DNS on Windows Server 2003 (Paperback)

by Cricket Liu (Author), Matt Larson (Author), Robbie Allen (Author)
Key Phrases: debug logging, server classes, less common tasks, Active Directory, Windows Server, Default Server (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
While computers and other devices identify each other on networks or the Internet by using unique addresses made up of numbers, humans rely on the Domain Name System (DNS), the distributed database that allows us to identify machines by name. DNS does the work of translating domain names into numerical IP addresses, routing mail to its proper destination, and many other services, so that users require little or no knowledge of the system. If you're a network or system administrator, however, configuring, implementing, and maintaining DNS zones can be a formidable challenge. And now, with Windows Server 2003, an understanding of the workings of DNS is even more critical.

DNS on Windows Server 20003 is a special Windows-oriented edition of the classic DNS and BIND, newly updated to document the many changes to DNS, large and small, found in Windows Server 2003. Veteran O'Reilly authors, Cricket Liu, Matt Larson, and Robbie Allen explain the whole system in terms of the new Windows Server 2003, from starting and stopping a DNS service to establishing an organization's namespace in the global hierarchy.

Besides covering general issues like installing, setting up, and maintaining the server, DNS on Windows Server 2003 tackles the many issues specific to the new Windows environment, including the use of the dnscmd program to manage the Microsoft DNS Server from the command line and development using the WMI DNS provider to manage the name server programmatically. The book also documents new features of the Microsoft DNS Server in Windows Server 2003, including conditional forwarding and zone storage in Active Directory (AD) application partitions.

DNS on Windows Server 2003 provides grounding in:

Security issues

System tuning

Caching Zone change notification

Troubleshooting

Planning for growth

If you're a Windows administrator, DNS on Windows Server 2003 is the operations manual you need for working with DNS every day. If you're a Windows user who simply wants to take the mystery out of the Internet, this book is a readable introduction to the Internet's architecture and inner workings.

About the Author
Cricket Liu matriculated at the University of California's Berkeley campus, that great bastion of free speech, unencumbered Unix, and cheap pizza. He joined Hewlett-Packard after graduation and worked for HP for nine years. Cricket began managing the hp.com zone after the Loma Prieta earthquake forcibly transferred the zone's management from HP Labs to HP's Corporate Offices (by cracking a sprinkler main and flooding Labs' computer room). Cricket was [e-mail] for over three years, and then joined HP's Professional Services Organization to cofound HP's Internet Consulting Program. Cricket left HP in 1997 to form Acme Byte & Wire, a DNS consulting and training company, with his friend (and now co-author) Matt Larson. Network Solutions acquired Acme in June 2000, and later the same day merged with VeriSign. Cricket worked for a year as Director of DNS Product Management for VeriSign Global Registry Services. Cricket joined Men & Mice, an Icelandic company specializing in DNS software and services, in September, 2001. He is currently their Vice President, Research & Development. Cricket, his wife, Paige, and their son, Walt, live in Colorado with two Siberian Huskies, Annie and Dakota. On warm weekend afternoons, you'll probably find them on the flying trapeze or wakeboarding behind Betty Blue.

Matt Larson started Acme Byte & Wire, a company specializing in DNS consulting and training, with Cricket Liu in January 1997. Previously, he worked for Hewlett-Packard, first as Cricket's successor as hp.com hostmaster, then as a consultant in HP's Professional Services Organization. Matt graduated from Northwestern University in 1992 with two degrees: a bachelor of arts in computer science and a bachelor of music in church music/organ performance. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Sonja Kahler, and their two pugs. In his spare time he enjoys playing the 10-rank pipe organ in his house and flying light airplanes. Cricket worked for five and a half years at Hewlett-Packard's Corporate Network Services, where he ran hp.com, one of the largest corporate domains in the world, and helped design the HP Internet's security architecture. Cricket left HP in 1997 to start his own company, Acme Byte & Wire, with his friend and co-author Matt Larson. Network Solutions acquired Acme Byte & Wire in June of 2000, and then subsequently, Network Solutions merged with VeriSign. Cricket became Director of DNS Product Management of the merged company, helping determine which new DNS-related products VeriSign would offer.

Robbie Allen is a Senior Systems Architect in the Advanced Services Technology Group at Cisco Systems. He was instrumental in the deployment and automation of Active Directory, DNS, and DHCP at Cisco. Robbie enjoys working on the Unix and Windows platforms, especially when Perl is installed. He is a firm believer that all system administrators should be proficient in at least one scripting language and most of his writings preach the benefits of automation. Robbie has a web site at www.rallenhome.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 3rd edition (December 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596005628
• ISBN-13: 978-0596005627
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #200,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #6 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Operating Systems > Unix > DNS & Bind
  #90 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Networking > Network Administration

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, May 19, 2004

By	"sydbe1234" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

This book is well-written and very easy to read. It covers all the basics of DNS and the specifics around Windows Server 2003 DNS. The AD chapter is a gem!

I have to disagree with reviewer "Santhosh Sivarajan". Just as with the base OS, there weren't huge differences with DNS between 2000 and 2003, but I think this book did a good job in covering the differences. All the major enhancements including conditional forwarding and stub zones were covered in detail. Also, contrary to what Santhosh said, application partitions are covered in depth in the AD chapter.

In short, if you are running Windows Server 2003 DNS, you won't go wrong with this book.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good text on DNS for Win2k3! Much of the same (good stuff), October 28, 2004

By	Cisco Kid Redux (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews

As in-depth as you will get on DNS for Windows 2003. A recent reviewer stated that it's much of the same. Well, much of it really is; and if you''ve been working with DNS for as long as many of us, nothing about its operations should be new to you. The most significant "tweaks" in DNS in the past few years have been done by Microsoft, to support their AD/200x line - those features are detailed quite specifically in this book (it's what this is all about anyway). And with AD continually evolving, chapters such as Managing DNS Programmatically (with WMI completely in mind) should be of utmost importance for the practicing MS administrator (that is, if you've really read the book!)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Microsoft DNS Authority, May 18, 2006

By	Stacy Z. Studstill "Studmeister" (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Simply put, this is the most thorough and complete text on DNS for the Windows Active Directory (Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003) platform; period.
In addition, it covers the basis and "the guts" behind DNS in general irrespective of operating system but of course focuses and drills deep into the application of DNS in the Windows AD NOS. For you UNIX fiends out there, go with its sister book "DNS and BIND" written by the same team.
You can be an absolute novice on DNS or a seasoned systems engineer/administrator and this book will be equally enthralling.
Whether this is your first book on DNS or not, it definitely will be the last one you need to buy...at least until Windows "Longhorn" Server debues in 2007-2008.
And despite one mistaken reviewer's comment: THERE IS FULL COVERAGE of Active Directory Integrated DNS Domain and Forest Zone Application Partitions.
Just buy it,and you will never bat an eye at tackling any DNS issue ever again.