DNS 2Wire W2K Active Directory Windows 2003

[Denda]

Hi all -
Got a good one here..
We have a very small network of 20 pc's. It's been w/o AD for years, WINS server was an NT4 server. DNS & DHCP was via a 2Wire router. We added a 2003 File Server to the mix & everything was working fine. I then upgraded the NT4 server to Server 2000. Upon upgrading the Active Directory was installed & the server became a domain controller. (No other dc's on this network). We now want to promote the 2003 server to a dc, BUT the 2003 server dc app states that it can't get a response from the DNS server (which is really our 2Wire router), so it will not promote & errors out.

Has anyone ever succeeded in using a router for the DNS services on an AD network?
I'm hoping there's a way around having to add the DNS service to either the w2k or the w3k server.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Denda]

I forgot to add info about the clients. I have NTsp4 clients & 2000 clients that need to access the 2000 server & the 2003 server. Thanks

 

[Denda]

Well, since this network is at our Mexico satellite plant, which has limited IT support. We decided to leave well enough alone on the 2003 server & leave it in the existing workgroup. Is there anything that I should be aware of with this setup? i.e. Windows 2000 Active Directory, domain controller with a 2003 server that hosts the home & shared drives along with our ERP database.

This network is going to grow in the next year, which at that time we will definately implement an actual DNS, DHCP Windows server.

Thanks in advance.

 

[GlenJohnson]

Upon upgrading the Active Directory was installed & the server became a domain controller.

You had to install dns on this server or you couldn't have installed ad. Good luck.

Glen A. Johnson
If you're from Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin/Central Florida feel free to join the Tek-Tips in Chicago, Illinois Forum.
TTinChicago
Johnson Computers

 

[BigShyBear]

More info. Windows 2000 Active Directory asks more from the DNS server than Windows NT did. When you try to create a Windows 2000 Active Directory, the server wants to add special records to the DNS server (Dynamic DNS). This is NOT a normal function required of DNS servers prior to Windows 2000 so the DNS code used in most hardware boxes sold before Windows 2000 came out never supported it.
Short answer, the problem is the DNS code on the 2Wire router. The code is not bad, they just didn't anticipate that Microsoft would change the rules. Easiest way to get around this is to set up DNS on your Windows 2000 server, make the Windows 2000 server the DNS server for all your computers. After that, you have 3 routes, pick which one work based upon the equipment you have. 1. Turn off DNS on your 2Wire router, let the Windows 2000 DNS server handle all DNS functions. 2. Ignore DNS on the 2Wire router, let the Windows 2000 server handle all DNS functions, or 3. configure the Windows 2000 DNS server to 'forward' DNS to the 2Wire router. Depends on whether the 2Wire router blocks DNS request packets.

 

[minxca]

if you dcpromo your w2k3, don't you need different CAL?