Stand Alone Networks, Their Domain Names, and DNS

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Don

We have a Win2000 server in our lab supporting user authentication, print
serving, and file serving. There is not (and never will be) a connection to
the internet. The admin who set up the system named the domain "labdomain".
I have been "promoted" to administer this system and am curious about the
domain name. In some contexts I see "labdomain" and in others I see
"labdomain.local" Unfortunately, the references I have looked at don't
really discuss domains that are not connected to the internet. Especially
omitting discussions of the ".local" suffix.

A couple of questions:

1) Given that the network the server is on is a stand alone network, is the
name "labdomain" or "labdomain.local" appropriate?

2) Are "labdomain" and "labdomain.local" interchangeable? Aliases for each
other?

3) What are the implications, if any, for configuring the DNS as it is a
single domain?

Any comments or pointers to references will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Don
 
Depending on what tool or utility you're using you can see either the
NetBIOS name for the domain (labdomain) or the DNS name for the domain
(labdomain.local). Which one you'll see depends on whether the tool or
utility is using NetBIOS name resolution or DNS name resolution.

Not sure what your question about DNS is - can you explain further?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Richard,

My DNS question sort of comes from the ponderable: "If there is a
single domain (labdomain.local), does it make sense to have a domain
name server (DNS) since there are no other domains?" Admittedly a
naive view of the world! But what role will a DNS serve in a single
domain network? And if it does serve a role, what, if any, special
considerations are there since there is only one domain. While I
understand the macro concepts, these special situations (at least in my
mind!) perplex me!

The NetBIOS/DNS explanation for the different versions of the domain
name helps a lot!! Is the .local domain name form considered good
practice in the situation of a standalone network? Or is there a
preferred naming scheme? In terms of NetBIOS vs DNS resolution, is
having the two systems and acceptable fact of life? Or should I be
working to one or the other?

Thanks for the naming explanation!

Don

Depending on what tool or utility you're using you can see either the
NetBIOS name for the domain (labdomain) or the DNS name for the domain
(labdomain.local). Which one you'll see depends on whether the tool or
utility is using NetBIOS name resolution or DNS name resolution.

Not sure what your question about DNS is - can you explain further?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Don said:
We have a Win2000 server in our lab supporting user authentication, print
serving, and file serving. There is not (and never will be) a connection
to
the internet. The admin who set up the system named the domain
"labdomain".
I have been "promoted" to administer this system and am curious about the
domain name. In some contexts I see "labdomain" and in others I see
"labdomain.local" Unfortunately, the references I have looked at don't
really discuss domains that are not connected to the internet. Especially
omitting discussions of the ".local" suffix.

A couple of questions:

1) Given that the network the server is on is a stand alone network, is
the
name "labdomain" or "labdomain.local" appropriate?

2) Are "labdomain" and "labdomain.local" interchangeable? Aliases for
each
other?

3) What are the implications, if any, for configuring the DNS as it is a
single domain?

Any comments or pointers to references will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Don
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Don said:
1) Given that the network the server is on is a stand alone network, is the
name "labdomain" or "labdomain.local" appropriate?
Click to expand...

"labdomain" = the Netbios version of the name
"labdomain.local" = the DNS version of the name

Basically they are two variations of the same name refering to the same
thing.
2) Are "labdomain" and "labdomain.local" interchangeable? Aliases for each
other?
Click to expand...

Yes,...depending on the situation in which you refer to them.
3) What are the implications, if any, for configuring the DNS as it is a
single domain?
Click to expand...

I have to idea what that question means.
No DNS = No Domain. It would be like trying to have a pond with no water
and no hole in the ground then asking why do I need water and hole to put it
in if I only want one pond?

In the future, avoid Top Level Domains (the last section) that have more
than 3 letters. It would be best to use ".loc" instead of ".local" because
some non-MS OS's will choke on it. But since it is already ".local", forget
it and leave it alone.
 
In addition to my other post, here is something to think about too. Even if
a LAN will never see the Internet, treat it as if it will no matter how
unlikely you think it might be. whatever you think is absolute today may
change in six months if you boss gets new ideas or you get a new boss. When
I started here, no one except a few department heads had Internet
access,...now about 50% of the management personel have changed, eveyone
including Interns have internet access and it is the "end of the
world",..."the sky is falling",...and,..."we're all gonna die" if that stops
working.

Oh,...and nothing you asked about in the orignal post has anything to do
with wether or not the LAN ever sees the Internet. The LAN's Domain name
and the Internet have absolutely nothing to do with each other (and they
never should be allowed to). The only thing similar between them is that
they both use the same "dotted" fully qualified notation and they both use
the same word "domain" to describe them,...but they exist for two totally
different reasons and live in two different "worlds".
 
Richard,

My DNS question sort of comes from the ponderable: "If there is a
single domain (labdomain.local), does it make sense to have a domain
name server (DNS) since there are no other domains?" Admittedly a
naive view of the world! But what role will a DNS serve in a single
domain network? And if it does serve a role, what, if any, special
considerations are there since there is only one domain. While I
understand the macro concepts, these special situations (at least in my
mind!) perplex me!

The NetBIOS/DNS explanation for the different versions of the domain
name helps a lot!! Is the .local domain name form considered good
practice in the situation of a standalone network? Or is there a
preferred naming scheme? In terms of NetBIOS vs DNS resolution, is
having the two systems and acceptable fact of life? Or should I be
working to one or the other?

Thanks for the naming explanation!

Don

Depending on what tool or utility you're using you can see either the
NetBIOS name for the domain (labdomain) or the DNS name for the domain
(labdomain.local). Which one you'll see depends on whether the tool or
utility is using NetBIOS name resolution or DNS name resolution.

Not sure what your question about DNS is - can you explain further?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Don said:
We have a Win2000 server in our lab supporting user authentication, print
serving, and file serving. There is not (and never will be) a connection
to
the internet. The admin who set up the system named the domain
"labdomain".
I have been "promoted" to administer this system and am curious about the
domain name. In some contexts I see "labdomain" and in others I see
"labdomain.local" Unfortunately, the references I have looked at don't
really discuss domains that are not connected to the internet. Especially
omitting discussions of the ".local" suffix.

A couple of questions:

1) Given that the network the server is on is a stand alone network, is
the
name "labdomain" or "labdomain.local" appropriate?

2) Are "labdomain" and "labdomain.local" interchangeable? Aliases for
each
other?

3) What are the implications, if any, for configuring the DNS as it is a
single domain?

Any comments or pointers to references will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Don
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
The .local form of the name is the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of
your network. The NetBIOS name is just the prefix.

I would recommend you run DNS in your domain. If you are running Active
Directory you will need DNS to allow it to function properly. Without it,
PCs will be slow logging onto the domain, if you have more than one domain
controller they will be unable to synchronize to each other, and so on.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Richard,

My DNS question sort of comes from the ponderable: "If there is a
single domain (labdomain.local), does it make sense to have a domain
name server (DNS) since there are no other domains?" Admittedly a
naive view of the world! But what role will a DNS serve in a single
domain network? And if it does serve a role, what, if any, special
considerations are there since there is only one domain. While I
understand the macro concepts, these special situations (at least in my
mind!) perplex me!

The NetBIOS/DNS explanation for the different versions of the domain
name helps a lot!! Is the .local domain name form considered good
practice in the situation of a standalone network? Or is there a
preferred naming scheme? In terms of NetBIOS vs DNS resolution, is
having the two systems and acceptable fact of life? Or should I be
working to one or the other?

Thanks for the naming explanation!

Don

Depending on what tool or utility you're using you can see either the
NetBIOS name for the domain (labdomain) or the DNS name for the domain
(labdomain.local). Which one you'll see depends on whether the tool or
utility is using NetBIOS name resolution or DNS name resolution.

Not sure what your question about DNS is - can you explain further?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Don said:
We have a Win2000 server in our lab supporting user authentication,
print
serving, and file serving. There is not (and never will be) a
connection
to
the internet. The admin who set up the system named the domain
"labdomain".
I have been "promoted" to administer this system and am curious about
the
domain name. In some contexts I see "labdomain" and in others I see
"labdomain.local" Unfortunately, the references I have looked at don't
really discuss domains that are not connected to the internet.
Especially
omitting discussions of the ".local" suffix.

A couple of questions:

1) Given that the network the server is on is a stand alone network,
is
the
name "labdomain" or "labdomain.local" appropriate?

2) Are "labdomain" and "labdomain.local" interchangeable? Aliases for
each
other?

3) What are the implications, if any, for configuring the DNS as it is
a
single domain?

Any comments or pointers to references will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Don
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Richard,

Thanks for all the help!

Don



Richard G. Harper said:
The .local form of the name is the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of
your network. The NetBIOS name is just the prefix.

I would recommend you run DNS in your domain. If you are running Active
Directory you will need DNS to allow it to function properly. Without it,
PCs will be slow logging onto the domain, if you have more than one domain
controller they will be unable to synchronize to each other, and so on.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Richard,

My DNS question sort of comes from the ponderable: "If there is a
single domain (labdomain.local), does it make sense to have a domain
name server (DNS) since there are no other domains?" Admittedly a
naive view of the world! But what role will a DNS serve in a single
domain network? And if it does serve a role, what, if any, special
considerations are there since there is only one domain. While I
understand the macro concepts, these special situations (at least in my
mind!) perplex me!

The NetBIOS/DNS explanation for the different versions of the domain
name helps a lot!! Is the .local domain name form considered good
practice in the situation of a standalone network? Or is there a
preferred naming scheme? In terms of NetBIOS vs DNS resolution, is
having the two systems and acceptable fact of life? Or should I be
working to one or the other?

Thanks for the naming explanation!

Don

Depending on what tool or utility you're using you can see either the
NetBIOS name for the domain (labdomain) or the DNS name for the domain
(labdomain.local). Which one you'll see depends on whether the tool or
utility is using NetBIOS name resolution or DNS name resolution.

Not sure what your question about DNS is - can you explain further?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


We have a Win2000 server in our lab supporting user authentication,
print
serving, and file serving. There is not (and never will be) a
connection
to
the internet. The admin who set up the system named the domain
"labdomain".
I have been "promoted" to administer this system and am curious about
the
domain name. In some contexts I see "labdomain" and in others I see
"labdomain.local" Unfortunately, the references I have looked at don't
really discuss domains that are not connected to the internet.
Especially
omitting discussions of the ".local" suffix.

A couple of questions:

1) Given that the network the server is on is a stand alone network,
is
the
name "labdomain" or "labdomain.local" appropriate?

2) Are "labdomain" and "labdomain.local" interchangeable? Aliases for
each
other?

3) What are the implications, if any, for configuring the DNS as it is
a
single domain?

Any comments or pointers to references will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Don
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Phillip,

Thanks for both your messages!

From your other message, you answered a questions I had on my mind regarding
what a good top level domain name would be and whether or not to change our
existing one. (Okay, that was two questions that were on my mind! :) )

If I have ever have the chance to set up an "isolated" network, I will keep
your comments regarding planning for the unlikely in mind. In this case, I
have inherited what was there and making the best of it. Luckily, the
probably of having to connect this particular network to the internet id
truly about nil. This network has mostly lab instruments on it. And, the
building has an administrative network which is fully connected to the
internet. This includes a couple of machine in the lab.

Thanks again!

Don
 
Glad to be of assistance.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Don said:
Richard,

Thanks for all the help!

Don



Richard G. Harper said:
The .local form of the name is the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of
your network. The NetBIOS name is just the prefix.

I would recommend you run DNS in your domain. If you are running Active
Directory you will need DNS to allow it to function properly. Without
it,
PCs will be slow logging onto the domain, if you have more than one
domain
controller they will be unable to synchronize to each other, and so on.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Richard,

My DNS question sort of comes from the ponderable: "If there is a
single domain (labdomain.local), does it make sense to have a domain
name server (DNS) since there are no other domains?" Admittedly a
naive view of the world! But what role will a DNS serve in a single
domain network? And if it does serve a role, what, if any, special
considerations are there since there is only one domain. While I
understand the macro concepts, these special situations (at least in my
mind!) perplex me!

The NetBIOS/DNS explanation for the different versions of the domain
name helps a lot!! Is the .local domain name form considered good
practice in the situation of a standalone network? Or is there a
preferred naming scheme? In terms of NetBIOS vs DNS resolution, is
having the two systems and acceptable fact of life? Or should I be
working to one or the other?

Thanks for the naming explanation!

Don


Richard G. Harper wrote:
Depending on what tool or utility you're using you can see either the
NetBIOS name for the domain (labdomain) or the DNS name for the domain
(labdomain.local). Which one you'll see depends on whether the tool
or
utility is using NetBIOS name resolution or DNS name resolution.

Not sure what your question about DNS is - can you explain further?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


We have a Win2000 server in our lab supporting user authentication,
print
serving, and file serving. There is not (and never will be) a
connection
to
the internet. The admin who set up the system named the domain
"labdomain".
I have been "promoted" to administer this system and am curious
about
the
domain name. In some contexts I see "labdomain" and in others I see
"labdomain.local" Unfortunately, the references I have looked at don't
really discuss domains that are not connected to the internet.
Especially
omitting discussions of the ".local" suffix.

A couple of questions:

1) Given that the network the server is on is a stand alone
network,
is
the
name "labdomain" or "labdomain.local" appropriate?

2) Are "labdomain" and "labdomain.local" interchangeable? Aliases for
each
other?

3) What are the implications, if any, for configuring the DNS as it is
a
single domain?

Any comments or pointers to references will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Don
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