A domain name may be translated into a server IP address and vice versa using the DNS (Domain Name System) protocol.
A network service that supplies and manages the DNS is known as a DNS server. The DNS Server service is not resource-intensive. The very minimal setup on the target system will be adequate if you don’t plan to configure any additional roles or services.
Establishing a DNS server’s network adapter configuration
In order to install a DNS server, a domain zone must exist, thus you must set up a private network in your personal account and join virtual machines to it.
It’s crucial to remember which connection has to be set after the system has been linked to two networks. Access to the Internet is provided through the primary network adapter, which is automatically setup from the beginning, however there is no Internet access available through any other network adapters attached unless manual configuration is done:
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In the system tray, you may bring up a tooltip with some basic network information by hovering your cursor over the network icon. You can see from the aforementioned example that Network 3 is the connected network.
The following action is to carry out the series of steps:
- Network Connections may be chosen from the drop-down menu by right-clicking Start.
- Select Properties from the menu by performing a right-click on the necessary network adapter;
- Click the Properties button after selecting IPv4 in the properties box;
- Fill in the necessary fields with the necessary information:
In this case, the device is designated as the primary DNS server while dns.google [8.8.8.8] is designated as a backup.
Role installation for the DNS server
Use the Add Roles and Features Wizard, which can be found in the Server Manager, to add further roles to the server.
Open the Manage menu in Server Manager’s top navigation panel on the right, then choose the Add Roles and Features option.
The Wizard window will open, and it is advised that you check that:
1. A strong password is used to safeguard the administrator account.
2. Network configurations, such as IP addresses with static addresses.
3. Put in the most recent Windows Update security updates.
Click Next once all requirements have been satisfied;
Click Next after selecting Install roles and features.
Click Next after choosing the necessary server from the server pool.
Next, verify the DNS server role:
Look over the list of required components, then click the Add components button to confirm:
Click Next while keeping the component list untouched:
After reading the details, click Next.
Once again review the installation configuration, then click the Install button to confirm your choice:
The Wizard’s last window will confirm whether the installation was successful. The installation wizard can be closed:
Creating Lookup Zones for Forward and Reverse
A domain zone is a group of domain names that belong to the same domain.
The purpose of forward lookup zones is to translate a domain name into an IP address.
Reverse lookup zones convert an IP address to a domain name by working the other way around.
The DNS Manager is used to create and manage zones.
By choosing the Tools menu and the DNS item from the drop-down list, you may access it on the right portion of the top navigation panel:
Make a zone for forward lookups.
- Using the New Zone button on the top toolbar, choose the Forward Lookup Zone directory, then launch the New Zone Creation Wizard:
- When the Welcome Wizard box appears, select Next.
- Choose the Main zone from the list of possibilities, then click Next.
- Name the zone and then select Next.
- Change the future zone file’s name if necessary before moving on to the next step.
- Decide whether or not to permit dynamic updates. Allowing has been deprecated because of a serious vulnerability. Move On:
- Click the Finish button to finish the setup after making sure the configuration you chose is correct:
Make a zone for reverse lookups.
- To launch the New Zone Creation Wizard, choose the Reverse Lookup Zone directory in the DNS Manager and click the New Zone button on the top toolbar:
- Choose the Main Zone type, then click Next.
- Choose a location for IPv4 addresses and then click Next:
- Next, enter the network ID, which is the first three octets of the network address.
- Change the future zone file’s name if necessary before moving on to the next step.
- Decide whether or not to permit dynamic updates. Allowing has been deprecated because of a serious vulnerability. Move On:
- Click the Finish button to finish the setup after making sure the configuration you chose is correct:
Establishing an A record
A resource record is a unit of data storage and transfer in the DNS that gives details on how a name corresponds to specific service data.
You may get the IP address from the domain name by using the A record, which is a record.
The opposite of the A notation is the PTR notation.
- Choose the zone directory you earlier generated in the DNS Manager from the Forward Lookup Zones directory. When the contents of the folders are displayed in the right portion of the Manager, right-click to reveal the drop-down menu and execute the “Create node (A or AAAA)…” command:
- Your host name (without the domain portion; the name of the custom zone is used as the domain component) and IP address must be entered in the relevant sections of the New Node creation window. A checkbox is also present. Create the necessary PTR record; make sure the checkbox is selected to test the functionality of both zones (forward and reverse):
The supplied address will be linked to the domain zone name if the name field is left empty.
- Additionally, you may add listings for additional servers:
- Click Finish once all necessary nodes have been added.
Checking
- In the example below, 2 new items emerged in both zones. Verify the changes in the directories of both zones:
- Run the nslookup command in PowerShell or a command prompt (cmd):
You can see from the command’s output that example-2012.com, which has the IP address 10.0.1.6, is the default DNS server.
Finally, two queries may be issued to ensure that the forward and reverse zones function as expected:
- Requests made by domain or IP address:
For both requests in the example, appropriate replies were obtained.
- You could try requesting something from an outside source:
In addition to the domain name and addresses, the phrase “Non-authoritative answer” appeared. This indicates that, despite the information below having come from an authoritative server, it is not itself authoritative in this case because our DNS server lacks the necessary completeness of information on the requested zone.
On a server with no configured forward or reverse zones, the exact same queries were run for comparison:
In this case, the computer has designated itself as the preferred DNS server. The DNS server’s domain name appears to be unrecognized since no resource entries exist elsewhere for the IP address (10.0.1.7). Also due to this, query 2 produces an error (Non-existent domain).
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