Managing your own Primary (and Secondary) Domain Name Server (DNS) for our Windows 2003 Dedicated Server customers

ARTICLE

Creating a primary and secondary DNS record using Windows 2003 Server Domain Name Server

STEPS

For customers who have a windows dedicated server package you can maintain your own Primary DNS (Domain Name Server) using the built in Windows Domain Name Server. Customers with 2 or more dedicated servers can additionally maintain their own Secondary or Slave DNS also. The basic steps involved in creating a DNS zone are explained below.

Primary DNS Setup

(For this example we are going to create a zone for the fictitious example.com domain)

Step 1 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Open the DNS MMC (Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > DNS)
2. Connect to your DNS Server and highlight it
3. From the Action menu select "New Zone"

Step 2 (Create Primary Zone)

1. The welcome to the New Zone Wizard screen is displayed - click "Next" to continue

Step 3 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Select the Zone Type - click the radio button "Primary Zone"
2. Click "Next"

Step 4 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Select Forward or Reverse lookup zone - click the radio button "Forward lookup zone"
2. Click "Next"

Step 5 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Enter the name of this which will be your domain name - in this we are setting up a primary forward zone for the domain "example.com" so we enter "example.com" for the Zone name.
   Note: you will enter your domain name here - ensure you enter only your domain name, DO NOT enter any sub domains prefixes such as www.
2. Click "Next"

Step 6 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Enter a name for this Zone file - it is suggested to leave this as the default suggested zone file name which will be example.com.dns.
   
2. Click "Next"

Step 7 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Select the radio button "Do not allow dynamic updates".
   
2. Click "Next"

Step 8 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Your new zone initial setup is complete.
   
2. Click "Finish"

Step 9 (Create Primary Zone)

After the initial setup of your zone you need to additionally correctly configure your name servers for this zone and optional zone transfer security settings (used by your Secondary DNS).

1. Refresh the Forward Lookup Zones list.
   
2. Expand your newly created example.com zone > right click and select "Properties" for this zone
3. The properties window will display as below.

Step 10 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Click the "Name Servers" tab in order to enter your Primary and Secondary Name Server information.

Step 11 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Click the "Add" button to create a new Name Server (NS) record.
2. Server fully qualified domain name (FQDN) - enter the name of your Primary Name Server here. For our fictitious domain example.com our primary DNS is ns1.example.com.
3. IP address - enter the IP address of this primary name server here.

Step 12 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Click the "Add" button to create a new Name Server (NS) record.
2. Click "OK"

Step 13 (Create Primary Zone)

1. Click the "Add" button to create a second new Name Server (NS) record for the secondary Name Server for your domain and repeat steps 11 & 12 above this time entering your secondary name server information. For our example this is ns2.example.com with an IP address of 192.168.10.1.
2. Click "OK" when this is completed.

Step 14 (Create Primary Zone)

1. After you have entered the information for your Primary and Secondary name servers for this domain you should see both your name servers appear in the "Name Servers" tab as below.

Step 15 (Create Primary Zone)

1. One final step when you are also maintaining your own or even a third party secondary DNS is to allow zone transfers to be sent to this secondary name server. This is accomplished by clicking the "Zone Transfers" tab and checking the box "Allow zone transfers" and the radio button "Only to servers listed in the Name Servers tab". As the selection suggests this will allow zone transfers (only) to your secondary name server/s as you entered in Step 13.

 

Secondary DNS Setup

(For this example we are going to create a secondary or slave zone for the fictitious example.com domain)

Step 1 (Create Secondary Zone)

1. Open the DNS MMC (Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > DNS)
2. Connect to your DNS Server and highlight it

Step 2 (Create Secondary Zone)

1. From the Action menu select "New Zone"

Step 3 (Create Secondary Zone)

1. The welcome to the New Zone Wizard screen is displayed - click "Next" to continue

Step 4 (Create Secondary Zone)

1. Select the Zone Type - click the radio button "Secondary Zone"
2. Click "Next"

Step 5 (Create Secondary Zone)

1. Select Forward or Reverse lookup zone - click the radio button "Forward lookup zone"
2. Click "Next"

Step 6 (Create Secondary Zone)

1. Enter the IP address for the Master (or Primary) DNS Servers. This will be the IP address of your primary name server (as entered in Step 11 of the Primary DNS setup previously).
2. After entering the correct IP address of your primary name server for this domain click the "Add" button.
3. Click "Next"

Step 7 (Create Secondary Zone)

1. Your new secondary zone setup is complete.
   
2. Click "Finish"