Install a DNS server

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To install a DNS server

  1. Open Windows Components Wizard.

  2. In Components, select the Networking Services check box, and then click Details.

  3. In Subcomponents of Networking Services, select the Domain Name System (DNS) check box, click OK, and then click Next.

  4. If prompted, in Copy files from, type the full path to the distribution files, and then click OK.

    Required files are copied to your hard disk.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.

  • To open the Windows Components Wizard, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.

  • Certain Windows components require configuration before they can be used. If you installed one or more of these components but did not configure them, when you click Add/Remove Windows Components, a list of components that need to be configured is displayed. To start the Windows Components Wizard, click Components.

  • It is recommended that you manually configure the computer to use a static IP address. If the DNS server is configured to use DHCP-assigned dynamic addresses, when the DHCP server assigns a new IP address to the DNS server, the DNS clients configured to use that DNS server's previous IP address will be unable to resolve the previous IP address and locate the DNS server.

  • After you install a DNS server, you can decide how to administer it and its zones. Although you can use a text editor to make changes to server boot and zone files, this method is not recommended. The DNS console and the DNS command-line tool, dnscmd, simplify maintenance of these files and should be used whenever possible. Once you begin using console-based or command-line management of these files, manually editing them is not recommended. For more information, see Related Topics.

  • DNS zones stored in Active Directory can be administered using the DNS console or the dnscmd command-line tool only. These zones cannot be administered using a text editor.

  • If you uninstall a DNS server hosting Active Directory-integrated zones, these zones will be saved or deleted according to their storage type. For all storage types, the zone data is stored on other domain controllers or DNS servers and will not be deleted unless the DNS server that you uninstall in the last DNS server hosting that zone.

  • If you uninstall a DNS server hosting standard DNS zones, the zone files will remain in the systemroot\system32\Dns directory, but they will not be reloaded if the DNS server is reinstalled. If you create a new zone with the same name as an old zone, the old zone file is replaced with the new zone file.

  • When writing DNS server boot and zone data to text files, DNS servers use the Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) file format recognized by legacy BIND 4 servers, not the more recent BIND 8 format.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Configure a DNS server for use with Active Directory
Configure a new DNS server
DNS Checklists
Server administration using Dnscmd
Open the DNS console