DNS in Server 2008 R2 Standard stops working

domain-name-systemwindows-server-2008-r2

Have a strange issue with a Windows server 2008 R2 server Setup with DNS.
Today the DNS server suddenly stopped working and it went offline. This caused all the clients to go offline as they were using it as they're only DNS Server

When the Clients are reconfigured with an alternate DNS (OpenDNS) they work fine, but on the server this still does not allow connectivity.

Everyone can connect locally to the server, and I am able to VPN into the server, but the server has no internet connectivity, and the DNS Server is giving the following Errors in the Logs

Event Type:    Error
Event Source:   DNS
Event Category: None
Event ID:   408
Date:       16/12/2010
Time:       4:41:04 PM
User:       N/A
Computer:   SERVER
Description:
The DNS server could not open socket for address 192.168.0.11. 
Verify that this is a valid IP address for the server computer.  If it is NOT valid use the Interfaces dialog under Server Properties in the DNS Manager to remove it from the list of IP interfaces.  Then stop and restart the DNS server. (If this was the only IP interface on this machine and the DNS server may not have started as a result of this error.  In that case remove the DNS\Parameters\ ListenAddress value in the services section of the registry and restart.)

If this is a valid IP address for this machine, make sure that no other application (e.g. another DNS server) is running that would attempt to use the DNS port. 

For more information, see "DNS server log reference" in the online Help.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
 
Event Type: Error
Event Source:   DNS
Event Category: None
Event ID:   404
Date:       16/12/2010
Time:       4:41:04 PM
User:       N/A
Computer:   SERVER
Description:
The DNS server could not bind a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) socket to address 192.168.0.11.  The event data is the error code.  An IP address of 0.0.0.0 can indicate a valid "any address" configuration in which all configured IP addresses on the computer are available for use. 
Restart the DNS server or reboot the computer.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 27 00 00               A'..    
Event Type: Error
Event Source:   DNS
Event Category: None
Event ID:   407
Date:       16/12/2010
Time:       4:41:04 PM
User:       N/A
Computer:   SERVER
Description:
The DNS server could not bind a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) socket to 192.168.0.11. The event data is the error code. Restart the DNS server or reboot your computer.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 27 00 00               A'..    

UPDATE
I have reset Winsock & TCP/IP but the server still has no internet connectivity.
Trying to ping any other stations gives me "General failure."
Trying to ping an external IP or URL gives me the same

I have two NICs. One I can ping successfully the other gives me a General Failure.

When I disable the "failed" NIC and set only that NIC for use in DNS then everything seems to work again. Does this mean the NIC is probably failed? How can I troubleshoot this?

Best Answer

Try to figure out what uses 53 tcp/udp port on this server. Use netstat tool and wireshark if needed. Potential reasons:

  1. Other program use the same port
  2. Server misconfiguration (but if you didn't changed anything on this server and it seems to be protected against worms/viruses/hackers we should exclude this case)
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