Set Up and Configure DNS on Windows Server

What DNS is

DNS (Domain Name System) turns names such as server1.example.local into IP addresses. A Windows DNS server answers these questions for your network, and is needed for Active Directory.

Step 1: Install the DNS Server role

1. Open Server Manager from the taskbar or the Start menu.

   

2. Click Manage, then Add Roles and Features.

   

3. Click Next until you reach Server Roles.

   

4. Tick DNS Server. Accept the extra features it asks for and click Next.
5. Leave the defaults on the Features page and click Next.
6. Check your choices on the Confirmation page and click Install.
7. Click Close when it finishes.

Step 2: Configure the DNS server

1. Open DNS from Administrative Tools (or Tools in Server Manager).

   

2. Right-click the server name and choose Properties.
3. On the Interfaces tab, choose which IP addresses the server listens on.
4. On the Forwarders tab, click Edit and add external DNS servers (for example 8.8.8.8) that handle names this server does not know.
5. Click OK.

Step 3: Create a DNS zone

1. Right-click the server name in DNS Manager and choose New Zone.
2. Click Next in the wizard.
3. Choose the type of zone: Primary zone, Secondary zone or Stub zone. Click Next.
4. Choose a forward lookup zone, enter the zone name (for example example.com) and click Next.
5. Choose how the zone file is stored and click Next.
6. Choose whether to allow dynamic updates and click Next.
7. Review your choices and click Finish.

Step 4: Add DNS records

1. Expand the zone in DNS Manager.
2. Right-click the zone and choose New Host (A or AAAA).
3. Enter the host name and the IP address. Click Add Host.
4. Repeat for more hosts. Use New Alias (CNAME) and New Mail Exchanger (MX) for those record types.

Step 5: Test

1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Run nslookup with a host name from your zone:

nslookup server1.example.com

1. The answer should show the IP address of that host.

You can also test with PowerShell:

Resolve-DnsName server1.example.com

Quick recap

• Install the DNS Server role from Server Manager.
• Create a zone and add A records.
• Test with nslookup.