Joining a computer to a Domain Controller

[tconrad]

I have a PDC that was built and named several years before the public domain was purchased. I own that domain but it is hosted elsewhere, so when I try to join a new computer to the PDC it reports that the DC for the domain cannot be contacted. When I ping the PDC name it indeed returns the public IP for the domain. How can I trick the PDC in rebroadcasting the domain name locally so I can join this computer.

Thanks,
Tim

 

[Yevrag35]

You can try manually setting your DNS to the public IP of the PDC (Hopefully, it runs DNS, if not; it should).

Then try to join it.

 

[tconrad]

I tried that also. It errors saying the network location cannot be reached.

 

[Yevrag35]

Your problem probably stems from the fact your ADDS is not public-facing.
Is your DC setup with a static IP address that is public? When you ping your domain, are you pinging the actual server or the web-server hosting your environment?

You won't be able to join from outside the network if your DC has a private IP address (unless you go through a bunch of hoops), even if your domain (as a whole) is public.

This is the (detailed) process for joining a computer to a domain, FYI (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/247811)

 

[tconrad]

Your problem probably stems from the fact your ADDS is not public-facing.
Is your DC setup with a static IP address that is public? When you ping your domain, are you pinging the actual server or the web-server hosting your environment?

You won't be able to join from outside the network if your DC has a private IP address, even if your domain (as a whole) is public.

Sorry I should have mentioned that. My DC is not public facing and has an 192.168.1.12 address. If I ping the name of the domain somename.com from the computer I'm trying to join to the dc then it returns the IP to the hosted web site. The computer I'm trying to add is on the same network and subnet as the DC

 

[Yevrag35]

Sorry I should have mentioned that. My DC is not public facing and has an 192.168.1.12 address. If I ping the name of the domain somename.com from the computer I'm trying to join to the dc then it returns the IP to the hosted web site. The computer I'm trying to add is on the same network and subnet as the DC

Oh, so this is all in the same environment? Well, that makes it a lot easier (and more secure lol). Can you ping 192.168.1.12 from the client? If you can, make "that" your static DNS address. If you can't, there's your problem right there.

 

[tconrad]

Oh, so this is all in the same environment? Well, that makes it a lot easier (and more secure lol). Can you ping 192.168.1.12 from the client? If you can, make "that" your static DNS address. If you can't, there's your problem right there.

Yes, the ping of the 192.168.1.12 is successful but when I set that to the Preferred DNS of the network adapter on the computer I want to join I get the dialog to enter my domain creds to join the domain but then it responds with the message that the network location cannot be reached.

I should also mention that I am using a wireless network adapter with a static IP. I have tried the USB wired network adapter with the same result.

 

[Yevrag35]

Yes, the ping of the 192.168.1.12 is successful but when I set that to the Preferred DNS of the network adapter on the computer I want to join I get the dialog to enter my domain creds to join the domain but then it responds with the message that the network location cannot be reached.

I should also mention that I am using a wireless network adapter with a static IP. I have tried the USB wired network adapter with the same result.

When you type the domain to join the computer, what do you type?

 

[tconrad]

When you type the domain to join the computer, what do you type?

somename.com which is what the domain was brought online as

 

[Yevrag35]

somename.com which is what the domain was brought online as

What happens when you just type "somename" (which should be the NetBIOS name of the domain)?