Windows DNS on SBS 2011: How to push Alternate DNS Server

configurationdomain-name-systeminternal-dnswindows-sbs-2011

are windows SBS is starting to go and when it does all the clients in our office loose dns settings and then as a result can not get out to the internet for services they need

as a temporary measure I have manually edited some of there computers to have a alternate DNS server (preferred is set to the ip address of the SBS automaticly)

What setting on the SBS do i need to change to push the Alternate DNS SERVER value out to all the computers on this domain?

Best Answer

If you just use your ISP's DNS you are going to run into problems because you will have trouble resolving local resources. You probably want to add a new DNS server to your network, DNS is a very "light" service in small networks so this can be done on a small box with no problems.

  1. Install DNS on a new box
  2. On the SBS box go to the DNS management MMC and enable zone transfers to the new DNS server's IP
  3. On the new box create a secondary zone for your DNS domain
  4. Update your clients to use the 2nd server (likely via DHCP as stated above), perhaps with the failing SBS server as their 2ndary DNS server

If the SBS box dies you will need to make your new DNS server the primary, only the primary DNS server can change the zone database (unless it's AD integrated but fix this before worrying about that).

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