DNS Requirements for Front End Pool

 

Topic Last Modified: 2012-08-27

To successfully complete this procedure, you should be logged on to the server or domain minimally as a member of the Domain Admins group or a member of the DnsAdmins group.

You need to configure the required Domain Name System (DNS) records prior to publishing your topology in Topology Builder. Additionally, some of the fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) used in the configuration of a Microsoft Lync Server 2010 deployment are logical and not physical server FQDNs, so additional DNS configuration is required prior to publishing.

Warning

Lync Server 2010 does not support single-labeled domains. For example, a forest with a root domain named contoso.local is supported, but a root domain named local is not supported. For details, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 300684, “Information about configuring Windows for domains with single-label DNS names,” at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=3052&kbid=300684.

Important

The name you specify must be identical to the computer name configured on the server. By default the computer name of a computer that is not joined to a domain is a short name, not an FQDN. Topology Builder uses FQDNs, not short names. So, you must configure a DNS suffix on the name of the computer to be deployed as an Edge Server that is not joined to a domain. Use only standard characters (including A–Z, a–z, 0–9, and hyphens) when assigning FQDNs of your servers running Lync Server, Edge Servers, and pools. Do not use Unicode characters or underscores. Nonstandard characters in an FQDN are often not supported by external DNS and public certification authorities (CAs) (when the FQDN must be assigned to the SN in the certificate). For details about adding a DNS suffix to a computer name, see Configure DNS Records for Edge Support.

Prior to operating the topology after it has been deployed, you should ensure that the following Active Directory and DNS records are created (as your needs for specific features dictate):

  • Each server role that will exist in the topology is published as an Active Directory object (Joining the computer to the domain will accomplish this).

  • A DNS A Record exists for each server.

  • A DNS SRV Record exists for each SIP domain if you plan to use automatic logon for clients in the form of _sipinternal_tls.<SIP domain>. If you will use manual configuration for clients, this record is not necessary.

  • A DNS A Record for each configured simple URL, of which there are typically two: meet and dialin. Additionally, there is the admin simple URL which is a special URL for access to the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Control Panel.

  • The SQL Server-based computer must be domain joined, and reachable by the computer that Topology Builder is publishing from.

The table follows the reference architectures presented in the Planning section. For details, see Topologies for External User Access in the Planning documentation.

DNS Records Required for the Front End Pool

Location Type FQDN Maps to/Comments

Internal DNS

A

pool01.contoso.net

Pool01 (DNS load balancing)

Internal DNS

A

pool01.contoso.net

Pool01 (DNS load balancing)

Internal DNS

A

pool01.contoso.net

Pool01 (virtual IP (VIP) of hardware load balancer)

Internal DNS

A

fe01.contoso.net

Pool01 Front End Server (NODE 1)

Internal DNS

A

fe02.contoso.net

Pool01 Front End Server (NODE 2)

Internal DNS

A

lsweb.contoso.net

Pool01 (VIP) for client-to-server web traffic

Internal DNS

A

sqlbe.contoso.net

Pool01 Back End Server running Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, or Microsoft SQL Server 2005

Internal DNS

A

sip.contoso.com

Required for Microsoft Lync 2010 Phone Edition, or automatic logon of clients without DNS SRV records, and for strict domain matching. Not required in all cases.

Internal DNS

A

sip.fabrikam.com

Assumes a second SIP domain. Required for Microsoft Lync 2010 Phone Edition, automatic logon of clients without DNS SRV records, and for strict domain matching. Not required in all cases.

Internal DNS

A

dialin.contoso.com

Simple URL for dial-in conferencing published internally – Front End Server (or Director, if installed) responds to simple URL queries

Internal DNS

A

meet.contoso.com

Simple URL for conferences published internally – Front End Server (or Director, if installed) responds to simple URL queries

Internal DNS

A

admin.contoso.com

admin

Optional record, simple URL for Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Control Panel published internally - Front End Server (or Director, if installed) responds to simple URL queries. Host name only (no domain name) is recommended.

Note

VIP = virtual IP address for hardware load balancer

DNS SRV Records for the Front End Pool

Location Type FQDN Target FQDN Port Maps to/Comments

Internal DNS

SRV

_sipinternaltls._tcp.contoso.com

pool01.contoso.com

5061

Required for automatic configuration of Lync 2010 clients to work internally

Internal DNS

SRV

_sipinternaltls._tcp.fabrikam.com

pool01.fabrikam.com

5061

Required for automatic configuration of Lync 2010 clients to work internally

Internal DNS

SRV

_ntp._udp.contoso.com

dc01.contoso.com

123

Network Time Protocol (NTP) source required for Microsoft Lync 2010 Phone Edition-based devices. Internally, this should point to the domain controller. If the domain controller is not defined, it will try to use the NTP server time.windows.com