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Q231306: DNS Records with Same Name as Subdomain Are Moved or Missing

Article: Q231306
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 10-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you create a DNS record that has the same name as a subdomain, the record
may be missing. For example:

You have a DNS domain called mycompany.com, and a subdomain called
sales.mycompany.com that contains some records (for example,
host1.sales.mycompany.com). You want the name sales.mycompany.com to be resolved
to a host (A or CNAME) or a mail server (MX), so you select mycompany.com and
add a record named sales.

When the record is created, it is displayed as "sales" in mycompany.com. After
you refresh the view, the entry is missing. The record is displayed in
sales.mycompany.com if it is either:

- A non-delegated subdomain.

- A delegated subdomain, but the DNS server is the primary server for the zone.

If the sales.mycompany.com domain is a delegated subdomain and the primary server
is on a different system, the record is not written to any zone file. No error
message is displayed.

CAUSE
=====

This behavior occurs because the new records in the currently selected domain
are displayed in the DNS Administration tool. After you refresh the view, the
DNS Administration tool applies the same rules that the DNS server component
uses.

The DNS server decides where to put the record based on the record's fully
qualified domain name (FQDN). The sales.mycompany.com record is placed in the
sales.mycompany.com subdomain with an empty name.

If sales.mycompany.com is not delegated, it is displayed in the zone file as
expected, but is displayed in the graphical DNS Administration tool with the
FQDN in sales.mycompany.com (which actually means an empty name).

If sales.mycompany.com is the root of a zone, it appears with the "@" character
in the zone file. If the local server is not the primary server for the
delegation, the DNS server assumes it can add the record successfully but the
request is not successful and no error message is displayed.

RESOLUTION
==========

To work around this problem, do not add records that have the same name as a
subdomain or a delegation. Instead, go directly to the name in question and add
the record with an empty name.

If the subzone is delegated to a different primary server, connect to it
remotely.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are
listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTSEntSearch kbWinNTSEnt400 kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : winnt:4.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

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