NetpCheckDomainNameIsValid returns 0x54b

[Pat Coghlan]

Our enterprise has 4 domains. All computers (DCs and workstations) in
our enterprise are pointed to a master DNS server now, but initially
each DC was configured to run DNS. All workstations joined their
respective domains when DNS ran on each DC.

Now that all computers are pointing to the backbone DNS server, attempts
to join one specific domain always fails. NetSetup.LOG shows that
NetpCheckDomainNameIsValid returns 0x54b. The other 3 domains can be
joined successfully.

How are domain names entered into the DNS server, since it does not
reside on a DC? When DNS is installed on a DC, I think the installation
process creates the forward lookup zone, but how is the zone created on
a DNS server running on a remote (Unix?) platform?

Do the DCs register the zone itself, similar to the way they register as
a DC for the zone?

 

[Joe Richards [MVP]]

0x54b is 1355 decimal which is domain not found. Get a network trace while doing
the join and most likely the problem will be pretty clear.

As for the zones, someone should have created them in your UNIX DNS and then
enabled dynamic updates so the DCs can register their records.

joe

 

[Pat Coghlan]

If the master DNS was actually a Windows platform (I haven't
checked...maybe a good idea), would I just look for a forward lookup
zone with the domain name of the DC?

Our network people either haven't created the zone, or they haven't
enabled dynamic updates, so I have to pursue both possibilities.

 

[Joe Richards [MVP]]

There are some Microsoft DNS newsgroups that you might want to visit.

I have run very very large AD deployments on UNIX DNS and it worked fine.
Assuming everything is configured properly. If you don't have dynamic updates,
there will be tons of different issues until you manually register all of the
SRV records. All of the records that need to be registered for a given DC at a
given point in time (the registrations can change) are listed in the
netlogon.dns file which is in the windows\system32\config folder.

joe

 

[Pat Coghlan]

The netlogon.dns file proved to be the clue that I needed.

I noticed on one DC (which workstations were able to join) that there
was a DNS file name filled in, while on the other DC there was no file.
When I looked above this field, the working DC had the zone type set to
Primary, while the other DC had the zone type set to Active
Directory-Integrated.

I guess this is a critical setting for DCs to register the proper
records from the text file.

Thanks.

-Pat

 

[Joe Richards [MVP]]

I thought you said DNS was running on UNIX?

 

[Pat Coghlan]

I didn't (and still don't) know which platform our master DNS server ran
on, but the corrective action was performed on the DC which needs to
register the necessary records contained in a text file with the master
DNS server. I did this by changing the zone type from /Active
Directory-Integrated/ to /Primary/. Once I made this change, all
workstations were able to join the domain.