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"DNS on Windows Server 2003": A Guide to Running DNS on Microsoft's DNS Server

January 9, 2004

Sebastopol, CA--While computers and other devices identify each other on networks or the Internet by using unique addresses made up of numbers, humans rely on the Domain Name System (DNS), the distributed database that allows us to identify machines by name. DNS does the work of translating domain names into numerical IP addresses, routing mail to its proper destination, and many other services, so that users require little or no knowledge of the system. If you're a network or system administrator, however, configuring, implementing, and maintaining DNS zones can be a formidable challenge. And now, with Windows Server 2003, an understanding of the workings of DNS is even more critical.

DNS on Windows Server 2003 (O'Reilly, US $39.95) by veteran O'Reilly authors Matt Larson, Cricket Liu, and Robbie Allen is a special Windows-oriented edition of the classic "DNS and BIND," that explains the whole system in terms of the new Windows Server 2003, from starting and stopping a DNS service to establishing an organization's namespace in the global hierarchy. "The new edition has been updated to cover the many changes to DNS, large and small, found in Windows Server 2003," state the authors. "In particular, this edition documents the use of the dnscmd program to manage the Microsoft DNS Server from the command line and development using the WMI DBS provider to manage the name server programmatically. The book also covers new features of the Microsoft DNS Server in Windows Server 2003, including conditional forwarding and zone storage in Active Directory application partitions."

"DNS on Windows Server 2003" is intended primarily for administrators who manage zones and one or more name servers, but also includes material for network engineers, postmasters, and others. The book addresses the critical issue of DNS security, including details on preventing unauthorized zone transfers, securing dynamic updates, and disabling recursion on delegated name servers. The authors pay special attention to system tuning, caching, and zone change notification, and cover such issues as troubleshooting and planning for growth.

In addition to the topics mentioned above, "DNS on Windows Server 2003" also provides grounding in:

  • What DNS does, how it works, and when you need to use it
  • Dynamic updates, and how to secure them
  • Aging and scavenging, conditional forwarding, and stub zones
  • Configuring DNS on clients running various versions of Windows
  • Subdividing domains (parenting)
  • IPv6 and DNS
  • Securing your name servers from the latest attacks
  • Mapping one name to several servers for lad balancing
  • Troubleshooting using nslookup and dig to diagnose common problems
  • In "DNS on Windows Server 2003" the authors provide a window to the inner workings of the Internet's architecture. This book is the operations manual that Windows administrators need for working with DNS every day.

    Additional Resources:

  • Chapter 8, "Integrating with Active Directory"
  • More information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bios, and samples
  • A cover graphic in JPEG format
  • DNS on Windows Server 2003
    Cricket Liu, Matt Larson, and Robbie Allen
    ISBN 0-596-00562-8, 416 pages, $39.95 US, $57.95 CA
    order@oreilly.com
    1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000

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