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DNSLint troubleshooting Utility for DNS
I am always on the lookout for a good new Microsoft utility. DNSLint is my current favourite.
For basic connectivity errors you cannot beat Ping and Ipconfig. But what if they don't solve the problem? The answer is try DNSLint.
Topics for DNSLint
Firewall problems plague me, so my killer feature of DNSLint is that it displays port numbers e.g. TCP 53. As a bonus it displays the information as HTML. Perhaps this is the start of a new trend by Microsoft to replace the
DOS output of command line utilities is permanent files. (Who remembers to pipe the output of Ipconfig to a text file?)
The
first question that I ask about any utility is where do you find it? In the case of DNSLint the answer is: Support Cabinet on Windows Server 2003 CD. By accident if discovered that to get the most
out of DNSLint I needed the a reverse lookup zone. I say by accident as I normally set up a reverse lookup zone as best practice. But I went to a customers site and got egg on my face when DNSLint
would not display correctly. I blamed the customer - but only under my breath! Does DNSLint work with Windows 2000? Yes just provided you have access to the Windows Server 2003 CD.
 DNS is a huge topic, as an MCT trainer, I can thoroughly recommend TrainSignal
because they provide practical hands on training. In particular, I like the way TrainSignal cover all learning methods, instructor lead, video and of course text material. You can either take one module, for example DNS or go for
a combination of modules.
Learn more about DNS 2003 here
As with many of Windows 2003's command line utilities there are whole bank of switches. To get
started try DNSLint /d yourdom.com. However there is a trap with /d,
if you are NOT connected to the internet. You must add another switch: /s server IP. Technically /s avoids the timeout when DNSLint tries to contact InterNIC whois Example go to the
command line type: DNSLint
/d yourdom.net /s 10.1.0.50  The second and subsequent times you run DNSLint,
append the /y switch, meaning overwrite the dnslint.htm file. Even better use the /r and specify your own filename. For example, /r serverx.htm, or /t if you prefer a text file.
Another feature of DNSLint is that it displays MX records which will assist in tracking down email delivery problems. For further email testing, for example SMTP or
POP3, try the /c switch. It is possible this only works if the ports are the defaults, 25 SMTP and 110 POP.
To be clear if you just want to test SMTP the command would be:
DNSLint /d guybay.com /c smtp
To tell the truth I was disappointed with this /ad switch. To be fair it is only designed to troubleshoot forest replication. However I was hoping for a list of _gc or _dc records. I even
tried the /v (Verbose) mode - but no dice, just the bare bones of the Glue record for Active Directory Forest replication
DNSLint Report
System Date: Wed Jan 26 09:47:25 2005
Command run:
dnslint /d computerperformance.co.uk /s 10.1.0.20
Domain name tested:
computerperformance.co.uk
The following 4 DNS servers were identified as authoritative for the domain:
DNS server: dns1.cp.computerperformance.co.uk
IP Address: 10.1.0.20
Responding to
queries: YES
UDP port 53 responding to queries: YES
TCP port 53 responding to queries: Not tested
Answering authoritatively for domain: YES
SOA record data from server:
Authoritative name
server: dns.cp.computerperformance.co.uk
Hostmaster: msnhst.computerperformance.co.uk
Zone serial number: 54234
Zone expires in: 83.33 day(s)
Refresh period: 900 seconds
Retry delay: 600 seconds
Default (minimum) TTL: 7200 seconds
Additional authoritative (NS) records from server:
dns1.cp.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.0.20
dns1.dc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.68.128.151
dns1.sj.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.97.11
dns1.uk.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.232.37
Host (A) records for domain from server:
10.1.197.100
10.1.197.102
10.1.230.218
10.1.230.219
10.1.230.220
Mail Exchange (MX) records from server (preference/name/IP address):
10 maila.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.124
10 mailb.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.122
10
mailc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.126
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DNS server: dns1.uk.computerperformance.co.uk
IP Address: 10.1.232.37
Responding to queries: YES
Answering authoritatively for domain: YES
SOA record data from server:
Authoritative name server: dns.cp.computerperformance.co.uk
Hostmaster:
msnhst.computerperformance.co.uk
Zone serial number: 54234
Zone expires in: 83.33 day(s)
Refresh period: 900 seconds
Retry delay: 600 seconds
Default (minimum) TTL: 7200 seconds
Additional authoritative (NS) records from server:
dns1.cp.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.0.20
dns1.dc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.68.128.151
dns1.sj.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.97.11
dns1.uk.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.232.37
Host (A) records for domain from server:
10.1.230.219
10.1.230.220
10.1.197.100
10.1.197.102
10.1.230.218
Mail Exchange (MX)
records from server (preference/name/IP address):
10 maila.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.124
10 mailb.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.122
10 mailc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.126
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DNS server: dns1.dc.computerperformance.co.uk
IP Address: 10.68.128.151
Responding to queries: YES
Answering
authoritatively for domain: YES
SOA record data from server:
Authoritative name server: dns.cp.computerperformance.co.uk
Hostmaster: msnhst.computerperformance.co.uk
Zone serial number: 54234
Zone expires in: 83.33 day(s)
Refresh period: 900 seconds
Retry delay: 600 seconds
Default (minimum) TTL: 7200 seconds
Additional authoritative (NS) records from server:
dns1.cp.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.0.20
dns1.dc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.68.128.151
dns1.sj.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.97.11
dns1.uk.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.232.37
Host
(A) records for domain from server:
10.1.230.218
10.1.230.219
10.1.230.220
10.1.197.100
10.1.197.102
Mail Exchange (MX) records from server (preference/name/IP address):
10
maila.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.124
10 mailb.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.122
10 mailc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.126
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DNS server: dns1.sj.computerperformance.co.uk
IP Address: 10.1.97.11
Responding to queries: YES
Answering
authoritatively for domain: YES
SOA record data from server:
Authoritative name server: dns.cp.computerperformance.co.uk
Hostmaster: msnhst.computerperformance.co.uk
Zone serial number: 54234
Zone expires in: 83.33 day(s)
Refresh period: 900 seconds
Retry delay: 600 seconds
Default (minimum) TTL: 7200 seconds
Additional authoritative (NS) records from server:
dns1.cp.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.0.20
dns1.dc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.68.128.151
dns1.sj.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.97.11
dns1.uk.computerperformance.co.uk 10.1.232.37
Host
(A) records for domain from server:
10.1.197.100
10.1.197.102
10.1.230.218
Mail Exchange (MX) records from server (preference/name/IP address):
10 maila.computerperformance.co.uk
10.107.3.124
10 mailb.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.122
10 mailc.computerperformance.co.uk 10.107.3.126
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Legend:
warning, error
DNSLint developed by Tim Rains
Do you have a problem with DNS? Investigate solutions with DNSLint. Not only will you get a friendly HTML output, but it will display port numbers and Glue records for Active Directory replication.
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