Windows DNS Server

Windows DNS Server

This template assesses the status and overall health of services and performance of a Microsoft DNS server.

Prerequisites: WMI access to the target server.

Credentials: Windows Administrator on the target server.

Monitored Components

Note: You need to set thresholds for counters according to your environment. It is recommended to monitor counters for some length of time to understand potential value ranges and then set the thresholds accordingly. For more information, see http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/2415.

Service: DNS Server

This component monitor enables DNS clients to resolve DNS names by answering DNS queries and dynamic DNS update requests. If this service is stopped or disabled, DNS updates will not occur and any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Memory: Caching Memory

This component monitor returns the total amount of system memory in use by the DNS Server service for caching.

Monitor this counter to determine whether cache use is optimizing the use of available memory.

Memory: Database Node Memory

This component monitor returns the total amount of system memory in use by the DNS Server service for database nodes.

Memory: Nbstat Memory

This component monitor returns the total amount of system memory in use by the DNS Server service for Nbtstat.

Memory: Record Flow Memory

This component monitor returns the total amount of system memory in use by the DNS Server service for record flow.

Dynamic Update: NoOperation/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of No-operation/Empty dynamic update requests received by the DNS server per second.

Dynamic Update: Received

This component monitor returns the total number of dynamic update requests received by the DNS server.

Monitor this counter after enabling dynamic updates to determine whether DNS clients are attempting to update their DNS addresses.

Dynamic Update: Rejected

This component monitor returns the total number of dynamic updates rejected by the DNS server.

Monitor this counter and compare this value against Dynamic Update: Received to determine how many systems are experiencing problems updating DNS addresses.

Dynamic Update: TimeOuts

This component monitor returns the total number of dynamic update time-outs of the DNS server.

Dynamic Update: Written to Database

This component monitor returns the total number of dynamic updates written to the database by the DNS server.

Monitor this counter and compare this value against Dynamic Update: Received to determine how many systems are successfully updating DNS records.

Recursive: Queries/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of recursive queries received by the DNS server per second.

Recursive: Query Failure/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of recursive query failures per second.

Recursive: TimeOut/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of recursive query sending time-outs per second.

Secure Update: Failure

This component monitor returns the total number of secure updates that failed on the DNS server.

Monitor this counter to determine whether or not clients can perform secure dynamic updates. Also, compare this value against Secure Update: Received to determine how many systems fail to perform secure updates in DNS.

Secure Update: Received

This component monitor returns the total number of secure update requests received by the DNS server.

Monitor this counter and compare this value against Secure Update: Failure to determine how many systems are successfully performing secure updates in DNS.

TCP: Message Memory

This component monitor returns the total amount of TCP message memory used by the DNS server.

TCP: Query Received/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of TCP queries received by the DNS server per second.

TCP: Response Sent/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of TCP responses sent by the DNS server per second.

Total Query Received/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of queries received by the DNS server per second.

Monitor this counter to create baselines of server usage in heavily trafficked networks.

Total Response Sent/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of responses sent by the DNS server per second.

Monitor this counter to create baselines of server usage in heavily trafficked networks.

UDP: Message Memory

This component monitor returns the total amount of UDP message memory used by the DNS server.

UDP: Query Received/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of UDP queries received by the DNS server per second.

UDP: Response Sent/sec

This component monitor returns the average number of UDP responses sent by the DNS server per second.

Zone Transfer: Failure

This component monitor returns the total number of failed zone transfers of the master DNS server.

Monitor this counter to troubleshoot name resolution failures.

Zone Transfer: Success

This component monitor returns the total number of successful zone transfers of the master DNS server.

Monitor this counter to troubleshoot name resolution failures.

DNS User Experience Monitor

This component monitor tests a DNS server's ability to respond to a record query, compares the query response against a list of IP addresses, and measures the response time. The component monitor passes if the DNS response matches the expected IP addresses.

Portions of this document were originally created by and are excerpted from the following sources:

Pauli Pesonen, “Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Installation and the Management,” Copyright 2007-2012