DNS problem in WAN environment

[Jeffrey Wilson]

Hi, Here's my scenario:

5 locations that have Windows 2000 Server running AD and DNS
All locations except one appear to be working normally. one location cannot
access the main site for about 30 minutes after users logon. After that,
everything seems ok.

This all started a few months ago when we had the main server go down and
had to rebuild from scratch. We didn't have time to promote another DNS
server to be the master. Microsoft techs worked on this with me after the
fact and got everything working but the server now having this problem was
the one that was promoted to be the master DNS when the main system was down.

I've checked settings and near as I can tell, the system with the problem is
setup like all the others.

Would you have any idea what might cause this and where I may have to look
on the server to find out what can cause this ?

Thank You

Jeff Wilson

 

[Ace Fekay [Microsoft Certified Trainer]]

Hi, Here's my scenario:

5 locations that have Windows 2000 Server running AD and DNS
All locations except one appear to be working normally. one location
cannot
access the main site for about 30 minutes after users logon. After that,
everything seems ok.

This all started a few months ago when we had the main server go down and
had to rebuild from scratch. We didn't have time to promote another DNS
server to be the master. Microsoft techs worked on this with me after the
fact and got everything working but the server now having this problem was
the one that was promoted to be the master DNS when the main system was
down.

I've checked settings and near as I can tell, the system with the problem
is
setup like all the others.

Would you have any idea what might cause this and where I may have to look
on the server to find out what can cause this ?

Thank You

Jeff Wilson

Hi Jeff,

I think there's a little misonception. There really is no 'main' server when
it comes to AD domain controllers. They're all replicas. So I am not sure
what you are referring to as the 'main' server, unless you are saying your
zones are not AD integrated, and this server hosts a Primary Zone and the
others all have Secondary zones, or you're saying this is the machine that
you have set in all servers (and client machines) as the first DNS entry in
their IP properties? Maybe you can elaborate a bit to explain what you mean,
please.

Also, if it happens for 30 minutes after users log in, which doesn't really
make sense, then I would look for excessive traffic across the WAN link as a
possible cause. There may be some kind of software installation going on, or
something else that is generating traffic during the logon period.

Maybe if you can elborate on:

Number of sites.

Number of DCs in each site.

An unedited ipconfig /all from the DCs in each site. (Identify the DC's Site
for each DC when you post it). This will help us understand the way you have
your DCs configured to use which DNS (DC) servers in their IP properties and
in wihch order they're in.

Event log errors

Run a dcdiag /v and a netdiag /v and post any errors you see.

--
Ace

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
confers no rights.

Please reply back to the newsgroup/forum to benefit from collaboration among
responding engineers.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2003 & 2000, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSA Messaging, MCT
Microsoft Certified Trainer
(e-mail address removed)
http://twitter.com/acefekay

For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please
check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.

 

[Jeffrey Wilson]

Hi Jeff,

I think there's a little misonception. There really is no 'main' server when
it comes to AD domain controllers. They're all replicas. So I am not sure
what you are referring to as the 'main' server, unless you are saying your
zones are not AD integrated, and this server hosts a Primary Zone and the
others all have Secondary zones, or you're saying this is the machine that
you have set in all servers (and client machines) as the first DNS entry in
their IP properties? Maybe you can elaborate a bit to explain what you mean,
please.

Also, if it happens for 30 minutes after users log in, which doesn't really
make sense, then I would look for excessive traffic across the WAN link as a
possible cause. There may be some kind of software installation going on, or
something else that is generating traffic during the logon period.

Maybe if you can elborate on:

Number of sites.

Number of DCs in each site.

An unedited ipconfig /all from the DCs in each site. (Identify the DC's Site
for each DC when you post it). This will help us understand the way you have
your DCs configured to use which DNS (DC) servers in their IP properties and
in wihch order they're in.

Event log errors

Run a dcdiag /v and a netdiag /v and post any errors you see.

--
Ace

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
confers no rights.

Please reply back to the newsgroup/forum to benefit from collaboration among
responding engineers.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2003 & 2000, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSA Messaging, MCT
Microsoft Certified Trainer
(e-mail address removed)
http://twitter.com/acefekay

For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please
check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.

Thank You for your assistance. Seems like things are now resolved

 

[Ace Fekay [Microsoft Certified Trainer]]

Thank You for your assistance. Seems like things are now resolved

That's good to hear. Curious, what caused it, and what did you do to resolve
it?

Ace