How to reinstall a dynamic DNS Active Directory-integrated zone

SUMMARY
This article describes how to reinstall a dynamic DNS Active Directory-integrated zone.

MORE INFORMATION
Under the following situations you may want to reinstall the dynamic DNS in a Windows 2000 Active Directory:

• Multiple DNS errors have occurred and methods have been unsuccessful.
• Services that depend upon DNS, such as, the File Replication service (FRS) and/or Active Directory are failing. Also, the standard troubleshooting procedures have been unable to locate the exact cause of the problem.
• DNS had been built as a secondary DNS server or files copied from a DNS server do not support dynamic updates.
• To create a better name space design, such as, splitting the internal and external name spaces.

You have to remove DNS and the DNS cache. Then, you must rebuild one Active Directory DNS server to set up long term stability.

The following steps can remove the defective information in Active Directory-integrated DNS:

1. Go to the properties of the DNS zone files and change them to be a "Standard Primary".
2. In the %Systemroot%\Winnt\System32\DNS folder, delete the text DNS Zones files.
3. Delete the object in Active Directory Users and Computers.
4. On the View menu, click Advanced Features, expand the System folder, click MicrosoftDNS, and then delete the zone file objects.
5. For each Active Directory-integrated DNS server, repeat steps 1-3.
6. In the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) properties of the first Active Directory-integrated DNS server, point it to itself. For any other DNS servers, point all of them to the first DNS server that you bring up.
   
   NOTE: Do not change the properties of any additional Active Directory-integrated DNS servers to point to themselves until you have confirmed that a full and complete zone transfer has occurred from the first Active Directory-integrated DNS server after the rebuild process.
7. To obtain proper resolution, you must clear the Caching Resolver, which is the DNS client on the DNS server. At the command prompt, type: ipconfig /flushdns.
8. Stop and restart DNS and the NetLogon service. Then, remove and re-add the DNS service.
   NOTE: You can use the net stop netlogon command and the net start netlogon command for the NetLogon service that registers information in DNS. Also, you can use the net stop dns and net start dns commands (to stop and start the DNS service) if DNS has not been totally removed. Or, you can stop and start the NetLogon service and the DNS service in Control Panel, in Services, or you can restart the computer.

You have completed the process to clear out a DNS server. You must complete the process for any additional DNS servers that you plan to integrate with Active Directory.

The following steps can assist you to build a strong foundation for DNS, Active Directory, and FRS:

1. Configure all DNS servers to point to the same DNS server in the domain or forest under TCP/IP properties in DNS: Right-click My Network Places, click Local Area Connection, right-click Local Area Connection, click Properties, select the properties of TCP/IP, and then point all DNS servers to the same DNS server. Also, click the Advanced DNS tab, and then confirm that secondary DNS servers are not configured.
2. Re-add the DNS service, or re-add the zones and configure them to be Active Directory integrated. For troubleshooting purposes, you may want to set "Allow Dynamic Updates?" to Yes. Later, you can change this setting to "Allow Only Secure Updates".
3. Stop the DNS service and the NetLogon service by using either a command or the Computer Management snap-in.
4. Run the ipconfig /flushdns command, and then run the ipconfig /registerdns comand. This command can help you to register your A resource record for DNS as well as your start of authority (SOA). You may want to run this command on any other servers that are critical to you.
   
   NOTE: The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) client service needs to be running on each of these computers to register the records in Dynamic DNS. It is not relevant if the computer is a DHCP client or not. You must have this service set to "start" and the "Start up" type set to "automatic." The DHCP client service is what registers records in Dynamic DNS. (Refer to the description in the Computer Management snap-in.)
5. Active Directory-integrated DNS is now working on your first Dynamic DNS server. You must point additional Dynamic DNS servers to the first DNS server under TCP/IP properties. You must confirm that a full and complete replication process has occurred before you change the TCP/IP properties to point to itself for any additional DNS servers.

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