DNS Confusion... Help!

[bytemrk]

I have a DNS configuation problem that i'm hoping someone here can give me some guidance....

Our network is NT 4.0 using DNS that is connected to the outside world.

I am seting up a project where some of our staff are using a client application that needs to access some servers in our clients office ( we have a frame link to that office). Initailly for testing I used a hosts file for resolution and all works well.

Now I need to expand the use of this client to around 100 users - so I planned to use DNS rather than individual hosts files.

My issue is the addresses are part of the 10.x.x.x range... so when I go into DNS if I try and add then to the clients domain in the resolver cache it will not let me (I assume because they are not publically routable addresses).. I can make it work by adding a new zone to my internal DNS ( client.com..) and adding all the entries - my problem of course is then their public records like mail etc have to be manually entered to get them to work. My client is a major corporation - so those public IP's are very likely to change without anyone notifying me... so I really don't like the only solution I can make work.

Any genius out there give me some better ideas to try??....or am I stuck with 100 hosts files until we move from NT?

Mark

 

[pgaliardo]

Don't have an NT 4.0 DNS server to try this and forget how DNS manager looks in NT 4.0. But I'm wondering if there is a place to configure forwarder addresses as you can in Windows 2000 and 2003. Since you are linked via a frame to their network, you probably have a route to their internal network. Maybe you can add their iternal DNS server as a forwarder address in your internal DNS settings? The way it should work is that if your internal DNS can't resolve a host name, it will check with the DNS servers indicated as forwarder addresses in your DNS server. You probably already have your ISP external addresses set up in there. Maybe add the client's DNS server and place it first in the list. Bit of a long shot, but worth a try.

 

[timbeullens]

I think the problem is indeed that the addresses are not routable.

Best practice I think is to try and connect the clients DNS server to replicate (if they have anny) or connect as trusted and trusting domains.

Maybe it is also possible to let the DNS server use WINS entrys (if they excist). This is a setting in the DNS server configuration.