We have an issue where occasionally when a domain user types an internal address such as 'wiki' or 'preview' or 'backups' into a browser they are sent to an external search engine instead of the name correctly resolving to our internal wiki or preview or backups server. The name should resolve internally, they all have an A record and a PTR record and it works 90% of the time. Since it will work fine on a desktop for an extended period of time then suddenly not work I do not believe it is a desktop issue. All of our desktops occasionally get the problem. NSLOOKUP correctly resolves the name to the internal IP and is using the correct DNS server. The DNS server does not have any events. Typing 'wiki.internal' will correctly resolve wiki because we have a conditional forwarder set up to point to the router which then correctly resolves the name. Typing in the IP address sends the user to the correct page. Unplugging the network cable or performing a release/renew will also fix the problem. We are running Windows Server 2008 r2 with all updates, the 50 desktops are Windows 7 Pro. One forest, one tree, one domain, two DC's, two DNS servers, same issue on both servers. All desktops are on the same network and subnet located in one building.

1. DNS suffexes may do the trick 2. You are using netbios over TCI/IP resolution which is not correctly "covered" in your network. ( Type of node is in the output of ipconfig with parameter /all . Node type is in other word the order of resolution techniques used.) Regards Milos

Milos is correct. This is a desktop issue, not a DNS or other network problem. If your users do not use the FQDN, they are depending on their computers to figure out what domain the resource is in. For instance, if you have a user that opens a web browser and types http://wiki, how would your computer know that your user wants to go to wiki.internal, or wiki.com? For Windows, the OS will automatically append the domain suffix, if a user does not specify one when trying to access a resource. If the computer is not configured with a domain suffix, then it will try other methods (including NetBIOS) to resolve the name. Just think about the scenario if a user opens a browser to visit this site and only types http://social, without fully qualifying the name. Guides and tutorials, visit ITGeared.com.

Thank you for your prompt replies. The DNS suffix is set to "<company name>. internal" so typing 'wiki' should resolve to "wiki.<company name>.internal" and I hope would be checked before NetBIOS. NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on the DHCP server and the node is set to hybrid; I think the hybrid means I have point to point mode set with broadcast as a backup. I'm not too familiar with this service, if I disable it what takes over the name to IP mapping? or do I just need to do some configuration? I don't even know where to go to check the configuration...I could disable NetBIOS on some local desktops to see the effects but with the problem happening so rarely I don't feel it would be a good test. Should I disable it or make some configuration changes? How do I check the configuration? Is there a way to make sure a desktop is in contact with NBNS? If wiki isn't resolving correctly I'd like to be able to check and see if this is the problem. Our network has some desktops that are not joined to the domain. Would disabling NetBIOS affect them differently than those joined to the domain? Thanks to both of you for all your help.

Thank you for your prompt replies. The DNS suffix is set to "<company name>. internal" so typing 'wiki' should resolve to "wiki.<company name>.internal" and I hope would be checked before NetBIOS. NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on the DHCP server and the node is set to hybrid. Can you expound on "You are using netbios over TCI/IP resolution which is not correctly "covered" in your network."? What would I check/configure in NetBIOS to get it working correctly? Would simply disabling it be a solution? We don't have any legacy programs that need NetBIOS headers so is it really necessary? Thanks to both of you for all your help.

Milos, thank you for your answer, is there any way you can explain it more? I'm not sure what you meant by "You are using netbios over TCI/IP resolution which is not correctly "covered" in your network."?

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I updated the original question and reposted in the Network forums so we can clear this one out.