1

Hi,

So I have two domain controllers onsite (DC1 and DC2) and one offsite (DC3). Before I joined the company they disabled DNS on one of the onsite DCs. So the primary DNS is DC1 and secondary is DC3.

We would like to enable DNS back on DC2 without it overwriting the DNS entries on both DCs. What would need to be done? I am assuming to set the primary and secondary DNS on DC2 as DC1 and DC3 respectively. Is that correct?

Thanks :slight_smile:

2 Spice ups
2

Is the DNS AD integrated? if so, it’ll just do a large update to bring the new data across.

Another option - uninstall the DNS feature then re-add it and configure it at that point. it’ll clear down the old DNS database and you can then start fresh.

3

Are these Windows DC’s, running Active Directory, and are the DNS zones AD-integrated?

4

You beat me to it, Gary :slight_smile:

1 Spice up
5

I’ve had tea already this morning so am awake for once :slight_smile:

1 Spice up
6

Thank you for your answer guys :slight_smile:

Yes they are AD integrated. Would I need to set the primary DNS (on DC2) as the machine itself or would DC1 (primary) and DC3 (secondary) work?

7

Either would work, but generally it’s best to set primary DNS on a DC to itself.

8

No, it’s not.

best practice is that the primary DNS on a DC points to another DNS server and the secondary points to 127.0.0.1

Reference → Best Practices for DNS Configuration in an Active Directory Domain | Dell US

9

Make it easy to your self, demote DC2, then promote it again with thedomain services you want to run there.