Zachary

A common question is whether domain controllers should be DNS servers. In general, the answer is no.

Domain controllers should not have the responsibility of providing DNS service for the domain. That responsibility should be delegated to a separate DNS server.

However, there are certain circumstances in which a domain controller can be a better choice for DNS service than a separate DNS server. If the domain controller is the only server in the domain and it is not possible to install a separate DNS server, then the domain controller can act as the DNS server.

This is because the domain controller has access to the AD DNS database and can query AD for name information.

Another situation in which a domain controller can be a better choice for DNS service is if the domain is large and the separate DNS server is not able to handle the load. In this situation, the domain controller can act as the DNS server and handle the load.