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Introduction to Administering DNS Server

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

This guide explains how to administer Domain Name System (DNS). These administration activities are part of the operations phase of the information technology (IT) life cycle. If you are not familiar with this guide, review the following sections of this introduction.

When to use this guide

Use this guide when:

  • You need to administer your DNS infrastructure, such as by managing zones or resource records.

  • You need to configure your DNS infrastructure, such as by providing global single-label DNS name resolution.

This guide assumes a basic understanding of what DNS is, how it works, and why your organization uses it to provide name resolution. It also assumes a thorough understanding of how DNS is deployed and managed in your organization. This includes an understanding of the mechanisms that your organization uses to configure and manage DNS settings.

This guide can be used by organizations that have deployed Windows Server 2008. It includes information that is relevant to different roles in an IT organization, including IT operations managers, administrators, and operators. This information includes management-level information about DNS and administrator-level information about the IT processes that are required to operate it.

This guide contains detailed procedures that are designed for operators (or designated users) who have varied levels of expertise and experience. Although the procedures provide operator guidance from start to finish, operators must have a basic proficiency with Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and MMC snap-ins. Operators must also know how to start administrative programs and access the command line. If operators are not familiar with DNS, it might be necessary for IT planners, managers, or administrators to review the relevant operations in this guide and provide the operators with the parameters or data that they must enter when they perform the operations.

How to use this guide

This guide includes the following types of topics:

  • Objectives are high-level goals for administering DNS. Each objective consists of one or more high-level tasks that describe how the objective is accomplished. In this guide, Adding and Removing DNS Servers is an example of an objective.

  • Tasks contain groups of procedures for achieving the goals of an objective. In this guide, Adding a DNS Server is an example of a task.

  • Procedures provide step-by-step instructions for completing tasks. In this guide, Install a DNS Server is an example of a procedure topic.

If you are an IT manager who is delegating tasks to operators in your organization:

  • Read through the objectives and tasks to determine how to delegate permissions.

  • Determine whether you need to install tools before operators perform the procedures for each task. Before you assign tasks to individual operators, ensure that all the tools are installed where operators can use them.

  • When necessary, create “tear sheets” for each task that operators perform in your organization. Cut and paste the task and its related procedures into a separate document. Then, you can either print this document or store it online