Windows 2000 Quick Fixes

Automatic update of your host name in the DNS server isn’t working

There are a couple of items to check if your computer is configured for dynamic DNS but the computer’s host record isn’t being updated in your DNS zone when your host name or IP address changes. The problem could be a lack of connectivity to the DNS server or security restrictions.

Check connectivity

You should first verify that you have connectivity to the DNS server where your host record is stored. You can check connectivity easily by pinging the server:

               ping ns.domain.com

where ns.domain.com is replaced by the host name or IP address of the primary DNS server for your zone. If the server is configured to reject ICMP traffic, which will cause the ping to fail, you can test connectivity by configuring the server as your only DNS server, then attempting to resolve a name:

1. Open the TCP/IP properties for the connection.

2. In the Primary DNS Server address field, specify the IP address of the server where your host record is stored.

3. Make note of the current Alternate DNS Server entry, then clear it and click OK.

4. Try resolving a host name using ping or tracert or by connecting to a web site. If the name resolves, you have connectivity to the DNS server and should check for security issues on the server (see the next section). If the name doesn’t resolve, begin troubleshooting the connection to the DNS server.

You also can check connectivity using the nslookup command:

1. Open a command console and enter nslookup.

2. At the prompt, ...