DNS server software options?

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Nety

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#31213 9-Mar-2009 09:47

OK I now have two subnets at home and ideally would like to run a DNS server that the workstations can register against and also I can register the Windows home server on.

I had a quick look at bind in the weekend but it really all looked too hard. I would much prefer something that has a gui. networking is hard enough without having to muck about with command files

So does anyone have any suggestions for a DNS server that is
Free
Runs on Windows as a service
Will allow Windows workstations to register themselves.

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#200031 9-Mar-2009 10:07

Nety: OK I now have two subnets at home and ideally would like to run a DNS server that the workstations can register against and also I can register the Windows home server on.

I had a quick look at bind in the weekend but it really all looked too hard. I would much prefer something that has a gui. networking is hard enough without having to muck about with command files

So does anyone have any suggestions for a DNS server that is
Free
Runs on Windows as a service
Will allow Windows workstations to register themselves.

Don't know much about WHS, but doesn't it have a DNS server for the homegroup (or local domain) already?

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Nety

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#200043 9-Mar-2009 10:43

I wish... Windows DNS only works with a AD because that has been stipped out DNS does not work.

CamboCambo

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#200240 9-Mar-2009 21:23

Bind is worth the initial effort, once you understand how it is structured is is pretty straight forward.

If you want some help post your configs here and I am more than happy to help :)

Athlonite

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#200272 10-Mar-2009 05:46

Maybe try opendns as a server for dns ... www.opendns.org

Nety

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#200279 10-Mar-2009 08:19

CamboCambo: Bind is worth the initial effort, once you understand how it is structured is is pretty straight forward.

If you want some help post your configs here and I am more than happy to help :)

A question for you... does bind support dynamic DNS? Ideally I would like the PC's to be able to update DNS if their address changes ie. laptop moving from wired to wireless. But I am not sure if bind supports this?

Also what is the service called? I have installed it on the home server but my understanding is that it has a service but I cannot find it. Wondering if maybe the install did not run correctly?

Nety

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#200281 10-Mar-2009 08:20

Athlonite: Maybe try opendns as a server for dns ... www.opendns.org

I dont think you can use openDNS for private IP addresses?

Filterer

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#200282 10-Mar-2009 08:33

Good quality free dns servers don't really go together on windows sorry ;(

Can you get hold of a msdn copy of Server 2008? It has a great GUI that is easy to run and it does allow dynamic updates of host addresses etc based on mac address, you could even run it in a VM.

I run 2k8 it at home and have setup stuff like iphone.***.net.nz, htpc.***.net.nz etc which all reference internal ips, it allows you to do this my mapping MAC addresses to "static" dhcp allocations.

I can't see how you could get auto-updating dns addresses without also invloving dhcp allocation, so that adds some complexity to your setup that the likes of bind won't be able to deal with (I may be wrong here)

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Filterer

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#200283 10-Mar-2009 08:34

Nety:
Athlonite: Maybe try opendns as a server for dns ... www.opendns.org

I dont think you can use openDNS for private IP addresses?

Correct, its a replacement for your ISP's dns servers - not one you can control and overwrite records directly, altough it does allow you to block certain dns host names etc

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CamboCambo

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#200284 10-Mar-2009 08:42

Are you running bind 8 or 9 and ? What is issuing DHCP to the LAN?

Nety

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#200286 10-Mar-2009 09:06

CamboCambo: Are you running bind 8 or 9 and ? What is issuing DHCP to the LAN?

9 and Astaro gateway is looking after DHCP

CamboCambo

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#200287 10-Mar-2009 09:16

Cool. how were you thinking of updating the DNS? automatically via DHCP when the client gets the lease or by running some software on the pc that performs the update?

To be honest the easiest way to do this is by integrating linux dhcpd and bind9 then each time the client gets a new lease the dhcp server updates the bind dns server.

You could do this with a linux vmware virtual machine. what do you rekon?

Nety

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#200290 10-Mar-2009 09:34

To be honest is very rapidly sounding like too much work for less the 10 devices. I don’t think running linux on vmware is a go as I have the home server go to sleep when not in use (via lightsout).

I was really after a fairly simple solution. To be honest I had also forgotten that the DNS and DHCP need to integrate for dynamic updating to work.

tonyhughes

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#200298 10-Mar-2009 09:50

Clarkconnect Home in a VM?

10 min install, and 10 min setup, you would be away laughing.

All free.

Nety

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#200304 10-Mar-2009 10:08

tonyhughes: Clarkconnect Home in a VM?

10 min install, and 10 min setup, you would be away laughing.

All free.

From the documentation it looks like it offers the same DNS options as Astaro gateway. It caters for your external ip address with dynamic DNS (hosted by Clarkconnect) addressing but not internal Dynamic DNS.

nzkc

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#200343 10-Mar-2009 11:44

If DNS is becoming"too hard", how about fixed IP addresses and Hosts file entries (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts)

Sure new workstations coming online are abit of a pain...but then you could have PCs copy a central hosts file down periodically too.

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