Configuring DNS

DNS translates easy-to-remember names such as www.google.com into their respective IP addresses which are easier for machines to understand. In this article we are going to look at configuring DNS for our Unit34.co domain on our domain controller Hydrogen. In our earlier guide, we installed and configured the Active Directory Domain Services role on Hydrogen. As part of that process, the DNS Server role was also installed.

Make sure you understand the network design for Unit34.co for this exercise.

There are only two things we need to do to configure DNS on our domain controller. They are;

1. Create Forward and Reverse Lookup Zones
2. Configure DNS Forwarders

Start by logging onto Hydrogen. Server Manager should start up automatically.

Step 1. In Server Manager, go to the Tools menu and select DNS to start the DNS management console. Right-click on the HYDROGEN node in the left pane and select Configure a DNS Server to start the Configure a DNS Server Wizard.

Step 2. Select the second option Create forward and reverse lookup zones (recommended for large networks).

Step 3. If a forward lookup zone does not exist, select Yes, create a forward lookup zone now (recommended) on the Forward Lookup Zone page. Otherwise select No, don't create a forward lookup zone now and skip to Step 8.

Step 4. On the Zone Type page, select Primary Zone. Make sure Store the zone in Active Directory (available only if DNS server is a writeable domain controller) is checked.

Step 5. Select the second option, To all DNS servers running on domain controllers in this domain: Unit34.co to replicate zone information to the domain.

Step 6. Enter Unit34.co as the name of the DNS zone.

Step 7. Only enable secure dynamic updates.

Step 8. Now create the reverse lookup zone.

Step 9. Select Primary Zone again for the zone type. Make sure Store the zone in Active Directory (available only if DNS server is a writeable domain controller) is checked.

Step 10. Replicate zone information To all DNS servers running on domain controllers in this domain: Unit34.co.

Step 11. Select IPv4 Reverse Lookup Zone for the zone name.

Step 12. Identify the reverse lookup zone with the following network ID, 192.168.34.0.

Step 13. Allow secure dynamic updates.

Step 14. Allow your DNS server to forward queries and complete the wizard. If your router supports it, add your router 192.168.34.1 as your forward DNS server. Alternatively you can add DNS servers provided by your ISP or use the ones from Google, 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. You can add more than one.

Once configuring DNS is completed, we like to add a new host record for our router R0. Add a new record for R0.Unit34.co with the IP address 192.168.34.1 to the Unit34.co forward lookup zone.