Can't browse a Windows Server share by name, but only by IP.

Question

Hello all,
I have one babbling problem.  I have three servers, 01, 02, and 03.  01 and 02 are running Windows Server 2008 R2 and both are physical servers.  H001 is running Windows 2012 with a Virtual Windows 2008 R2 server (Hyper-V) called 03. 
01 is setup as the Active Directory, DNS, Domain Controller, and a few other server roles.  02 replicates 01 and 03 has a few programs on it.
The problem I am having is that when I log in (Domain or non-Domain) Mapped drivers to 01 and 02 are populated automatically, but 03 can’t be found.  If I ping the name, 03 it tells me that 03 is not there.  However, if I ping 03’s ip address,
I can see it. I can even do a tracert.  I can do a remote desktop to 01 and 02 using the network names but with 03 I have use the ip address.
Trying to do a Remote Desktop connection with the server name, 03 gives me the error, "The connection cannot be completed because the remote computer that was reached is not the one you specified.  This could be caused by an outdated entry in the
DNS cache.  Try using the IP address of the computer instead of the name."
I can use the IP address to connect but I really require to use the name.
If I login to the Domain, 03 takes up to 60 minutes to appear. I am then able to access shared resources with the name and not the ip.
I searched the Internet for a solution, but couldn’t find anything that worked.  Any ideas you have, please let me know.
Thanks,
Ernie

Answer 1

Hi Ernie,
Thanks for clarifying. I missed that H001 was the name of your Hyper-V server.
In order for 03 to register its name in DNS, first of all the checkbox to "register this connection's addresses in DNS" must be enabled on the network interface. By default it is enabled, so it probably is enabled unless you somehow disabled it.
In order to accomplish the DNS registration (adding it's host name and IP address to the domain) it sends an SOA query to the primary DNS server configured on its network interface (it does this on all network interfaces if there are multiple). The SOA query
basically asks the question: What DNS server is authoritative for my domain? In other words, where do I need to send this information?
Note: If the computer is a DHCP client, and DHCP is configured to register records on behalf of clients, then the DHCP server issues the SOA query.
Below is an example of how to issue an SOA query using nslookup. The computer will add its own domain instead of contoso.com.
C:\> nslookup -q=soa contoso.com
Server:  ipam1.contoso.com
Address:  192.168.0.3
Non-authoritative answer:
contoso.com
        primary name server = dc1.contoso.com
        responsible mail addr = hostmaster.contoso.com
        serial  = 77
        refresh = 900 (15 mins)
        retry   = 600 (10 mins)
        expire  = 86400 (1 day)
        default TTL = 3600 (1 hour)
dc1.contoso.com internet address = 192.168.0.1
dc1.contoso.com AAAA IPv6 address = 21da:d3:0:2f3b:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff
The query above tells you a couple things:
1. The DNS server that the SOA query is sent to is 192.168.0.3 (aka ipam1.contoso.com). That's because 192.168.0.3 is the primary DNS server configured on this computer's network adapter.
2. The authoritative DNS server for contoso.com is 192.168.0.1 (aka dc1.contoso.com).
If I configure an IP address on ipam1.contoso.com - say I change it from 192.168.0.3 to 192.168.0.4, the computer will ask it's DNS server where to send the update, it will find out that the update needs to be sent to 192.168.0.1, and it will send a request
to the DNS server at 192.168.0.1 to change the host (A) record from .3 to .4.
If no SOA record is returned when the query is sent, perhaps because the computer has no domain or belongs to a domain that is hosted somewhere else, then registration of the host name won't happen.
Registration also won't happen if the computer (03) can't reach the authoritative DNS server (01).
In your VM "03" open up a command prompt and issue the nslookup shown above, using your domain instead of contoso.com. Verify that an authoritative server is returned and that it is correct, and that you can get to 01 from 03.
-Greg