Split DNS

We hold mail for a number of organisations and host a load of www sites for
other Companies.

We use split DNS so that internally, the DNS lookups resolve to local
addresses and that externally, our Internet authorative DNS server can give
outside addresses when requested.

This is becoming a nightmare to manage. Any small change requires changing
details on 2 servers and then theres the chance that something will go
wrong, I am also concerned at what we would do if we lost DNS details ...

Is there a tool that I can use to help script our DNS setup?

It would be nice to create one great script that contains all the IP
settings and then be able to propagate that out to any/all DNS servers and
change IP for inside or outside as appropriate, this could also act as a
backup script for reproducing DNS if our server were to fail.

Alternatively is there some way to make one DNS server cascade from another
(perhaps by specifiying a remote DNS server a SOA) a bit like a HOSTS table
entry that will override a DNS table (I am beginning to think that this
HOSTS Table override is a Microsoft thing as it does not override in Linux)

jON

"Jon Rowlan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote...
>We hold mail for a number of organisations and host a load of www sites for
>other Companies. We use split DNS so that internally, the >DNS lookups
>resolve to local addresses and that externally, our Internet authorative
>DNS server can give outside addresses when >requested. This is becoming a
>nightmare to manage. Any small change requires changing details on 2
>servers and then theres the chance >that something will go wrong, I am also
>concerned at what we would do if we lost DNS details ...Is there a tool
>that I can use to help >script our DNS setup?

Look into DNSCMD.exe. Can do imports/exports/multiple zone editing and
should suit your needs with some clever scripting.

--
Todd J Heron, MCSE
Windows Server 2003/2000/NT; CCA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights

I don't believe such exists. In principle, it's doable, and not even
particularly difficult, but would take some work and time I don't have.

A while ago I pushed the folks behind DNS standards and software to address
this issue and find a way to properly support split DNS. They refused. The
whole idea that there should be DNS zones that partially authoritative and
forward unresolved queries to other servers for same subdomain seemed to
really bother them.

/kenw


"Jon Rowlan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>We hold mail for a number of organisations and host a load of www sites for
>other Companies.
>
>We use split DNS so that internally, the DNS lookups resolve to local
>addresses and that externally, our Internet authorative DNS server can give
>outside addresses when requested.
>
>This is becoming a nightmare to manage. Any small change requires changing
>details on 2 servers and then theres the chance that something will go
>wrong, I am also concerned at what we would do if we lost DNS details ...
>
>Is there a tool that I can use to help script our DNS setup?
>
>It would be nice to create one great script that contains all the IP
>settings and then be able to propagate that out to any/all DNS servers and
>change IP for inside or outside as appropriate, this could also act as a
>backup script for reproducing DNS if our server were to fail.
>
>Alternatively is there some way to make one DNS server cascade from another
>(perhaps by specifiying a remote DNS server a SOA) a bit like a HOSTS table
>entry that will override a DNS table (I am beginning to think that this
>HOSTS Table override is a Microsoft thing as it does not override in Linux)
>
>jON
>
Ken Wallewein
K&M Systems Integration
Phone (403)274-7848
Fax (403)275-4535
(E-Mail Removed)
www.kmsi.net

Thanks Todd, I will check it out ...

jON

"Jon Rowlan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> We hold mail for a number of organisations and host a load of www sites
> for other Companies.
>
> We use split DNS so that internally, the DNS lookups resolve to local
> addresses and that externally, our Internet authorative DNS server can
> give outside addresses when requested.
>
> This is becoming a nightmare to manage. Any small change requires changing
> details on 2 servers and then theres the chance that something will go
> wrong, I am also concerned at what we would do if we lost DNS details ...
>
> Is there a tool that I can use to help script our DNS setup?
>
> It would be nice to create one great script that contains all the IP
> settings and then be able to propagate that out to any/all DNS servers and
> change IP for inside or outside as appropriate, this could also act as a
> backup script for reproducing DNS if our server were to fail.
>
> Alternatively is there some way to make one DNS server cascade from
> another (perhaps by specifiying a remote DNS server a SOA) a bit like a
> HOSTS table entry that will override a DNS table (I am beginning to think
> that this HOSTS Table override is a Microsoft thing as it does not
> override in Linux)
>
> jON
>
>