Dnscmd is used to view the properties of DNS servers, zones, and resource records. In addition, Dnscmd is used to modify all aspects of the DNS Server service, including creating and deleting zones and resource records. Dnscmd can also be useful for developing scripts for configuring a DNS server.

DNSLint is a Microsoft Windows utility that can be used to help diagnose common DNS name resolution issues. It can be targeted to look for specific DNS record sets and ensure that they are consistent across multiple DNS servers. It can also be used to verify that DNS records used specifically for Active Directory directory service replication are correct.

The DNS console is used to administer the DNS Server service. It can be used to modify all aspects of the DNS Server service, including creating and deleting zones and resource records, and forcing replication events between DNS server physical memory and DNS databases. The DNS console can also be used to perform diagnostics on the DNS infrastructure of a network.

You can use Event Viewer to monitor events recorded in event logs. Typically, a computer stores the Application, Security, and System logs. It could also contain other logs, depending on the computer’s role and the applications that are installed on it. For example, DNS servers write DNS-related events, such as any errors that occur while attempting to start the DNS Server service, to log files which can be read using Event Viewer.

Ipconfig displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and refreshes Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and DNS settings. Used without parameters, Ipconfig displays IPv6 addresses or the IPv4 address, subnet mask, and default gateway for all adapters.

Network Monitor captures data about the packets on a network and logs them for subsequent analysis. The monitored data can be filtered many different ways including protocol, ports, physical addresses, and logical addresses. Network Monitor can be useful in many situations, such as when you are troubleshooting an environment that has a firewall between a DNS server and a client, or between two DNS servers.

Network Monitor comes in two versions: the Network Monitor that is provided as part of the Windows Server 2003 operating system, and the Network Monitor that is part of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS). The version of Network Monitor that is included with the Windows Server 2003 operating system only captures data about network packets being sent to or from the server on which you run Network Monitor; it also captures data about network broadcasts that are received. The Network Monitor that is included with SMS enables you to monitor all network packets on a network segment.

Nslookup is used to query DNS servers and to obtain detailed responses. The information obtained using Nslookup can be used to diagnose and solve name resolution problems, verify that resource records are added or updated correctly in a zone, and debug other server-related problems.

The information here is provided as a reference for use in troubleshooting or verifying that the required settings are applied. It is recommended that you do not directly edit the registry unless there is no other alternative. Modifications to the registry are not validated by the registry editor or by Windows before they are applied, and as a result, incorrect values can be stored. This can result in unrecoverable errors in the system. When possible, modify settings though the use of policy settings or through dedicated management tools, such as the DNS snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), to accomplish tasks, rather than editing the registry directly. If you must edit the registry, use extreme caution.

Note

The registry entry MaximumUdpPacketSize specifies the maximum UDP packet size advertised by the DNS server. The default value is 1,280 bytes. The value must be between 512 and 16,384 in decimal format (200 and 4,000 in hexadecimal format). UDP packets must travel through devices other than UDP hosts, such as routers, and some of these devices might not support UDP packets larger than 512 bytes. The maximum UDP packet length that is supported by all network devices should be determined, along with the path’s Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU), before configuring this registry setting.

By default, DNS will perform round-robin rotation for all resource record types. The default setting for round-robin rotation is contained in the registry entry RoundRobin (REG_DWORD). By default, this entry’s value is 1, rotating all RR types except those listed in the DoNotRoundRobinTypes registry entry. If the value of RoundRobin is set to 0, then no resource record types will be round-robin rotated.

By default, DNS will perform round-robin rotation for all resource record types. You can specify that certain resource record types are not to be round-robin rotated in the registry. The registry entry DoNotRoundRobinTypes (REG_SZ) allows a string value to be entered containing a list of resource record types. By modifying this entry, you turn off round-robin rotation for specific resource record types. For example, to prevent round-robin rotation for A, PTR, SRV, and NS record types, you would enter the following value for the registry entry: a ptr srv ns.

The AlternateComputerNames registry entry specifies a list of alternate Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) for the computer. When the DNS Client service registers the host address (A) and pointer (PTR) resource records for the computer, it will also register the FQDNs specified in this key. This key is used by the Netdom.exe utility and is not typically modified by administrators.

The RegistrationRefreshInterval registry entry specifies how often the DNS Client service will register the A DNS resource records for its host computer. The value for this registry key is specified in seconds.

Windows XP and Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 (SP4) and Windows Server 2003-based computers never try to dynamically update the root,“ ”., zone.

The domain members and domain controllers in a domain with a single-label DNS name usually need to dynamically register DNS records in a single-label DNS zone that matches the DNS name of the domain. If an Active Directory forest root has a single-label DNS name, all domain controllers in the forest usually need to dynamically register DNS records in a single-label DNS zone that matches the DNS name of the forest root.

By default, Windows XP and Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) and Windows Server 2003-based DNS clients do not attempt dynamic updates of any single-label DNS zone (.com, .net, .org, corp, for example). To enable such clients to attempt dynamic updates of a single-label DNS zones, set the UpdateTopLevelDomainZones (REG_DWORD) registry value to 0x1.

These configuration changes should be applied to all domain controllers and members of an Active Directory domain with single-label DNS names. If a domain with a single-level domain name is a forest root, these configuration changes should be applied to all of the domain controllers in the forest, unless the separate zones _msdcs.forest name, _sites.forest name, _tcp.forest name and _udp.forest name are delegated from the forest name zone. You must restart the computer for the UpdateTopLevelDomainZones registry edit to take effect.

The RegistrationEnabled registry entry specifies that the DNS Client service should register all of the network connections of a computer in DNS. This is a global setting that is applied to all interfaces on a computer. If the need exists to apply this setting to an individual interface, see the registry entry for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ Parameters \interfaces\[interfaceGUID}.

The SearchList registry entry specifies the DNS suffix search list for the network connection used by the computer. For DNS clients, the DNS suffix search list extends or revises their DNS search capabilities. By adding additional suffixes to the list, the DNS client searches for short, unqualified computer names in more than one specified DNS domain. Then, if a DNS query fails, the DNS Client service can use this list to append other name suffix endings to the original name query and then repeat DNS queries to the DNS server for these alternate FQDNs. When the suffix search list is empty or unspecified, the primary DNS suffix of the computer is appended to short unqualified names, and a DNS query is used to resolve the resultant FQDN. If this query fails, the computer can try additional queries for alternate FQDNs by appending any connection-specific DNS suffix configured for network connections.

The NameServer registry entry specifies the IP address of the DNS server that is used by the network connection of the computer.

The RegistrationEnabled registry entry specifies that the DNS Client service should register the computer’s network connection in DNS. This entry is interface specific and can be set on any interfaces on a computer. The {interfaceGUID} portion of the registry path determines which interface the setting is applied to.

There is a global version of this setting that gets applied to all interfaces. Information about this setting can be found under the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ Parameters\RegistrationEnabled.

For more information about this registry entry, see the “Registry Reference” in the Tools and Settings Collection .

Group Policy Settings Associated With DNS Client Service

For more information about Group Policy settings, see the “Group Policy Settings Reference” in the “Tools and Settings Collection .”

WMI Classes Associated With DNS Server Service