How to setup DNS on windows 2000 server

In this article I will describe the proper way to set up a windows 2000 DNS server for use with active directory.

Before I begin, let me say that active directory is going the way of the dinosaur. Here I am browsing the internet for interesting things and what do I see, an add from Microsoft on how they are better and cheaper then Linux to run for business. I'm sorry but coming from a guy that sells this stuff to companies every day, I have to say that I can build a Linux mail server with quality parts for under 600.00 that would support easily 50 users. If I wanted to use Microsoft’s exchange server, this many users would cost about 9,000 after you consider the licensing costs that Microsoft charges for their software. I personally think this is great for techs because if you learn the Linux way of doing things, you could easily provide the open source solution to your customers, and charge 75 percent of what the Microsoft solution was going to cost and still make a killing on it. Why has this not already happened? Well I think that Linux is about 5 years behind in the learning curve of the population. Microsoft has invested money in taking its software to the techs, by putting up schools for techs to learn Microsoft software, making a MCSE cert program, so you now the techs are locked into their software and thus so are the companies. I think its a great idea and hope to use it to convince everyone that open source software is worth checking out. It takes years to learn it, I will not kid you but so did that windows 2000 server that your trying to work on right now didn't it? Anyway now I have said my thing, here is what you came here for.

STEP 1) Install DNS snap in. If you already have not done this, go to the control panel->Add/remove programs->Add/remove windows components->and find the DNS snap in its somewhere in there just look for it. You will need to have the windows 2000 CD-ROM for this.

STEP 2) Set your IP address to be static, Also set your primary DNS to be yourself. If your ip address is 192.168.0.25 then also set your one and only DNS server to be that same ip address. Later you will specify forwarders and you can put your actual DNS server information in there.

STEP 3) ok now the DNS snap in should be installed and located under the administrative tools. Open it by double-clicking the DNS Snap in.

You are going to set up the forward lookup. Just right click to create a new forward lookup zone. Name it yoursite.local or what ever your domain is. After you are through the wizard, right click the zone and click properties. Find the setting that allows updates and choose allow unsecure updates or allow all updates then hit apply and ok. If you were to expand the lookup zone now you would see only 3 or 4 objects and no sub folders in there. This is WRONG. if you see this you know DNS is not working properly.

STEP 4) Start -> Run -> CMD

Now your at the command prompt. Type

net stop netlogon && net start netlogon


This will restart the service responsible for registering the DNS. This makes it update right then and there rather then waiting till the next scheduled update to occur. If you do a refresh on the zone you should now see 4 subfolders starting with _ chars if you still do not see this then you possible skipped on of the other steps such as making your ip address static or setting your DNS setting to be your self. Sorry but your going to have to figure out what went wrong because these directions work every time for me.

To verify and test this, you can now go to the cmd prompt again. You should be able to ping mydomain.local and get the same address you put in the DNS. if you get some other address then you have a problem. Now go to a workstation, set its primary DNS server to be the IP address of your DNS server that you just finished setting up. Now refresh your DNS cache by typing

ipconfig /registerdns

from the command prompt. Now ping mydomain.local and make sure it has the same local ip address that you had on the server. If so, your good to go, you can now join the workstation to the Domain without problems. If you don't properly set up DNS, you will get problems joining computers to the domain, it will have all kinds of strange errors such as joining the domain failed. MAKE SURE YOUR DNS IS ALL GOOD in your network. It makes the entire network run sooo much smoother.