Identifying the DNS Data Host

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

Determine who will host your DNS data. You can either host your DNS data on your own DNS servers or you can have an external ISP host your DNS data. By hosting your own DNS data, you have complete control of network resource allocation and security. Use an ISP if you have a small network that will not be expanding rapidly in the near future.

If you decide to use an ISP to host your DNS data, ensure that the DNS infrastructure of the ISP can support your DNS deployment.

Even if you decide to host your own DNS data, you might consider using an ISP to resolve names outside your private network. For example, the company contoso.com might decide to host all names belonging to the internal namespace corp.contoso.com on its own DNS servers while using an ISP to enable its employees to resolve external Web addresses such as www.microsoft.com.