DNS Catch-22 1

[sqlhotdog2005]

We have an interesting/frustrating catch-22 with our departmental server.

Our department stores its information on a W2K server, which is a PDC.

Our workstations are all set up with DNS addresses outside of our departmental LAN... that is, they are not 192.168.x.x... and our internet works fine. We do not need our departmental server to be a DNS server, though it has the DNS server and client running.

If I stop these services and restart Netlogon we get about 15 DNS 5774 errors in Event Viewer. If I start these services, AND put this machine's IP address at the top of the list of DNS servers (i.e. pointing to itself) then the errors go away, but then we are no longer able to view web pages on that machine. (Remember, we prefer for DNS to NOT be running on this machine.)

That leads me to believe that there is some corruption in the DNS server settings on this PDC. I've done an ipconfig/flushdns, ipconfig/registerdns, and restarted to netlogon service, with the same results.

It's a little hard to explain, but the basics are:

1. We don't need or want this machine to be a DNS server.
2. If I stop the DNS service, I get lots of event viewer errors
3. If I start the DNS service, and put this machine's IP address at the top of the stack, the DNS errors go away, but this machine can't get to the internet... i.e. "page not found."... but the other DNS addresses there are good... that is, they work by themselves if they are the only IP addresses in Control Panel > Network Connections > TCP/IP > DNS.

I think my inability to totally disable DNS services on this machine may have something to do with Active Directory on this machine. I've deleted most, but not all, of the MicrosoftDNS settings in Active Directory with no noticable difference.

Any suggestions on how to totally disable DNS on this machine, eliminate the 5774 errors, AND allow web access? (I''ve been all over the web and this site, but it seems like all references assume that we would want to KEEP DNS running on this machine... we don't. We're fine using those other "external" IP addresses.)

 

[llee1688]

If your network is Windows domain and it is PDC you need to have DNS server running because everything is integrated in active directory. Unless you want to change it to workgroup.

Even you have the DNS pointing to itself, you still can go to the internet. Open your DNS Console => right click on the server name => properties => select "Forwarders" tab => add external DNS IP address under "Selected domain's forwarder IP address list". That's it and your server for sure be able to go to the internet. Good luck....

 

[sqlhotdog2005]

Thanks, llee1688...

When I tried your solution, it told me that I couldn't apply forwarding since this was a root server, but then I found another entry here in tek-tips about that (must delete the "." zone), then your solution worked.

Pretty basic, I'm sure, but very valuable on this end.

Thanks!