Issue:
A common problem administrators have is configuring a second DC to act as the secondary DNS server for the domain.
Cause:
The most common cause is performing the step out of order or performing un-needed actions that cause issues.
Solution:
Use the following procedure to add a second DC and then configure it as the Secondary DNS server for the domain
1) On the Secondary DC / DNS Server
a. Install the OS for the secondary DC
b. Install DNS
i. Do not configure
c. Assign static IP Address
i. Configure TCP/IP DNS settings to point to the Primary DNS server.
d. Run DCPromo
i. Add new domain controller to existing domain
e. Reboot
i. Wait for the server to come up before continuing.
2) On the Primary DC / DNS Server
a. Use Active Directory Site and Services to force replication between the DCs. Select Replicate Now (screen shot) for all DC’s in the
3) On the Secondary DC / DNS Server
a. The zones for AD integrated DNS zones will be automatically created. If they do not appear restart DNS periodically until they appear.
b. Do not continue until the DNS zones appear. This can take 15-30 minutes or more depending on the number of DNS zones.
4) On the Primary DC / DNS Server
a. Configure its primary DNS server to be the IP Address of the secondary DNS server.
b. Configure its secondary DNS server to point to itself.
5) On the Secondary DC / DNS Server
a. Configure its primary DNS server to be the IP Address of the primary DNS server.
b. Configure its secondary DNS server to point to itself.