DNS Question

[Peterfiske]

got this question from my boss which I thought i answerd correctly ...


Peter, is there one file, or one group of files, that hold the dns information on nt4?



---i believe it is all the files held in this directory c:\winnt\system32\dns

I also gave him info on importing and exporting dns from 1 nt box to another.

Here was his answer

WTF? did you read the question that I asked? I´m expecting an answer like: "There is one file - dns.whateverthefck" or "You need 13 files, and they are all in the c:/winnt/whateverthefck directory" ... ok?


Our PDC is old and we are looking to upgrade it to a more stable Server before converting to 2k3.


My Question to the forum is .. Is it possible to replicate the DNS records from your pdc to another server?

 

[Andyleates]

Below info copied from

http://www.experts-exchange.com

The information in this article applies to:


Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article was previously published under Q172221
SUMMARY
This article discusses the steps involved when moving the zone files from one Windows NT 4.0 Domain Name Service (DNS) server to another Windows NT 4.0 DNS server.
MORE INFORMATION
When you use the Microsoft DNS server, you have the option of starting the service using a boot file or using information that is stored in the registry. Use the appropriate section below:
Starting DNS Using a Boot File
When you use a boot file to start your DNS server, follow these steps to move your zone file(s) from one Windows NT DNS server to another Windows NT DNS server:

NOTE: The following steps assume that you have installed the Microsoft DNS server service on the new Windows NT-based server and have not configured any information for it.
From Services in Control Panel, stop the Microsoft DNS server on both Windows NT DNS servers.
Manually copy the entire contents (subfolders included) of the %Systemroot%\System32\DNS folder from the source server to the destination server.
Restart the Microsoft DNS server on the new Windows NT DNS server.
Starting DNS Using the Registry
When you are moving a single zone file, follow these steps:


From Services in Control Panel, stop the Microsoft DNS server on both Windows NT DNS servers.
From the source DNS server, copy the desired zone file <zone name>.dns from the following folder:

%Systemroot%\System32\DNS


to the same folder on the destination Windows NT DNS server.
Create the new zone on the destination server using the DNS Service Manager. Configure the zone as it was configured on the source server, either as a Primary or Secondary zone. The new zone must be created using the same zone file name as the original file.

For example, if Sample.com.dns was the original file copied from the source server to the destination server, Sample.com.dns must be the name of the new file.

NOTE: If the computer name is different on the new server, the SOA and NS records in the reverse lookup zones may still have the old computer's name. These records should be manually edited to reflect the computer name of the new server.
Restart the Microsoft DNS Server on the new Windows NT DNS server.
When you are moving multiple zone files, follow these steps:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

Perform steps 1 and 2 on the destination Windows NT DNS server only:
Using the DNS Manager create a sample primary zone, Sample.com. Creating the sample zone ensures that the DNS server boot file information has been written to the registry and the DNS server knows where the cache information is located.
Using DNS Manager, delete the sample zone that you created in step 1.
From Services in Control Panel, stop the Microsoft DNS server on both Windows NT DNS servers.
From the source DNS server, copy the desired zone file <zone name>.dns from the following folder:

%Systemroot%\System32\DNS


to the same folder on the destination Windows NT DNS.

Perform steps 5 through 8 on the source server only:
Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Go to the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS

Click Zones, click Registry, and click Save Key.
Save this key to a location from where you can restore it to the destination server and close Registry Editor.

Perform steps 9 through 14 on the destination server only:
Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Go to the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS

Click Zones to verify that it is selected, click Registry, and click Restore.
Locate the registry key file that you exported in step 8.
Click Yes to the confirmation dialog and close Registry Editor.
Restart the Microsoft DNS Server on the new NT DNS server.
NOTE: The information transferred in the registry key maintains the names of the zones and keeps you from re-creating the zone names in the DNS Manager for every zone file that was copied.

Keywords: kbhowto kbinfo kbnetwork KB172221
Technology: kbWinNT400search kbWinNTS400 kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTSsearch

Andy Leates MCSE CCNA MCP+I