding More Name Servers

     Registering Name Servers

     Changing TTLs

     Planning for Disasters

     Coping with Disaster

10. Parenting

     When to Become a Parent

     How Many Children?

     What to Name Your Children 

     How to Become a Parent: Creating Subdomains

     Subdomains of in-addr.arpa Domains

     Good Parenting

     Managing the Transition to Subdomains

     The Life of a Parent

11. Advanced Features and Security

     New Ways to Make Changes

     WINS Linkage

     Building Up a Large, Sitewide Cache with Forwarders

     Load Sharing Between Mirrored Servers

     The ABCs of IPv6 Addressing

     Securing Your Name Server

12. nslookup and dig

     Is nslookup a Good Tool?

     Interactive Versus Noninteractive

     Option Settings

     Avoiding the Search List

     Common Tasks

     Less Common Tasks

     Troubleshooting nslookup Problems

     Best of the Net

     Using dig

13. Managing DNS from the Command Line

     Installing the DNS Server

     Stopping and Starting the DNS Server Service

     Managing the DNS Server Configuration

     An Installation and Configuration Batch Script

     Other Command-Line Utilities

14. Managing DNS Programmatically

     WMI and the DNS Provider

     WMI Scripting with VBScript and Perl

     Server Classes

     Zone Classes

     Resource Record Classes

15. Troubleshooting DNS

     Is DNS Really Your Problem?

     Checking the Cache

     Using DNSLint

     Potential Problem List

     Interoperability Problems

     Problem Symptoms

16. Miscellaneous

     Using CNAME Records

     Wildcards

     A Limitation of MX Records

     DNS and Internet Firewalls

     Dial-up Connections

A. DNS Message Format and Resource Records

B. Converting from BIND to the Microsoft DNS Server

C. Top-Level Domains

Index