Enable DNS for DHCP-Enabled Clients

Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

  • To configure Domain Name System (DNS) for clients with dynamically configured IP addresses that are provided by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, you usually configure the following at either the DHCP server or applicable clients:

    • DNS host name (or names) for the client computer. For DHCP clients, this must be set at the client computer or assigned during unattended setup.

    • Primary and alternate DNS servers that the client uses to assist in resolving DNS domain names. For DHCP clients, this can be set on the DHCP server by assigning the DNS server option (optionĀ 6) and providing a configured list of ordered IP addresses for the DNS servers that the client is configured to use.

    • A list of DNS suffixes to be appended for use in completing unqualified DNS names that are used for searching and submitting DNS queries at the client for resolution. For DHCP clients, this can be set on the DHCP server by assigning the DNS domain name option (optionĀ 15) and providing a single DNS suffix for the client to append and use in searches. To configure additional DNS suffixes, configure TCP/IP manually for DNS configuration.

    • Connection-specific dynamic update and registration behavior, such as whether specific network adapters that are installed at the client dynamically register their configured IP addresses with a DNS server. For DHCP clients, the default is for client connections to register their configured IP addresses with a DNS server. To modify this behavior at the client, configure TCP/IP manually on the client for DNS configuration.

For more information about how to configure other DNS for DHCP clients, see the applicable TCP/IP or DNS client documentation that is provided by the appropriate vendor.

By default, the DNS client does not attempt dynamic update of top-level domain (TLD) zones. Any zone that is named with a single-label name is considered to be a TLD zone, for example, com, edu, blank, my-company. To configure the DNS client to allow the dynamic update of TLD zones, you can use the Update Top Level Domain Zones policy setting or you can modify the registry.

For more information about DHCP options, see "DHCP Options" in the Networking Collection (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=4639).

Additional references