Setting up the DNS Server

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

Before you install DNS, ensure that your computer is named correctly and that you can ping other computers in the network that your DNS servers might need to query. Because clients locate DNS servers by IP address, assign a static IP address to each DNS server.

You can set up your DNS server in one of four ways:

  • Install DNS on a server by using the Active Directory Installation Wizard to install Active Directory.

    The Active Directory Installation Wizard automatically creates an Active Directory–integrated copy of the forward lookup zone that corresponds to the name of the Active Directory domain, and configures the zone for secure dynamic update. In addition, the wizard creates the standard reverse lookup zones recommended by the DNS RFCs.

    You can start the Active Directory Installation Wizard by running dcpromo.exe at a command prompt. For more information about Active Directory installation and removal, see the Active Directory Collection of the Windows Server 2003 Technical Reference (or see the Active Directory Collection on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit).

  • Before or after you install Active Directory on the server, you can use the Add or Remove Programs tool to install the DNS Server service and then run the Configure DNS Server Wizard to configure your zones. As with the Active Directory Installation Wizard, the Configure DNS Server Wizard creates the standard reverse lookup zones recommended by the DNS RFCs, and either configures the server as a root server or initializes the root hints.

  • You can use the command-line tool Dnscmd.exe to configure the DNS server.

  • You can use Microsoft® Visual Basic® Scripting Edition (VBScript) or other scripting languages through the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider packaged with Windows Server 2003.

For more information about these setup options and for information about Windows Server 2003 DNS, including how the Active Directory Installation Wizard and the Configure DNS Server Wizard determine whether or not to initialize the root hints, see the Networking Collection of the Windows Server 2003 Technical Reference (or see the Networking Collection on the Web at www.microsoft.com/reskit).