Link to home
Start Free TrialLog in
Avatar of tsavage
tsavage

asked on

DNS problem

I have 2 win2k app servers that are resolving off of 2 winnt 4.0 DNS servers.  This has been working fine until I upgraded the 2 app servers to win2k.  Every 10 minutes to an hour, I need to recycle the "dns client service" on 2 of my win2k servers because they stop resolving the DNS names.  

Any known bugs between nt4.0 DNS servers and win2k?  
Avatar of SysExpert
SysExpert
Flag of Israel image

win2k requires DNS to be set up very carefully.

Check the TCP/IP properties of the W2k workstations.

Make sure that the proper DNS suffix is used for the company name etc.

Try playing with the advanced settings !

Are you using DHCP  or static IP's ?

Check all the event logs on server and workstations !

I hope  this helps !


Avatar of tsavage
tsavage

ASKER

I've checked all settings very carefully, including the advanced settings.  Using static ip's.  Nothing in the event logs pertaining to this.  
Can you post an "ipconfig /all" from the app server?
Avatar of tsavage

ASKER

Windows 2000 IP Configuration



     Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : sb1npapp1
     Primary DNS Suffix  . . . . . . . :
     Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid

     IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

     WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

     DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : nstx.com
                                         pag.nstx.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:



     Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : nstx.com
     Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Compaq NC3134 Fast Ethernet NIC
     Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-02-DH-1A-48-F2

     DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No

     IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 171.22.161.7

     Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

     Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.22.161.250

     DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 143.131.55.44
                                         143.131.25.49
                                         162.56.9.2
                                         162.87.140.54
                                         162.55.5.12
                                         162.55.77.35
     Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 143.131.55.44

     Secondary WINS Server . . . . . . : 143.131.25.51
Try to remove other DNS servers but the NT one from the app server's DNS server list!

It's usually the case that for some reason one DNS server in this list which does not host neccessary zone (for ex. zone that should only be used internally) was being used by app server. This is not a bug, it's only the way DNS client work!
Avatar of tsavage

ASKER

All the DNS servers are required for this system.  Also, this was never a problem before I upgraded the systems to win2k from nt4.  Finally, I do have a 3rd win2k server, configured the same, except on a different network, that is working properly.
Windows 2000 does not strictly follow the DNS search order.  By putting a large number of non-local DNS servers in the stack, you are introducing latency and name/domain resolution problems for your 2000 clients.  The DNS servers are not necessary on the client side.  You should configure your local DNS server to forward clinet requests to the other servers.
Avatar of tsavage

ASKER

Is this something different with Win2k?  Because my previous NT4 boxes never experienced this problem.  Also, I do have the other win2k box that is functioning properly with the same settings.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of geoffryn
geoffryn

Link to home
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Start Free Trial
Avatar of tsavage

ASKER

Very interesting... That actually makes sense.  Now I just have to figure out how to decrease the number of dns servers in my search order without effecting the app.

Thanks for your insight!
Just configure all of the DNS servers as forwarders on your local DNS.  The clients will get exactly the same same lookup info with approximately the same delay.
Avatar of tsavage

ASKER

Thanks again... you've been very helpful.