DNS on Windows Server 2003, 3rd Edition

DNS Suffix

The DNS suffix is the DNS domain in which a system resides. Under certain circumstances, the resolver uses the DNS suffix to generate the search list (which we discuss next). Don’t confuse the DNS suffix, which is obviously a DNS domain name, with the name of the Active Directory domain of which the system is a member. The two values are usually the same because the DNS suffix defaults to a host’s Active Directory domain, but they don’t have to be. As we’ll see in a moment, you can configure a host’s DNS suffix to be different from the Active Directory domain of which it’s a member. We’re going to talk much more about domain names—both DNS and Active Directory—in Chapter 8. But for now, it’s not necessary to know anything more about Active Directory domains to understand resolver configuration.

All configuration options for the Windows NT 4.0 resolver were found in a single window. The Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 resolvers’ configuration settings, however, are located on three separate windows. The first of these windows is where you change a host’s DNS suffix. To get there in Windows 2000, open the Control Panel, double-click on System, then click the Network Identification tab. In Windows XP, open the Control Panel, click on Switch to Classic View, double-click System, and finally click the Computer Name tab. In Windows Server 2003, open the Control Panel and choose System, then click the tab labeled Computer Name. In any case, a window very much ...