How to Prevent Domain Controllers from Dynamically Registering DNS Names

ID: Q198767

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

By default, the Netlogon service on a domain controller registers dynamic Domain Name Service (DNS) records to advertise Active Directory directory service services. This behavior can be disabled with a registry setting.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

The Netlogon service registers these records when a domain controller is restarted, when the Netlogon service is restarted, and once each hour to ensure the records are registered correctly. Some DNS servers that do not support dynamic updating (RFC 2136) may generate errors. If all DNS entries are entered manually and dynamic DNS is not used, the following registry setting prevents the Netlogon service from registering the Active Directory directory service DNS records:


   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\ 
      Netlogon\Parameters\UseDynamicDns

The default value data for the UseDynamicDns REG_DWORD value is 0x1. Changing the UseDynamicDns REG_DWORD value to 0x0 disables dynamic registration and the records specified in %windir%\system32\config\netlogon.dns folder must be manually registered.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto