Networking / Beginners

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Configuring DNS Resolution

DNS is a host name resolution service that you can use to determine the IP address of a computer from its host name. This enables users to work with host names, such as http://www.msn.com or http://www.microsoft.com, rather than an IP address, such as 192.168.5.102 or 192.168.12.68. DNS is the primary name service for Windows Vista and the Internet.

As with gateways, the best way to configure DNS depends on the configuration of your network. If computers use DHCP, you'll probably want to configure DNS through settings on the DHCP server. If computers use static IP addresses or you want to specifically configure DNS for an individual user or system, you'll want to configure DNS manually.

Basic DNS Settings

You can configure basic DNS settings by completing the following steps:

1. Click Start and then click Network. In Network Explorer, click Network And Sharing Center on the toolbar.
2. In Network And Sharing Center, click Manage Network Connections.
3. In Network Connections, right-click the connection you want to work with and then select Properties.
4. In the Local Area Connection Status dialog box, click Properties. This displays the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box.
5. Double-click Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) or Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) as appropriate for the type of IP address you are configuring.
6. If the computer is using DHCP and you want DHCP to specify the DNS server address, select Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically. Otherwise, select Use The Following DNS Server Addresses and then type primary and alternate DNS server addresses in the text boxes provided.
7. Click OK twice and then click Close.

Advanced DNS Settings

You configure advanced DNS settings using the DNS tab of the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box. You use the fields of the DNS tab as follows:

• DNS Server Addresses, In Order Of Use Use this area to specify the IP address of each DNS server that is used for domain name resolution. Click Add if you wish to add a server IP address to the list. Click Remove to remove a selected server address from the list. Click Edit to edit the selected entry. You can specify multiple servers for DNS resolution. Their priority is determined by the order. If the first server isn't available to respond to a host name resolution request, the next DNS server on the list is accessed, and so on. To change the position of a server in the list box, select it and then use the Up or Down arrow button.
• Append Primary And Connection Specific DNS Suffixes Normally, this option is selected by default. Select this option to resolve unqualified computer names in the primary domain. For example, if the computer name Gandolf is used and the parent domain is microsoft.com, the computer name would resolve to gandolf.microsoft.com. If the fully qualified computer name doesn't exist in the parent domain, the query fails. The parent domain used is the one set in the System Properties dialog box on the Computer Name tab. (Double-click System in Control Panel and then click the Computer Name tab to check the settings.)
• Append Parent Suffixes Of The Primary DNS Suffix This option is selected by default. Select this option to resolve unqualified computer names using the parent/child domain hierarchy. If a query fails in the immediate parent domain, the suffix for the parent of the parent domain is used to try to resolve the query. This process continues until the top of the DNS domain hierarchy is reached. For example, if the computer name Gandolf is used in the dev.microsoft.com domain, DNS would attempt to resolve the computer name to gandolf.dev.microsoft.com. If this didn't work, DNS would attempt to resolve the computer name to gandolf.microsoft.com.
• Append These DNS Suffixes (In Order) Select this option to set specific DNS suffixes to use rather than resolving through the parent domain. Click Add if you want to add a domain suffix to the list. Click Remove to remove a selected domain suffix from the list. Click Edit to edit the selected entry. You can specify multiple domain suffixes, which are used in order. If the first suffix doesn't resolve properly, DNS attempts to use the next suffix in the list. If this fails, the next suffix is used, and so on. To change the order of the domain suffixes, select the suffix and then use the Up or Down arrow button to change its position.
• DNS Suffix For This Connection This option sets a specific DNS suffix for the connection that overrides DNS names already configured for use on this connection. Instead, you'll usually set the DNS domain name through the System Properties dialog box on the Computer Name tab.
• Register This Connection's Addresses In DNS Select this option if you want all IP addresses for this connection to be registered in DNS under the computer's fully qualified domain name. This option is selected by default.
  Dynamic DNS updates are used in conjunction with DHCP to enable a client to update its A (Host Address) record if its IP address changes, and to enable the DHCP server to update the PTR (Pointer) record for the client on the DNS server. DHCP servers can also be configured to update both the A and PTR records on the client's behalf. Dynamic DNS updates are only supported by BIND 5.1 or higher DNS servers as well as Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, and later server versions of Windows. Microsoft Windows NT Server 4 doesn't support this feature.
• Use This Connection's DNS Suffix In DNS Registration Select this option if you want all IP addresses for this connection to be registered in DNS under the parent domain.