How can we eliminate the need to specify the DNS address of the server on client PC's?

Question

We have a Windows Small Business 2003 server set up using a domain, with the server providing the DHCP for the client PC's running Vista and XP. In order for the client PC's to "see" the server, we had to specify the server address in the DNS network settings on each client. This worked great until we acquired laptops and need the ability to connect to the Internet from home, hotel, etc. The laptops can connect to the Internet if we also specify specify the DNS of the ISP the laptop settings, but this will be problematic when traveling and therefore connecting to new ISP's.

We tried the alternate network configuration, but this seems to require a fixed address on the local system to work properly. It would be best if we could eliminate the need to specify the server in the DNS, thus allowing automatic network configuration anywhere.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer 1

it looks like you haven't configured dns to be given out with the dhcp server settings. Go to the dhcp server settings, right clik and configure options, check the dns box 006, highlight the entry and add the ip address of your dns server. the dhcp server should now hand out the dns server addresses to the clients

Answer 2

The issue seems to be that DHCP hasn't been configured properly on the Windows 2k3 SB server. Start up DHCP and modify the Server Options with the proper DNS Server information.



Then from the client machines specify it to be completely DHCP for both IP and DNS. That way when on your network, your DHCP server will issue the proper IP/DNS and when at a Hotel, the hotel's DHCP server will issue the proper IP/DNS for their site.

Answer 3

If you're using the server for DHCP just add the DNS record to be handed out by the DHCP server. Look at the Scope Options as described at the link below



Edit: You would want to specify the server address as the DNS server in the DHCP options because otherwise the server's DNS settings are used by default when assigning DHCP settings to requesting clients - so if your server has the default gateway (or ISP DNS servers) as DNS servers, then that's what will get handed out to the clients unless you explicitly specify the DNS option in the scope on the DHCP server on your 2003 server.

Answer 4

Yep. Exactly what Mark said. Point client DNS to the Domain Controller, and then point the DC to an Internet DNS ( Actually don't like to set forwarders, but prefer to set the Servers DNS to an internet DNS instead. If you do forwarders, then it's going to do an Iterative lookup, and forwarder can't resolve, you're toast. If you leave the Server to resolve via it's IP config, it will do recursive lookups instead. But, either way will work, and the general point is: Clients point to DC for DNS, Server points to Internet.

Answer 5

Each pc should be configured to obtain IP address and DNS automatically in the configuration. It is not sufficient to obtain IP address automatically. Once this is done, when on the server, the server IP address is automatically used for DNS in the set up configuration. When not on server, the router or server of the network does this.