DNS resolution over WAN link

[Guest]

I need to convince a customer that they need one DNS (and DHCP) server at
every site in order to resolve names to IP and be able to see workstations
throughout the WAN. As it is, they can only see them if they hard code the IP
as opposed to using DHCP. They think it's a router issue. I say it is a DNS
issue. I want to configure one DNS and one DHCP at every site. Any articles
or white papers on this will be appreciated. Feel free send your response to
my email: (e-mail address removed). Thanks

 

[Mark Renoden [MSFT]]

Hi

The Windows Server 2003 (or Windows 2000) Deployment Planning Guide is
probably useful here. The 2003 Guide can be found at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/techinfo/reskit/deploykit.mspx

There's no reason clients can't resolve names across a WAN to a DNS server.
You just might run into problems if it's particularly laggy. The following
two links discuss the name resolution process and the related timings that
may lead to a timeout:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...all/reskit/en-us/prjj_ipa_uneg.asp?frame=true

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...all/reskit/en-us/prjj_ipa_usmz.asp?frame=true

Kind regards
--
Mark Renoden [MSFT]
Windows Platform Support Team
Email: (e-mail address removed)

Please note you'll need to strip ".online" from my email address to email
me; I'll post a response back to the group.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Steve Duff [MVP]]

DHCP over a WAN is cumbersome to configure and
maintain as routers do not pass DHCP broadcasts
directly and so you have to configure relays to do it.
You are much better off if you can avoid that. The DHCP
issue is not related to any DNS problem however.

You should at least have a caching DNS server at each
WAN site simply to avoid the traffic and conseqent
loss of WAN bandwidth to the constant DNS lookups
that Windows systems generate. The actual DNS authority
server(s) do not have to be (and often are not) themselves
onsite.

Given that DHCP and caching DNS are available in
$50 broadband routers, it really can't be viewed as
a big undertaking. If you already have Win2K Server
running at the sites, turning up a caching DNS
and pointing machines through it is both beneficial
and trivial.

Steve Duff, MCSE, MVP
Ergodic Systems, Inc.