Azure’s Public DNS Zone provides a reliable solution for resolving hostnames in your public domain. By utilising this service, you can effortlessly host your public DNS records and streamline your name resolution process. Let’s explore a practical example to better grasp its functionality.
Understanding Public DNS Zone
Azure’s Public DNS Zone provides a reliable solution for resolving hostnames in your public domain. By utilising this service, you can effortlessly host your public DNS records and streamline your name resolution process. Let’s explore a practical example to better grasp its functionality.
Resolving Names from the Internet
Consider a scenario where you have an on-premises environment with an Exchange Server and user workstations. To access the Exchange Server internally, you simply use the hostname “mail.vdi.bus.site,” which resolves to the corresponding internal IP address. However, when attempting to access the same email service from the internet, you encounter an obstacle. The email service is not available for external access since it lacks a public DNS entry.
Creating Public DNS Entry
To enable external access, you need a public IP address and a public DNS entry. Typically, you would rely on your service provider’s DNS portal or a third-party service like GoDaddy or Hostinger to create a DNS A record linking “mail.vdi.bus.site” to the public IP address. However, the availability of these services can impact your ability to access your email. This is where Azure Public DNS Zone comes into play.
Leveraging Azure Public DNS Zone
Azure’s Public DNS Zone offers a highly available solution for hosting your public DNS records. Instead of relying on third-party providers, you can leverage Microsoft’s robust and reliable infrastructure. By creating a public DNS Zone in Azure, such as “vdi.bus.site,” you can easily host your name records. For instance, you can create an A record for “mail.vdi.bus.site,” pointing it to the public IP address of your Exchange Server.
Efficiency and Reliability
By utilising Microsoft’s Azure Public DNS Zone service, you benefit from enhanced availability and minimal downtime for DNS name resolution. Azure’s highly available infrastructure ensures your DNS records are accessible at all times, providing a seamless experience for your publicly facing services.
Setting Up Azure Public DNS Zone
Let’s walk through the process of setting up Azure Public DNS Zone for your domain. Start by navigating to the Azure portal and accessing the DNS zones section. Create a new DNS zone, specifying the desired resource group and domain name, such as “vdi.bus.site.” Review the settings, and upon validation, proceed with creating the public DNS zone.
Configuring DNS Records
Once your DNS zone is created, you can proceed to add DNS records. In our example, we create a record for “DC.vdi.bus.site” and associate it with the public IP address of our virtual machine. This record enables name resolution for the VM using the specified hostname. It is important to note that DNS record changes may take a few minutes to propagate.
Updating Name Servers
To ensure seamless routing of requests to your Azure DNS servers, you need to update the name servers associated with your domain. Replace the existing name servers provided by your service provider with the Azure DNS name servers. This step ensures that any requests for your domain will be directed to Azure’s DNS servers, guaranteeing efficient and reliable name resolution.
By leveraging Azure Public DNS Zone, you can enjoy a highly available and efficient name resolution solution for your publicly accessible services. With Microsoft’s robust infrastructure and 99.99% SLA, you can confidently host your public DNS records, eliminating reliance on third-party providers.