To configure a computer's preferred DNS server

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

To configure a computer's preferred DNS server

  1. Open Network Connections.

  2. Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.

  3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • If the computer will use DHCP to obtain a preferred DNS server, click Obtain DNS server address automatically.

      This option is available only when the Obtain an IP address automatically option is selected.

    • If the computer will use a static IP address for a preferred DNS server, click Use the following DNS server addresses.

      For Preferred DNS server, specify the IP address of the DNS server this computer should use.

Notes

  • To open Network Connections, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.

  • Usually, the preferred Domain Name System (DNS) server is an existing DNS server within the same site as the computer you want to configure. If the computer you want to configure is running a DNS server and you want it to send queries to this local DNS server, you can specify the computer's own IP address as its preferred DNS server. Optionally, you can specify the IP address of an alternate DNS server that this computer will use if the preferred DNS server does not respond.

  • If the computer for which you are configuring a preferred DNS server is using a local DNS server as its preferred DNS server, it is strongly recommended that you use a static IP address. To do this, click Use following IP address, and then specify the static IP address, subnet mask, and IP address of the default gateway.

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

DNS requirements for joining an Active Directory domain
Configure TCP/IP to use DNS