Single name DNS for intranet 1

[wilberforce2]

I am setting up a intranet for my company and have a private DNS server for some internal sites I use for testing. I would like to give access to the company Internet by just putting "bpc" in the web browsers address bar. Is this possible?

I am using Windows 2000 server.

I have added a new zone called bpc and created a host file that points to the webserver and is set to (same as parent folder), but it does not work in ns lookup.

DNS is not my strong point, hopefully someone can help me.

Thanks

 

[lhuegele]

What you want to do requires you to add a DNS entry for "bpc" in your company's zone (an A record). Does your company host their own DNS server? If so, just go to the forward lookup zone for your company domain (don't create a new zone) and add a new computer called "bpc".

You should then be able to reach bpc as

http://bpc

as long as your company domain is set as a DNS suffix on all your workstations DNS settings. Otherwise it would be

http://bpc.domain.com

where "domain.com" is your company's forward lookup zone.

Good luck,

 

[wilberforce2]

Fantastic thats working fine on the PC's any idea why the macs running tiger 10.4 dont like it?

 

[lhuegele]

Well it's possible that your network is using WINS and not DNS when you type

http://bpc

and it's also possible that your MAC's aren't pointing to the same DNS server as all your PC's and the change you made hasn't fully propagated. I don't know if MAC's use WINS but I don't think so. Our MAC's don't have an issue with this but we don't have WINS in our environment either.

I would check with the MAC users again in the morning and if they are still having trouble, see if they can get by using FQDN (eg.

http://bpc.domain.com)

Good luck,

 

[wilberforce2]

Sorted

I had to add the domain to the search domains in the network settings.

Thanks for your help.

 

[lhuegele]

No problem thanks for giving me a star! <wink>

 

[wilberforce2]

Just one more quick question. I am having a problem with an xp machine that is not logged onto the domain. Its pointing to the correct dns server. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Cstorms]

Check the computer account in AD see if it is disabled. Are there any other errors that come up when you attempt to login? Time sync problems?

Cory

 

[lhuegele]

Sure, what do you mean by "not logged onto the domain" do you mean you can't ADD it to the domain or that you can't use username/password credentials for your domain while on that XP machine?

 

[wilberforce2]

Thanks for your replies

What I mean is that the machine has a valid user name an password to access server shares but it is not a domain member like a xp Home machine. The address will resolve if I type in a FQDN. Its a similar problem that I had with the macs until I added a search domain. Can I do something similar with windows machines that are not domain members like xp home?

Many thanks

 

[Cstorms]

XP home and similarily Vista home (or whatever the low end version is called) cannot join a domain, its one of the few limitations that are placed on these versions. You will need XP Pro, or Vista Business (or Ultimate)

Cory

 

[wilberforce2]

Thanks for your reply. I was just wondering if there was something similar to the mac search domains?

 

[lhuegele]

Well, you can try adding the search domains under the TCP/IP settings for the network connection on that system in question. I've never used XP Home but I know you can't add it to a domain. That doesn't mean you can't access your web server.

Good luck,

 

[wilberforce2]

Thanks for your answer could you tell me how? I have had a look online and through the TCP/IP settings and cannot find anywhere to add search Domains.

Failing that I will try adding the name to the hosts file.

Many thanks

 

[lhuegele]

Well, again, I don't know if you can see this on XP Home, but if you're logged in as a local administrator you may be able to. Here's how I get to it:

- Right-click on "My Network Places" and go to Properties
- Right-click on your "local area connection" and go to Properties.
- ON the General tab, you should see "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) - double-click on it.
- When that window comes up, click the "Advanced" button at the bottom.
- When the Advanced settings window opens, click on the DNS tab.
- At the bottom there's a box that has a check button at top that states "Append these DNS suffixes". Click that button and then add the domains you want searched in order.

Good luck,