DNS Goof Up - Domain and Web Have Same Address - Help!!

[Karl Burrows]

I recently setup a new Win2000 server and when I created a .com domain, I
wasn't told it was the same as the company Website address. Now I can't get
DNS to work properly because instead of clients getting to the company
website and email, they are trying to resolve to the server. I put in a
www. forwarder and clients still can't see the website. I get every error
message imaginable in the Event Log as well with DNS running. I haven't
even attempted to setup a MX forwarder since I can't even get the other
running correctly.

Can someone please help me figure out how to get DNS setup correctly and fix
the issues with the domain and Web with the same name? If I change the
domain to a .local instead of .com, will that fix the DNS issues (I guess I
would have to uninstall AD and reinstall since this is a PDC?)?

Thanks!!!

 

[Jonathan de Boyne Pollard]

KB> I put in a www. forwarder [...]

This is not a forwarder. Given that you misdescribe what you have
done, it is possible that you didn't do it correctly.

<URL:http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/dns-split-horizon-common-server-names.html>

KB> clients still can't see the website.

What is the error message that their web browsers give ? How do you
know this is even related to DNS service ? How do you expect _us_ to
know when you haven't told us the error message ?

KB> I get every error message imaginable in the Event Log
KB> as well with DNS running.

You almost certainly do not, and this is a useless description of
your problem in any case. Please describe your problem _accurately_.

<URL:http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/problem-report-standard-litany.html>

 

[Kevin D. Goodknecht]

In

I recently setup a new Win2000 server and when I created a .com
domain, I wasn't told it was the same as the company Website address.
Now I can't get DNS to work properly because instead of clients
getting to the company website and email, they are trying to resolve
to the server. I put in a www. forwarder and clients still can't see
the website. I get every error message imaginable in the Event Log
as well with DNS running. I haven't even attempted to setup a MX
forwarder since I can't even get the other running correctly.

Can someone please help me figure out how to get DNS setup correctly
and fix the issues with the domain and Web with the same name? If I
change the domain to a .local instead of .com, will that fix the DNS
issues (I guess I would have to uninstall AD and reinstall since this
is a PDC?)?

Thanks!!!

You just need to add the www and mail records with their respective IP
addresses to the internal DNS FLZ for the company.com domain.
Be aware it is not advisable to make the change in DNS to access the website
by just "company.com" because these records (same as parent folder) are
needed to contact your internal domain controllers. You can, if IIS is
running on DCs configure it to redirect to www.company.com which will
resolve correctly to the external website.
To do this use the IIS console to create a new web site and give it the host
header "company.com" then on the Home Directory tab select "A redirection to
a URL" then redirect it to www.company.com

 

[Michael Johnston [MSFT]]

If the Active Directory domain name and your external DNS name are the same, then this will cause a problem for clients trying to resolve a website based on
this name. For instance, supose your name is domain.com. DCs will register their A records in domain.com. If you have a website that was called
domain.com, then access to this website will mostlikely fail since the queries for the website may go to one of the DCs instead of the actual website. There are
a couple of ways to fix this. Instead of going to domain.com for the website, create a host record called "www" in the domain.com zone and point it to the
website. Then have all clients go to www.domain.com instead. The website should be accessible. If you must have the website as domain.com and not
www.domain.com, then you will have to rename the AD domain to accomplish this. This will require you to DC promo the box down and then up again with a
new name. You could name "domain.local" or "corp.domain.com". Either will work and allow you to avoid this problem in the future. The MX record should be
a problem in either case even if you don't rename the domain.

Thank you,
Mike Johnston
Microsoft Network Support
--

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Note: For the benefit of the community-at-large, all responses to this message are best directed to the newsgroup/thread from which they originated.

 

[Karl Burrows]

I'm trying to learn and the newsgroups are supposed to be a good place for
me to pick the brains of the experts. You almost seem hostile in your
reply. I have just started doing this and am trying to learn. Yes, I
messed up and I admit it in my post, but please don't berate me for it.

I did add the www. to the

KB> I put in a www. forwarder [...]

This is not a forwarder. Given that you misdescribe what you have
done, it is possible that you didn't do it correctly.

<URL:http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/dns-split-horizon-com
mon-server-names.html>

KB> clients still can't see the website.

What is the error message that their web browsers give ? How do you
know this is even related to DNS service ? How do you expect _us_ to
know when you haven't told us the error message ?

KB> I get every error message imaginable in the Event Log
KB> as well with DNS running.

You almost certainly do not, and this is a useless description of
your problem in any case. Please describe your problem _accurately_.

<URL:http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/problem-report-standa
rd-litany.html>

 

[Karl Burrows]

Didn't get to finish...

I will try to detail as much as I can to respond to your notes. I wasn't
trying to start a flame war, but your comments were rather abrupt.

Thanks!

I'm trying to learn and the newsgroups are supposed to be a good place for
me to pick the brains of the experts. You almost seem hostile in your
reply. I have just started doing this and am trying to learn. Yes, I
messed up and I admit it in my post, but please don't berate me for it.

I did add the www. to the

KB> I put in a www. forwarder [...]

This is not a forwarder. Given that you misdescribe what you have
done, it is possible that you didn't do it correctly.

<URL:http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/dns-split-horizon-com
mon-server-names.html>

KB> clients still can't see the website.

What is the error message that their web browsers give ? How do you
know this is even related to DNS service ? How do you expect _us_ to
know when you haven't told us the error message ?

KB> I get every error message imaginable in the Event Log
KB> as well with DNS running.

You almost certainly do not, and this is a useless description of
your problem in any case. Please describe your problem _accurately_.

<URL:http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/problem-report-standa
rd-litany.html>

 

[Brian Oakes [MSFT]]

Don't worry about it Karl, there are many people here who want to help and
do an awesome job

BTW as a note, most of the MS Employees post when we have time, so sometimes
replies will be fast, sometimes they won't be. That is where the general
community comes in. Thanks to all the people who do a most excellent job
help teach others and helping fix problems. Yeah to you all. We are ALL
here to help!

/me steps off the soap box.

Brian Oakes

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
Please reply to the newsgroup so that others may benefit.

 

[Jonathan de Boyne Pollard]

KB> You almost seem hostile in your reply.

That's not the case, however.

KB> Yes, I messed up and I admit it in my post, but please
KB> don't berate me for it.

You weren't berated.

You admitted that you messed up your DNS administration. But
that wasn't the error that I pointed out to you. That error
was your not applying common sense in reporting your problem.
Common sense should tell you that if you don't supply the error
message that your web browsers display to you, and the error
messages that your DNS server records in the event log, people
whose only knowledge of the problem is what you post in a Usenet
message ("I get every error message imaginable in the Event Log")
won't be able to diagnose your problem.

KB> I wasn't trying to start a flame war [...]

Who said that you were ?

Someone telling you that you didn't report your problem effectively,
telling you (admittedly via the Socratic method, trying to get you to
think of things from our perspective) _why_ you didn't report your
problem effectively, and even pointing you at instructions on how to
report your problem effectively is not flaming you. He's trying to
get you to report your problem effectively.

Hint: To help you to tell the difference between someone telling
you what you've done wrong and telling you what to do to correct it,
and someone flaming you, here's what an _actual_ flame looks like:

<URL:http://groups.google.com/[email protected]>

Do you see the difference ?

KB> [...] your comments were rather abrupt.

You only thought that because you didn't read the web pages, as you
were encouraged to. There's lots of text on them.

Now go and compare what you did with the instructions on the first
web page that I pointed you to, to check that you did it correctly;
and construct an accurate and detailed report of your web browsing
problem, following the standard litany given in the second web page
that I pointed you to.

 

[Karl Burrows]

Thank you Brian for your support. I have been an MS Office developer for a
few years and am just venturing into the server side of things, so I spend a
lot of time on the newsgroups trying to learn and to contribute where I can.

Thanks!!!

Don't worry about it Karl, there are many people here who want to help and
do an awesome job

BTW as a note, most of the MS Employees post when we have time, so sometimes
replies will be fast, sometimes they won't be. That is where the general
community comes in. Thanks to all the people who do a most excellent job
help teach others and helping fix problems. Yeah to you all. We are ALL
here to help!

/me steps off the soap box.

Brian Oakes

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
Please reply to the newsgroup so that others may benefit.

 

[Karl Burrows]

I appreciate the help and I am admittedly a newbie on this side. I was
working on this at the office and reading/posting to newsgroups at home in
the evening so it was hard to get all the detail. I just thought someone
could point me in a direction to further define the problems so as to look
for particular errors, symptoms, setup, etc.

I am going into the office Saturday to try some of your tips on the website.
I will let you know what I find and any resolution/errors, etc.

Thanks!


KB> You almost seem hostile in your reply.

That's not the case, however.

KB> Yes, I messed up and I admit it in my post, but please
KB> don't berate me for it.

You weren't berated.

You admitted that you messed up your DNS administration. But
that wasn't the error that I pointed out to you. That error
was your not applying common sense in reporting your problem.
Common sense should tell you that if you don't supply the error
message that your web browsers display to you, and the error
messages that your DNS server records in the event log, people
whose only knowledge of the problem is what you post in a Usenet
message ("I get every error message imaginable in the Event Log")
won't be able to diagnose your problem.

KB> I wasn't trying to start a flame war [...]

Who said that you were ?

Someone telling you that you didn't report your problem effectively,
telling you (admittedly via the Socratic method, trying to get you to
think of things from our perspective) _why_ you didn't report your
problem effectively, and even pointing you at instructions on how to
report your problem effectively is not flaming you. He's trying to
get you to report your problem effectively.

Hint: To help you to tell the difference between someone telling
you what you've done wrong and telling you what to do to correct it,
and someone flaming you, here's what an _actual_ flame looks like:

<URL:http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3f2281c5$1$yrgbherq$mr2ice%4
0news.earthlink.net>

Do you see the difference ?

KB> [...] your comments were rather abrupt.

You only thought that because you didn't read the web pages, as you
were encouraged to. There's lots of text on them.

Now go and compare what you did with the instructions on the first
web page that I pointed you to, to check that you did it correctly;
and construct an accurate and detailed report of your web browsing
problem, following the standard litany given in the second web page
that I pointed you to.