Branch office DNS setup

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Guest

I have one Domain, with 2 branch offices. The main site
has Domain Controllers and DNS running on separate Servers.
We have one DNS server as primary and the other as
secondary.

Each branch office will have 1 Domain Controller with DNS
installed.

Should branch DNS server be a secondary zone? If so, in
Tcpip setting is the preferred DNS server my primary DNS
servers IP address and the alternate DNS server the branch
office IP address?
 
I have one Domain, with 2 branch offices. The main site
has Domain Controllers and DNS running on separate Servers.
We have one DNS server as primary and the other as
secondary.

Each branch office will have 1 Domain Controller with DNS
installed.

Should branch DNS server be a secondary zone? If so, in
Tcpip setting is the preferred DNS server my primary DNS
servers IP address and the alternate DNS server the branch
office IP address?
Click to expand...
Hello,

If you are able to run Active Directory Integrated DNS this will be the best
solution. Then you'd integrate the zone into Active Directory, and the AD
replication will take care of transfering the zones into the branch offices.

If you are not able to integrate DNS into AD then you'll have to set up the
servers as secondary. You'll prefer to set the machines at the branch office to
query the local DNS-Server first, and use the central DNS-Server(s) as
secondary if the first is not available.

If you have more than one domain (e.g. a empty forest root in your central
office) you'll have to take care that the zone _msdcs.%forestrootdomain% is
available as secondary zone in the branch offices as well since GCs are located
using this zone.

Gruesse - Sincerely,

Ulf B. Simon-Weidner
 
Ulf,
Thanks for the information. One question. I cannot setup
AD Integrated DNS servers, so my Branch Domain controller
will have to run as Secondary Dns Servers. On the Branch
Domain Controller itself, should the preferred DNS server
IP Address be the primary and the Alternate DNS server IP
Address be itself in TCPIP properties? I only ask because
I've read so much that the DNS server should point to
itself as the preferred DNS Server.

Thanks again for your previous reply,
John Vega
-----Original Message-----
Click to expand...
 
Ulf,
Thanks for the information. One question. I cannot setup
AD Integrated DNS servers, so my Branch Domain controller
will have to run as Secondary Dns Servers. On the Branch
Domain Controller itself, should the preferred DNS server
IP Address be the primary and the Alternate DNS server IP
Address be itself in TCPIP properties? I only ask because
I've read so much that the DNS server should point to
itself as the preferred DNS Server.

Thanks again for your previous reply,
John Vega
Click to expand...
Hi John,

setting the TCP/IP-Settings will not really affect the function of the zone
transfer.

I'd set the 1st dns-server to itself, and the 2nd dns-server to the dns-server
in the central office. And don't forget to configure the forwarder of the dns-
server and the primary server on the secondary zones - and make sure the
primary allowes transfers to them. And be really aware of the _msdcs.%
forestroot.fqdn% zone like I wrote before.

Gruesse - Sincerely,

Ulf B. Simon-Weidner
 
If I run DCpromo on the branch server will this cause me a
problem?
Click to expand...
Yes it might - during the dcpromo point the branch office server to the main
office DNS, after it's set up and DNS-Server you'd be able to switch the
adresses.

Gruesse - Sincerely,

Ulf B. Simon-Weidner
 
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