Want to add 2nd DNS server 2

[randymce]

I've got a (5) Windows 2000 servers in my 'mynet.local' network - I'll refer to them by number. (1&2) are DC's and are both newer fast high-use file servers. (3) is dedicated to a specific dept and is maintained by consultants - so it can't be tinkered with. Finally, (4&5) are older slower servers that aren't being used for much (Symantec AV server, SUS server, low-use file servers.)

I originally setup #4 as the sole DNS server. It's worked fine - but I'm concerned about redundancy. So I've got to:
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Option A: add server #5 as a 2nd DNS server. This way, the DNS server load won't affect our high-use file servers and we'll have redundancy.

Option B: remove the DNS server from #4, and add it to #1 & #2. This way, it should be faster and we'll still have redundancy. But the load will be on the high-use servers.
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Basically, the question boils down to this. How much of a load does DNS put on a server? I've been told different things by different "experts" so I'm seeking a more definitive answer. The network is small, about 150 nodes, so I'm inclined to think the DNS load is minimal and shouldn't significantly affect the faster servers. And the elegance of having both DC's as DNS servers seems to be appropriate. But I could be dead wrong - and I don't want to adversely impact network performance.

(This is my first post, so I'll apologize in advance if I've made any mistakes.)

--Randy

 

[jfk8680]

I would place DNS on both your DC's. This will also give you the advantage of Active Directory Integrated zones.


Jeffrey Kusters

MCSA, MCSE, CCNA

 

[randymce]

That's what I thought - and I've heard that from a couple people. The problem is that I've also heard that it would be better, from a load perspective, to put the DNS on the lower use servers from others. So my predicament is really to find a "definitive" answer that would somehow quantify how much the change would slow down the DC's (1%, 10%, 50%?) Ultimately, I won't know for sure until I go ahead and change it -- but I was hoping someone else had already been in this same situation and could help...

(And, by the way, I am using Active Directory Integrated zones... even though the server isn't a DC, which I didn't think was possible - but apparently is.)

 

[jfk8680]

Well, I can't give you exact figures but considering the size of your network (150 nodes), I am quite confident that your users won't start complaining about the speed of the file servers after you install DNS on it.

Are you sure your DNS server has AD Intergrated Zones without it being a DC? It has been over a year since I aquired my MCSE but if I recall things correctly (somebody correct me if I'm wrong here) Zone transfers with AD Integrated Zones are part of your "standard" AD replication. Since your currently running only one DNS server you won't experience any zone transfer problems but I am afraid that adding another non-DC DNS server will give you some serious DNS replication problems.

Regards,



Jeffrey Kusters

MCSA, MCSE, CCNA

 

[randymce]

I was hoping for something more definitive, but I'm hearing that the DNS service "shouldn't" slow down the file servers "too much" from just about everyone. It's not precise, but it's unanimous.

Oh well, it's an imprecise world after all. I'll go with it for now - and thanks for your help!

--Randy

 

[polymath5]

DNS is a light system. Doesn't use many resources at all. You could monitor the resources used on your current DNS and evaluate.

So, go ahead and put it on your high end servers. For your small size LAN, that's the definitive answer.

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Mens et Manus
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[randymce]

Earlier today, I setup both high-end servers with the DNS service, and I believe everybody was right. From some testing I did, not only did it seem to have a negligible impact on performance of the file server - but the DNS performance seems significantly better. There could be other variables involved here, but I can browse network resources faster - and some long delays that we were seeing during logins appear to have been eliminated.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[polymath5]

Very glad you got it sorted out. Thanks very much for posting back your results. That really helps out others reading through the messages.

Good Luck!

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Mens et Manus
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