[K12OSN] Linux, Windows, and my DNS troubles

[Shane Sammons]

Hi everyone!

I am encountering an issue with DNS I have never experienced before. I am
hopeful someone can think of something I have missed, or maybe has
encountered something similar and has an answer.

I switched DNS to a Windows server so I can re-build a server. Everything
seemed fine at first, then caches cleared and our domains we manage on the
server for the network were no longer accessible. I tossed this up to an
error on my part. I checked my A name entries and everything. It all was
correct.

I then proceeded to use ping and nslookup. The DNS server responded quickly
with the proper IP address and I could ping -a and get the name back from
the IP.

The network has all 3com switches, but is 99% Mac's. I thought perhaps there
is a protocol or such that isn't playing nice with windows. The OS X server
used BIND, I am sure a modified version. So, on another server I setup
Ubuntu Linux and installed BIND 9. I set everything up on there and testing
things again. This time I used dig on that server, nslookup from my
workstation. Same, server responded yet I can not access the domain via a
browser.

So I ventured onto IRC, where some helpful people told me to telnet from the
DNS server to the webservers domain (telnet npelem.com 80). I did this and
it connected, they then told me to type "GET / HTTP/1.0" (may have the slash
wrong) and press enter twice. I did that, and low and behold it returned the
HTML code of the index.php.

At this point they told me DNS is doing its job and it is the browser. I
quit for the day. Today I came in and decided it can't be 3 new systems, 2
servers, and 3 different operating systems. I am on Vista with FireFox and
IE 7, the Windows server was not updated to IE 7, so it just has the secured
IE with I took down to low security, and Ubuntu Linux 7.04 using FireFox.
Both the Windows 2003 server and the Ubuntu system have DNS running.

So instead of just explaining more and more I will just list some
information and link to the BIND file I pasted at pastebin.ca.
Windows Server 2003, ip 192.168.168.6 static, running DHCP and DNS, no
Active Directory / Domain integration, just a plain DHCP/DNS server. DHCP
points it for DNS
DHCP supplies: IP, Gateway, Subnet, DNS, TimeServer, and LDAP

Ubuntu: IP 192.168.168.7 DNS using BIND9 only. Setup for itself and my Vista
system only as DNS server

My System: I installed wireshark to watch the network today, I use DHCP via
wired connecting, but set the DNS manually to 192.168.168.7

Old Server: OS X Server 10.3.9 running AFP, DNS, DHCP, NFS, Open Directory,
Print Sharing. IP 192.168.168.203 (don't ask...I am changing it when I re-do
the server)

Webserver/MailServer: OS X Server 10.3.9, IP 192.168.112.2

Network Devices: Barracuda Spyware Firewall (192.168.168.2) and Watchguard
Firebox Edge X50 ( 192.168.168.1 -Gateway)
Note: Firebox was the former filter, it now just does NAT routing to direct
traffic to our off network webserver, it allows passthrough between the
networks with no restrictions atm..defeating the purpose of the segmentation
I know).

The two new servers are Dell Power Edge 860's. My system is an HP Pavillion
Notebook, and the old server is an Xserver.

BIND9 Files: (all zones and zone config) http://www.pastebin.ca/733070 (just
the named.conf main file) http://www.pastebin.ca/733077
Seperated the first paste's files with equals signs

Our domains: npelem.com and nationalpark.k12.nj.us (they just need to
redirect to servers, nothing like active directory where it is integrated
into every system)

Here is the really strange thing that has me baffled. While running wire
shark, I can see BIND requests as DNS, while most request to Microsoft show
as MDNS. As I watched my system, when I go to say www.google.com with
FireFox I see the request and the response with the DNS protocol. When I go
to one of the two domains the server manages, I never see the request or a
response on wireshark. I tried this on the server, but wireshark can't see
the looping on the server, as it never goes across the network and is
handled internally.

Anyone have a clue why the local command line testing say the DNS on both
server is working fine, yet applications like FireFox can't ever get to the
webserver via name but by IP?

If you need more information please let me know. I am going nuts, because I
can't track this down yet.

Thanks,
Shane Sammons
National Park Elementary
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