Managing Microsoft DNS Services

After you configure a Grid member to manage a Microsoft DNS server, the Grid member connects to the Microsoft server and starts synchronizing DNS data from the Microsoft server to its database. First, it synchronizes the Microsoft server properties and its list of zones. Then it synchronizes each zone individually, including its properties and resource records.

The synchronization time varies, depending on different factors, such as the number of managed Microsoft servers and the amount of data being synchronized. The synchronized data is then replicated to the Grid Master through the Grid replication process.
If the server is managed in read/write mode, admins can update the synchronized DNS data, control the DNS service of the server, and specify forwarders for it as well.

This section provides guidelines for using Grid Manager to manage Microsoft DNS servers and for synchronizing DNS data between Microsoft servers and the Grid. It discusses some features of the Microsoft DNS servers only as they relate to the synchronization of data. Please review the Microsoft documentation for complete information about Microsoft DNS servers and their features.

In addition, if you encounter technical issues with your Microsoft DNS servers, contact Microsoft Technical Support or consult the Microsoft Support site at http://support.microsoft.com/. Some Windows versions require certain updates and hotfixes installed, so the Microsoft server can synchronize with the Grid member. For information about these requirements, see Supported Windows Versions.

The topics in this section include: