SBS 2003 & DNS & DHCP Issues

[FlyboyLDB]

I have a MS Windows SBS 2003 Premium Server.
*I cannot get any workstations to see the 2003SBS.
*They won't recieve an IP through DHCP.
*I created an entry in each workstations host file and all is well - like 192.168.1.1 sbs2003.local . But I still have to assign a static IP to each workstation.
*Utilizing two NICs in the server - server is the gateway. 192.168.10.1 is the WAN side & 192.168.1.1 is the LAN side.
*All internet works well with a static IP on each workstation & the IP 192.168.1.1 setup for the gateway entry - does not matter if a host entry has been created or not.
*Before the host entry on each workstation, I could do a tracert or a ping to sbs2003.local and it would not resolve - after the host entry on the workstions, it would resolve.
*I have deleted and recreated the DNS to no avail - But it does appear that it is a DNS issue.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Koonan]

Have you Authorized your DHCP server? If you haven't Authorised the DHCP server, it won't handout IP addresses. Also make sure your DHCP Scope is Active.

 

[FlyboyLDB]

Yes & Yes

 

[FlyboyLDB]

Ok, got the DHCP to delve out IP addresses to client computers - the binding was set to the WAN NIC instead of the LAN NIC.

But I still have the problem with I guess the DNS. Without an entry in the host file on each workstation, it will not resolve the server's name. But the internet all works ok. So it is resolvong or forwarding request fine. I have ran the test in the DNS and all works ok. The server will resolve it's own name to the LAN side IP/NIC.

So here is an example. If I ping or do a tracert to the server from a workstation that has not had a host file entry - it just times out.

As soon as I put an entry into the host it finds it immed. I have deleted and reconfigured the DNS several times - what am I missing?

 

[Koonan]

What IP address is your workstation pointing to for it's DNS server? Do an IPCONFIG /ALL and look at what DNS server(s) are configured for your workstation.

 

[FlyboyLDB]

the 192.168.1.1 - LAN Side NIC of the server. It doesn't matter if I put in static IP addresses & DNS - without the host file entry - it will not resolve to the name of the server - once the host entry is added - all is well - but this is only a temp fix. I don't have ISA running at all - so I don't have a clue as to what the problem is.

 

[Koonan]

I'm not sure if you've done this yet, but try these couple of things.

* From the client do a NSLOOKUP <your server name>. What errors do you get?

* Are there actually records on your DNS server? Did you create them or are you using Dynamic DNS?

 

[GlenJohnson]

What is you're dns server using for dns itself?

Glen A. Johnson
If you like fun and sun, check out Tek-Tips Florida Forum
"Maybe this world is another planet's hell."
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), English critic & novelist

 

[ShackDaddy]

Get properties on the DNS server in the DNS admin tool. CHeck and see which interfaces the DNS service is listening on. Make sure that it is listening on the LAN interface and not just the external interface.

What happens when you use DNS lookup on a client, pointed at the server? Does it time-out?

Are you running ISA? Perhaps there's a misconfiguration there that is blocking the query traffic.

Do you have any trouble pinging the workstations by name from the server? Are they properly dynamically registering themselves with DHCP's help?

ShackDaddy

 

[FlyboyLDB]

Ok, I made some changes in the DNS on the server. Here is what I get after the changes when doing a NSlookup to the server (SBS2003)from a workstation - It is worth mentioning that when I run the same command from the server nslookup sbs2003 - I get the same message as on the workstation.

C:\>nslookup sbs2003
*** Can't find server name for address 192.168.1.1: Non-existent domain
*** Default servers are not available
Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.1.1

Name: sbs2003.sbs.local
Address: 192.168.1.1

It at least finds the IP address now - but still not correct.

 

[Koonan]

The first couple of errors at the beginning of NSLOOKUP are due to not having a reverse lookup zone of the 192.168.1.0 network. This isn't a problem, just an annoyance.

It looks like it resolved the server's IP correctly. In your original message you said you created a host entry on each workstation for sbs2003.local. Is that really correct? Because your NSLOOKUP shows sbs2003.sbs.local as the correct fully qualified name. Which tells me your domain really is sbs.local.

How are users trying to connect to this server? What name are they using exactly?

 

[FlyboyLDB]

I created the host file on each workstation like 192.168.1.1 sbs2003 (not the .local) sorry for the typo.

I am still missing entries that I had before I deleted the dns.

What are the actual steps using the DNS wizard to properly set up a new DNS config. I thought this would be easy - but no joy. I have never had this many problems with DNS in the past. Thanks

 

[Koonan]

If you removed DNS and lost all of your records including your SRV records, you might be able to get your SRV records back. Have a look at this article, and try the steps they talk about.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/241505/en-us

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816587/en-us

 

[FlyboyLDB]

I'll see what I can decipher. Thanks

 

[FlyboyLDB]

Ok, I got my service records restored. I have recreated the reverse lookup, but I still get the following from all workstations and even from the server itself - any ideas?

SBS2003 is the name of my server. SBS is the name of the domain. Just fyi - I think I had a typo earlier.

c:\>nslookup sbs2003
*** Can't find server name for address 192.168.1.1: Non-existent domain
*** Default servers are not available
Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.1.1

Name: sbs2003.sbs.local
Address: 192.168.1.1

 

[Koonan]

Did fixing the SRV records fix your name resolution problem and the problem with users connecting to your server?

I don't want to focus on this error if you still have the other problem, because it's not that big a deal. If everything else is working then look here. Did you look in your reverse lookup zone and verify that there was a record for 192.168.1.1?

 

[FlyboyLDB]

c:\>nslookup sbs2003.sbs.local
*** Can't find server name for address 192.168.1.1: Non-existent domain
*** Default servers are not available
Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.1.1

Name: sbs2003.sbs.local
Address: 192.168.1.1

***Note - I have to ping or nslookup the full domain name to get any results. Just doing a nslookup or ping on the server name sbs2003 fails - but the full responds with the message above.

Yes, I have an entry for the the reverse DNS for 192.168.1.1 - but still get the above message. I have created reverse DNS entries in the past with no issue - I am doing something wrong here. Plus, I should be able to do a nslookup or ping just on the server name. Any other suggestions. Thanks for the efforts thus far.

 

[Koonan]

Technically you should use the Fully Qualified name, but there are features in place that allow you to take the shortcut.

First, if these workstations are members of the sbs.local AD domain, it should append that domain name to the end of your host name. If it's not I'm not sure what is going on. You can force it though. For your NIC, open the TCP/IP Properties. Click on Advanced, then click on the DNS tab. Click the radio button called "Append these DNS suffixes". Then click the Add button and type in sbs.local.

 

[Koonan]

Something else to check. Do an ipconfig /all on your workstation. What is listed for the Primary Dns Suffix? It should be sbs.local. If it's not let me know.