Okay, here's the deal. I have a server set up in my home that I want to use for a variety if things. It is running Windows Server 2k8 R2 with Active Directory Domain Services, Domain Controller, and DNS server roles installed. I bought a domain name from a Canadian domain registrar and I want to manage said domain using this server machine.
I have done a lot of Googling but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. What I want to do is somehow forward all the domain stuff to this server so I can control the domain name as well as things like subdomains.
Do I just open the proper ports and set this server as the nameserver in the registrar's panel? I tried doing this and their panel gives me an error. If this is the proper way I can then take the ticket to their panel as to why it's giving me an error, but I want to make sure it's set up on my end first.
Also, I just want to make sure that the outside world will be able to go to that domain, so how does this work exactly? When they query the name does it go to the registrar then the registrar passes them to my nameserver?
I suppose I should note as well that my local domain (on the network) is mydomain.local, but the domain I want to actually route to the server is mydomain.com and mydomain.ca (can I pair these two or do I have to set everything up for both? [by everything I mean subdomains and the like])
If you need any more info let me know, hopefully though this gives you a good idea of what I have and need.
Best Answer
It sounds like you could do with some background on how the DNS system works. Have a look at that answer briefly.
You need, at minimum, two DNS servers to host the DNS for your Internet domain (to provide redundancy and to satisfy IANA's requirement that there be at least two delegated DNS servers for the domain). Hosting the DNS for your domain yourself on this single physical server probably isn't the best strategy for availability. If you're just playing around then it's probably not a big deal (except that you'll still have to satisfy the IANA requirement).
You're ultimately looking to set the DNS server delegation at the registrar for the affected domain names to the DNS servers you're hosting. The text of the error that the registrar's "control panel" is giving you would probably be helpful in telling you why the registrar is denying your attempt to change the DNS server delegation to your own machine.
You will also need to open UDP and TCP port 53 through your firewall to the DNS server machine as you suggest in your question.
The Microsoft DNS server can be the authoritative DNS server for an arbitrary number of domains, so you can host "mydomain.local" along side "mydomain.com" and "mydomain.ca". Records are not replicated between domains, though, so if you create a "sub1.mydomain.com" domain that will not cause a "sub1.mydomain.ca" domain to exist automatically. Any replication like that you'd need to work out yourself w/ scripts, etc.