How To Install and Configure Microsoft DNS Server

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SUMMARY

This article is designed as an introduction to the Microsoft Domain Name Service (DNS) included with Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0. This guide will take you through the steps needed to install and configure DNS on your Windows NT Server.

For additional information on Domain Name Service, please see the following white paper available on the Microsoft anonymous ftp server:

   File Name: Dnswp.exe
   Location : ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-docs/papers/
   Title    : "DNS and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0"

MORE INFORMATION

Installing Microsoft DNS

Use the following steps to install DNS on your Windows NT 4.0 Server:

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Network icon, and then click the Services tab.

2. Click Add, select Microsoft DNS Server from the Select Network Service dialog box, and then click OK.

3. Type the location of your Windows NT source files, click OK, and then click Close.

1. Restart your computer.

Configuring Microsoft DNS

Gathering Information:

Before you actually begin configuring the DNS server, there is some basic information you will need. Some of this information must be approved by Internic for use on the Internet, but if you are configuring this server for internal use only, you can then decide what names and IP addresses to use. You will need:

• Your domain name (must be approved by Internic)
• The IP address of each server for which you wish to provide name resolution
• The host names of each of the servers in step above

For example, use the following information (substitute your actual information where appropriate):

   Domain Name: <Domain.com>
   Servers:   192.168.50.11   <Mail1.domain.com>
              192.168.50.12   <Ftp1.domain.com>
              192.168.50.12   <WWW.domain.com> (notice the same IP
                               address)
              192.168.50.15   <DNS1.domain.com>

Using the information above, configure your Microsoft DNS server by doing the following:

1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS Manager.

2. From the DNS menu, click New Server.

3. Type the IP address of your DNS server in the Add DNS Server dialog box (192.168.58.15 in the example information), and then click OK.

• In DNS Manager, right-click your DNS server, and click Update Server Data Files.

Some applications use a reverse query to a DNS server to find the host name of a host when it has the IP address of the computer. You must configure a reverse lookup zone to provide this capability.

NOTE: Reverse lookup zones may not be necessary in your network, but it is recommended that one be present. NSLOOKUP run on the DNS server will fail if no reverse lookup zone is configured.

To create a reverse lookup zone, perform the following steps:

1. In DNS Manager, right-click your DNS server, and then click New Zone.

2. Click Primary from the "Creating New Zone for" dialog box, and then click Next.

3. The Zone Name is derived from your IP network address. In the example information, the Zone Name is 58.168.192.in-addr.arpa. Type your reverse zone name (the least significant part of the IP address, and work toward the most significant part of the address). For example:

      If your network ID is:         Then your reverse zone is:
   
      10.0.0.0                       10.in-addr.arpa
      130.20.0.0                     20.130.in-addr.arpa
      250.30.203.0                   203.30.250.in-addr.arpa
   
      NOTE: The syntax of the reverse lookup zone is imperative to its
      operation.
   
   

4. After you type the reverse lookup zone name, press Tab and the reverse lookup zone file name will automatically fill in using the zone name in step 3 appended by ".dns" (without the quotes).

5. Click Next, and then click Finish.

1. In DNS Manager, right-click your server, and then click New Zone.

2. Click Primary Zone, and then click Next.

3. Type the Zone Name for your DNS domain. This is the domain name that is registered with Internic (<Domain.com> in the example).

4. Press Tab, click Next, and then click Finish.

NOTE: The A record will only be created if the zone name matches the domain name.

Adding Host Records to Your Forward Lookup Zone:

The A record for your DNS server should have been automatically created. However, DNS Manager does not automatically create the PTR record in the reverse zone for the DNS server. The simplest way to correct this is to use the following steps:

1. Right-click the A record for your DNS server, and then click Delete Record.

2. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box.

3. Right-click your forward zone, <Domain.com>, and then click New Host.

4. Type the host name of your DNS server and the IP address.

5. Click Create Associated PTR Record to enable it and click Add Host.

6. Click Done.

To verify the PTR records are created successfully, right-click the reverse lookup zone 58.168.192.in-addr.arpa, and then click Refresh.

Configuring Other Record Types

A DNS server can be responsible for several different record types. Some of them include, but are not limited to the following: A, CNAME, HINFO, MX, NS, and SOA. For details on these and other record types, please refer to the DNS white paper mentioned earlier in this article.

Creating A CNAME Record:

A CNAME record allows you to use multiple names for the same IP address. This way, you can have users access the same server for separate functions, such as FTP1.domain.com and WWW.domain.com. Before you can create the CNAME record, you must first have an A record, as described earlier.

To create a CNAME record, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click your forward zone, <Domain.com>, and click New Record.

2. Select CNAME Record from the Record Type list box in the New Resource Record dialog box.

3. Type an alternate name for access to this computer. For example, in the sample information earlier in this article, WWW is an alternate name for FTP1.domain.com.

4. Type the original host name in "For Host DNS Name." For example, <FTP1.domain.com>.

   NOTE: It is important to use the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) for the originating host DNS name.

5. Click OK.

Creating an MX Record:

An MX Record is a Mail Exchange record that points mail programs to your mail servers. To create an MX record, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click your forward lookup zone, <Domain.com> and then click New Record.

2. Select MX Record from the Record Type list box in the New Resource Record dialog box.

3. The Host Name (Optional) field is used for the host name of the mail server. However, if you want users to be able to send mail to your domain using the format USER@Domain.com, then leave the Host Name field blank.

4. Enter the FQDN of the mail server in the Mail Exchange Server DNS Name, for example, Mail1.domain.com..

   NOTE: There is a trailing dot, ".", after the Mail Exchange Server DNS Name. The FQDN that is used for the Mail Exchange Server must have a corresponding A record for that domain. If the Mail Exchange Server is a different computer than the DNS Server, the DNS Server must know where to redirect the mail traffic.

5. The Preference Number is any number from 0 to 65535. In the case of multiple mail servers, this number identifies which mail server is to be used first. The lower the preference number, the higher the priority.

6. Click OK.

Keywords          : kbhowto kbinfo nthowto ntnetserv NTSrv nttcp kbnetwork
Version           : WinNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt
Issue type        : kbhowto kbinfo
Solution Type     : Info_Provided