Major DNS issues with Windows Client joining New Domain Controller

Taylor507 1

I recently set up an AD DC on Windows Server 2019 VM and am in the process of adding one Windows 10 vm client to the DC. (I am working in vmware workstation pro and working with a NAT adapter option).

However, I keep running into issues with the Windows 10 vm client--as soon as I set my static ip address it disconnects from the internet.

For reference, I first used DHCP and wrote down the ip address, mask, and default gateway assigned for the client. Then I entered excatly that to set the static IP address, and used the ip address of my server as the DNS server. I believe this is the correct way to configure a static address on a client, but as soon as I hit "OK" it disconnect from the internet.

When I try to join the client to the server, I get the error message "An AD DC Domain Controller for the domain xyz.local cannot be contacted. Ensure that the domain name is typed correctly".

I have a feeling it's related to the issue with the internet not connecting when I set the static ip address. I tried pinging the domain name from command prompt, but I get the error "Ping request could not find host xyz.local. Please check the name and try again".

It seems there is absolutely no connection at all. Nslookup also doesn't work and I can't look up the domain name and simply times out after several attempts.

I hope I can get some help soon as I'm falling behind on my projects because of this:(

2 answers

Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP

2022-04-06T13:03:42.103+00:00

I'd check that the domain controller and all members have the static address of DC listed for DNS on connection properties and no others such as router or public DNS.

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Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP

2022-04-08T12:45:58.747+00:00

Just checking if there's any progress or updates?

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Taylor507 1 Reputation point

2022-04-08T23:15:59.32+00:00

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for the response and I apologize for the late response.

Yes, I did confirm that--I have one DC and am just trying to join one client to it (this is for an assignment at my university).
The DNS on the client is set as the static address of the DC.

I think the main issue I want to solve is that I get this error when I attempt to add the client to the DC server (see attached).

My professor told me the client does not need to be connected to the internet necessarily in order for it to join the server--it just needs to be able to ping the server and see it.
However, I also have issues pinging the server from the client and I get the error message "Destination Host unreachable".
When I ping the server's domain name "xyz-ad.xyz.local" I get the response "ping request could not find host xyz-ad.xyz.local. Please check the name and try again".
When I look up the ipconfig of the client, I also see that the connection-specific dns suffix is blank after setting the static address (before I set the address, it simply said "domainlocal").
(to clarify, this is all done on VMware workstation pro, with the network adapter set as NAT and not Bridged)

Martin Tästensen 456 Reputation points

2022-04-12T13:07:56.58+00:00

I realise this is a few days old, however, given there is no real reply here, i thought i would give it a shot.

My professor told me the client does not need to be connected to the internet necessarily in order for it to join the server

You do not need to be connected to the internet to join a domain. The domain is only working inside your LAN, so this is correct

it just needs to be able to ping the server and see it.

However, pinging a server uses ICMP which is not necessarily allowed in the server's firewall. So a ping is not a correct way of verifying if it works - however, you will learn if the client can find the IP address of the domain by using ping.

When I ping the server's domain name "xyz-ad.xyz.local" I get the response "ping request could not find host xyz-ad.xyz.local. Please check the name and try again".

If you read this error message, it basically tells you, that it can't connect to the clients DNS server. So what you should try out would be to verify now would be

Are these two servers connected

Does the DNS service run on the Domain controller

Does the Firewall on the DC allow for connectivity for DNS

You need to fix the DNS or connectivity issue before you can look into anything else.

I don't know of vmware workstation, but i would start out by verifying your vmware workstation network configuration to ensure the connectivity between the virtual machines
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Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP

2022-04-08T23:27:21.497+00:00

Please run;

Dcdiag /v /c /d /e /s:%computername% >C:\dcdiag.log
repadmin /showrepl >C:\repl.txt
ipconfig /all > C:\dc1.txt
ipconfig /all > C:\dc2.txt
ipconfig /all > C:\dc3.txt
ipconfig /all > C:\problemworkstation.txt

then put unzipped text files up on OneDrive and share a link.
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Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP

2022-04-13T14:34:49.673+00:00

Just checking if there's any progress or updates?

--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--
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