Bind to DNS

[Len Conrad]

Super User,

>As an organization we are considering changing our resolver from Unix
>bind to Win2k dns.  The primary reason being the ease of administration

Administration of W2K DNS through that sucky "enterprise admin 
centerpiece", aka MMC, does not scale at all. So if you have more 
than a few domains and hosts, you are considering decreasing ease of 
DNS admin.

>and the dynamic updating features of Win2k. Other than the fact that any
>secondary or miscellaneuous Unix dns servers must be running bind 8.1.2
>in order to be compatible with Win2k,

Why "must"?  8.2.2 works. I have seen one MS cheerleader, after 
months of touting the arrival of W2K DNS and how it would destroy 
BIND, is now back to running 8.2.2p5 on Linux because W2K DNS was 
"incompatible with RFC's", but he ignored requests for details, 
perhaps in embarrassment but he is usually shameless.

>what other concerns should I be
>looking at. My list is short.
>
>1. Present servers using host files that may need to be changed if the
>IP addresses cannot be swapped.

What's the concern here? What are "host files"?  "zone files" for 
BIND4, BIND8, NT4 DNS and W2K DNS are RFC compatible.

>2. The need for secondary dns servers to also be Win2k for replication
>perposes.

I've seen BIND 8.2.2p5 on Win NT slave to W2K DNS without pb's.  I 
haven't tried the other direction.

>Other than this I cannot think of any other concerns.

For only two DNS's with only a few domains and hosts, there probably 
aren't any.  If you know DNS and how to run BIND, I really can't see 
any admin decrease in going to W2K DNS, esp if you have 100's of 
domains and 1000's of hosts.  Using a full screen ftp-capable editor 
like HomeSite to maintain BIND files on several DNS's is a pleasure 
and vastly superior to MMC, esp for 100's or 1000's of records. I've 
sorted out real botch ups of W2K DNS because the person assumed that 
if he could run a mouse and GUI, he could run a W2K DNS.  I find MMC 
to be an obstacle between me and the DNS records, not an aid.

Len


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