Integrating Primary DNS to Active Directory

Question

Hello dear friends.

In production environment we have two DNS servers, which are not integrated with AD. It works in a Traditional way, one DNS server is Primary server, and second one is Read Only replica. Due to security concerns company decided to migrate Primary DNS into Active Directory. My question is next: when we integrate Primary DNS into AD, does DNS records migrate as well? is there any Microsoft documentation concerning this situation?

Answer 1

Hello Sandro,

Thank you for your question and for reaching out with your question today.

When you integrate a primary DNS server into Active Directory, the DNS zones and records will be automatically replicated to the Active Directory-integrated DNS. However, it's essential to follow proper procedures to ensure a smooth migration and avoid any potential issues.

Here are the general steps to integrate a primary DNS server into Active Directory:

1. Take a Backup: Before making any changes, ensure you have a backup of your existing DNS zone data on the primary DNS server.
2. Join the Server to the Domain: Ensure the primary DNS server is a member of the Active Directory domain where you want to integrate DNS.
3. Install DNS Role: Install the DNS role on the server if it's not already installed.
4. Convert to AD-Integrated Zone: On the primary DNS server, convert the DNS zone to an Active Directory-integrated zone. To do this, open the DNS management console, right-click on the zone, and select "Properties." In the General tab, change the zone type to "Active Directory-integrated."
5. Replication: Once the zone is converted to an AD-integrated zone, the DNS records will be replicated to other DNS servers in the domain. If you have a read-only replica DNS server, it will automatically receive the updated DNS records.
6. Verify Replication: After the migration, verify that the DNS records are correctly replicated to the read-only replica DNS server. You can use tools like "dnscmd" or the DNS management console to check the records on both servers.
7. Monitor: Keep an eye on the DNS replication to ensure it's functioning correctly and that all DNS servers in the environment are up-to-date.

It's essential to plan and test the migration in a non-production environment before implementing it in the production environment. Additionally, Microsoft provides documentation and guides for integrating DNS with Active Directory, which you can refer to for more detailed and specific instructions based on your environment and DNS server version.

Keep in mind that integrating DNS into Active Directory can provide additional security features, such as secure dynamic updates and secure zone transfers, which can help enhance the security of your DNS infrastructure.

I used AI provided by ChatGPT to formulate part of this response. I have verified that the information is accurate before sharing it with you.

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