Windows 2000 Domain Name System (DNS)
servers maintain a distributed database used to translate
computer names to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
networks which includes the internet.
[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - Being able to install DNS is not a requirement for the
70-270 exam. Understanding the functionality of DNS and how
it affects Windows XP Professional clients in workgroups and
within domains is.
In the next few weeks in my Learn Active Directory in 15 Minutes a
Week series of articles I will cover DNS in more depth,
including a more in depth view of installing DNS.
The Microsoft Domain Name System (DNS) is the name resolution
service that resolves Uniform Resource Locator names (URLs)
and other DNS names into their “true” dotted decimal format.
http://www.zandri.net
translates into a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address
and it is that address resolution that allows you to reach
the server destination you are looking for.
For this reason you are going
to need to be sure that TCP/IP is installed on the client
system you wish to configure as a DNS client.
[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - There are other methods available for configuring TCP/IP
name resolution on Windows XP Professional clients. Most of
these will not work on the internet or on networks for
Active Directory purposes. Windows Internet Name
Service (WINS) can perform NetBIOS-to-IP name resolution and
Hosts and Lmhosts files can be manually configured to
provide host-to-IP and NetBIOS-to-IP name resolution. It is
also possible (but usually not desirable) to use b-node
broadcasts to perform NetBIOS name resolution within the
local subnet.
To configure your Windows XP Professional system as a
DNS client you need to either go to the Control Panel and
click Network And Internet Connections or go to My Network
Places on the start menu, right click it and choose
Properties.
In the Network Connections
window you would right click your Local Area Connection
(which is the default location to set the local system as a
DNS client) and choose Properties.
On the property page for the
Local Area Connection you would highlight the TCP/IP
protocol on the general tab and select the Properties
button.
The image below shows a client configured to use the DHCP
(as the Obtain an IP address automatically radio button is
set) or APIPA service (in the event the DHCP server is
unavailable). This is also the default selection for the
TCP/IP properties at operating system installation and/or
protocol installation when the Typical Settings radio button
is selected.
The client can be configured
to use a static (fixed) or dynamic IP address. In either
case, configuring the system as a DNS client is exactly the
same.
[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] - Windows XP Professional, like Windows 98 and Windows
2000, uses Automatic Private IP Addressing which will
provide DHCP clients an IP address and limited network
connectivity (usually the same subnet only) in the event a
DHCP server is unavailable. The Automatic Private IP
Addressing feature uses the reserved 169.254.0.0 through
169.254.255.255 IP address range and is enabled by default,
but it can be disabled by configuring the settings on the
client to use an alternate configuration if a DHCP server
cannot be located.
When you select the Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically
option, your network's Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP) server will provide the IP address of a DNS server to
the client.
When you elect to choose Use The Following DNS Server Addresses,
you will manually list the IP address of the Preferred DNS
Server and the optional Alternate DNS Server address that
you want the client to use.
You can also click on the Advanced button and enter these
values as well as some other settings.
You can set the client's DNS server addresses in the upper box and
arrange them in order of use from top to bottom (the first
two entries of which will be any settings you provided on
the main TCP/IP page) by entering them with the Add
button and using the arrows on the right side to change
their order.
There are also other sections on this property page where more
settings can be configured. The Append Primary And
Connection Specific DNS Suffixes option is selected by
default and this setting tells the DNS resolver to append
the client name to the primary domain name, as well as the
domain name defined in the DNS Domain Name field. The
resolver then searches for the Fully Qualified Domain Name.
If the search for the Fully Qualified Domain Name fails, the
DNS resolver will use the entry (if any) supplied in the
DNS Suffix For This Connection text box.
If the DHCP server has been enabled to configure this connection and you
do not specify a DNS suffix, the connection is assigned by
the DHCP server. If you specify a DNS suffix, it is used
instead.
The Append Parent Suffixes Of The Primary DNS Suffix check
box is enabled by default and this configuration causes the
DNS resolver to drop the leftmost portion of the primary DNS
suffix and attempt to use the resulting domain name. If this
fails, it continues dropping the next leftmost name and
repeating this process until only two names such as
2000Trainers and COM remain. Rather than do this, you might
opt to set the Append These DNS Suffixes (In Order)
radio button which will allow you to specify a list of
domains for the DNS resolver to try. The DNS resolver will
attempt each one of these suffixes, one at a time and in the
order you specified in the text box. Any attempts are
limited to the domains that you have listed in here.
You can also select the Register This Connection's Addresses In
DNS check box which will cause the client itself to
attempt to dynamically register the IP addresses via DNS
with its full computer name as shown on the Computer Name
tab of the System properties page.
The last available option to set from this property page is the
Use This Connection's DNS Suffix In DNS Registration
check box which uses DNS dynamic updates to register the IP
addresses and the connection-specific domain name. The
connection-specific name is the computer name, (the first
label of the full computer name specified in the Computer
Name tab), and the DNS suffix of this connection. If the
Register This Connection's Addresses In DNS check box is
selected, this registration enabled here is in addition to
the DNS registration of the full computer name.
I want to write solid technical
articles that appeal to a large range of readers and skill
levels and I can only be sure of that through your feedback.
Until next time, best of luck in your
studies and remember,
I remember how my mother taught me RELIGION - "You better pray that will
come out of the carpet."
