DNS Getting lost on DNS server restart

[Matt]

Hello,
Everytime I restart my DNS servers on either one of my domain
controllers, the main Active directory (we'll call it mydomain.com)
keeps disappearing. I have a subdomain called office.mydomain.com which
is fine, as well as 2 other domains on the domain controller DNS.

I went into the registry and located where the DNS information is
kept... stopped the DNS server.. and the zone stayed (in the registry)..
I then started the DNS server, and the zone dissappeared from the
registry (and the DNS console). The file, however, remains there in
c:\winnt\system32\dns\

I believe at one point in the past someone had tried to integrate the
active directory zone into active directory.... but they had an issue,
and put it back to the way it was (zone files).

Can anyone offer any suggestions as to what the issue might be?

 

[Herb Martin]

Hello,
Everytime I restart my DNS servers on either one of my domain
controllers, the main Active directory (we'll call it mydomain.com)
keeps disappearing.

It is pretty unlikely that your ENTIRE "Active Directory"
is disappearing (so that you must create new domain) so
you might want to clarify exactly what you mean and
precisely what the symptoms are.

Maybe you mean the entries in your AD integrated DNS
or something similar are missing?

I went into the registry and located where the DNS information is
kept... stopped the DNS server.. and the zone stayed (in the registry)..
I then started the DNS server, and the zone dissappeared from the
registry (and the DNS console). The file, however, remains there in
c:\winnt\system32\dns\

So your DNS is not even AD integrated?

Has you registry been modified to get the list of zones
from the FILE system instead of the registry?

(boot file style?)

 

[Matt]

It is pretty unlikely that your ENTIRE "Active Directory"

is disappearing (so that you must create new domain) so
you might want to clarify exactly what you mean and
precisely what the symptoms are.

Maybe you mean the entries in your AD integrated DNS
or something similar are missing?

Yes.. I am sorry... my DNS entry for that domain is getting lost when
DNS is restarted. And no, it is not AD integrated.

So your DNS is not even AD integrated?

Nope.. it's in files.

Has you registry been modified to get the list of zones
from the FILE system instead of the registry?

I wasn't aware I had to modify the registry to tell it to get the zone
fromt he file? Every other MS DNS system I've worked with by default
pulls the zone from the file... where do I look to see this flag?

 

[Herb Martin]

Has you registry been modified to get the list of zones

I wasn't aware I had to modify the registry to tell it to get the zone
fromt he file? Every other MS DNS system I've worked with by default
pulls the zone from the file... where do I look to see this flag?

Let me be clear. By default this is "from the registry"
and the setting I mean is to get the LIST of zones from
a file.

Standard zones are kept in a file, but the list is kept
in the registry (since NT4) by default.

If someone marked it to get them from a file, and the
file doesn't have the entries this might account for the
problem.

BTW, this setting is almost solely used to migrate LARGE
numbers of zones from Unix (or other OS) where one
doesn't wish to go through the trouble of creating each
zone with the GUI but merely transfers the files and
edits the Boot file to fixup the UNIX to Windows path
differences.

 

[Kevin D. Goodknecht Sr. [MVP]]

In

Hello,
Everytime I restart my DNS servers on either one of my
domain controllers, the main Active directory (we'll call
it mydomain.com) keeps disappearing. I have a subdomain
called office.mydomain.com which is fine, as well as 2
other domains on the domain controller DNS.

I went into the registry and located where the DNS
information is kept... stopped the DNS server.. and the
zone stayed (in the registry).. I then started the DNS
server, and the zone dissappeared from the registry (and
the DNS console). The file, however, remains there in
c:\winnt\system32\dns\

I believe at one point in the past someone had tried to
integrate the active directory zone into active
directory.... but they had an issue, and put it back to
the way it was (zone files).

Can anyone offer any suggestions as to what the issue
might be?

You would not be trying to run a Standard Secondary Zone on one DC with an
AD integrated on one of your DCs would you?
If you are delete the secondary zone altogether, Do not recreate a zone,
just give it 15 minutes or so the AD zone will replicate.
This is a pretty common issue when someone tries a secondary zone of an AD
zone on a DC. What happens is you cannot have two zones of the same name on
one DNS server and the secondary conflicts with the AD zone and DNS won't
load either zone.

Win2k3 will create a conflicting zone in AD and report it in the Event log,
Win2k overwrites and deletes.

 

[Matt]

Let me be clear. By default this is "from the registry"

and the setting I mean is to get the LIST of zones from
a file.

Standard zones are kept in a file, but the list is kept
in the registry (since NT4) by default.

If someone marked it to get them from a file, and the
file doesn't have the entries this might account for the
problem.

BTW, this setting is almost solely used to migrate LARGE
numbers of zones from Unix (or other OS) where one
doesn't wish to go through the trouble of creating each
zone with the GUI but merely transfers the files and
edits the Boot file to fixup the UNIX to Windows path
differences.

ok.. got yah.. no we're definately using files for the zone info.. but
the actual "what zones are here" are in the registry.. I have 3 other
zones on the machines and they stay.. it's just the main zone that is
going haywire.

 

[Matt]

In


You would not be trying to run a Standard Secondary Zone on one DC with an
AD integrated on one of your DCs would you?
If you are delete the secondary zone altogether, Do not recreate a zone,
just give it 15 minutes or so the AD zone will replicate.
This is a pretty common issue when someone tries a secondary zone of an AD
zone on a DC. What happens is you cannot have two zones of the same name on
one DNS server and the secondary conflicts with the AD zone and DNS won't
load either zone.

Win2k3 will create a conflicting zone in AD and report it in the Event log,
Win2k overwrites and deletes.

ugh that was it..... thanks.