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Is there a way to run multiple DNS server instances on the same Windows 2003 installation? We have to support multiple development teams coding in separate environments using the same server names that resolve to different IPs depending on the team.

These are for internal development so server failing, etc is not an issue. I'm looking for a way to avoid setting up a server 2003 DNS server per environment.

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Short answer is "No" (at least for external/regulat DNS lookups) because DNS needs to run on port 53.

One thing you could do (depending on how much of a pain it would be) is to modify the hosts file on some of the PCs so that they resolve the way you want them to without going to the DNS server for a lookup.

That being said... you did mention this was for internal use. So you might be able to come up with some work-arounds. Perhaps Conditional Forwarding might help you?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304491

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up vote 5 down vote

What you need is "split horizon" or "split brain" DNS, which Windows Server 2003 DNS Server does indeed support.

Basically, you can setup multiple zone files for the same domain, and have each zone file served to a different IP address, range of IP addresses or network adapter.

I have only done this on BIND9, but I know its possible to do on the Windows Server 2003 DNS server.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/networking/?p=1362

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Thanks, This is close but not quite what I need. Basically: - User A requests: server1.domain.com -> 10.0.0.1 <- Resolved -- This was resolved by DNS server 1 - User B requests: server1.domain.com -> 10.0.0.2 -- This was resolved by DNS server 2 Both users are on the same domain. The only thing that distinguishes them is the request IP. There are no sub-domains here. Right now to solve this problem we run multiple DNS servers and set the primary DNS server for the user based on their team. So user A will use the first DNS server and user B uses the second one. – Null Aug 7 '09 at 14:25
@Moo: What ARE you talking about? The Windows 2003 DNS server does not support serving multiple versions of the same zone to clients! BIND "views" is the feature you're thinking of. Conditional forwarding in Windows isn't the same thing at all. Conditional forwarding allows you to route requests to resolve names in specific domains (regardless of the incoming request's IP address) to a designated DNS server. – Evan Anderson Aug 8 '09 at 3:43
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