Hey guys, I've a pretty basic of understanding of DNS - however, my understanding of the configuration of DNS and the DNS snap isn't great at all. My company has one domain spread across 3 sites (subnets) - each site containing a DC that also runs DHCP and DNS services. I'm quite new to the company and have noticed that there are a lot of host (a) records that are old (in some cases reflecting an IP scheme that isn't even used anymore and hasn't been for years!). I've also noticed a high number of duplicate records. My understanding of DNS (which WILL be flawed) was that DNS updates records dynamically by periodically checking (scavenging) for records that haven't been refreshed following the expiration of the record timestamp. So I checked the properties of each of our 3 DNS servers and none have them have 'enable automatic scavenging of stale records' selected and the 'scavenge stale resource records' isn't selected and no 'refresh interval' or 'no refresh interval' is set. I only need obsolete records from the forward lookup zones to be removed... so is all I need to do right click the server within the DNS snapin > select properties > select advanced > check the 'enable automatic scavenging of stale records' box and set and period of 7 days. THEN select the zone within my forward lookup zone > right click > properties > select aging > check the 'scavenge stale resource records' box and then leave the intervals of no-refresh and refresh intervals at the 7 day default? Is that all that is required to enable scavenging and the removal of obsolete records? Is there anything else I need to do? Is there anything that I should take into consideration? Any risks or potentially knock-on effects of doing this? Many thanks for anyone who responds - your help is greatly appreciated. :)

You need to configure Ageing and Scavenging option in DNS.Kamal Sharma

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc782399%28WS.10%29.aspx to understand Aging & Scavanging. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc755716%28WS.10%29.aspx to Enable Aging and Scavenging for DNSKamal Sharma

Thanks for the links Kamal - I've already read these but I appreciate you taking time to read my post. I'm a little concerned by this with the following URL - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc755716%28WS.10%29.aspx Caution By default, the aging and scavenging mechanism for the DNS Server service is disabled. It should only be enabled when all parameters are fully understood. Otherwise, the server could be accidentally configured to delete records that should not be deleted. If a record is accidentally deleted, not only will users fail to resolve queries for that record, but any user can create the record and take ownership of it, even on zones configured for secure dynamic update. Is this basically stating that if you don't configure the settings as outlined by the two step process below, you could run into difficulties? To set aging and scavenging properties for a DNS server using the Windows interface 1. Open the DNS snap-in. 2. In the console tree, right-click the applicable Domain Name System (DNS) server, and then click Set Aging/Scavenging for All Zones. 3. Select the Scavenge stale resource records check box. 4. Modify other aging and scavenging properties as needed To set aging and scavenging properties for a zone 1. Log on to the computer that is running the DNS Server service with an account that is a member of the local Administrators group. 2. In the DNS console tree, right-click the applicable zone, then click Properties. 3. On the General tab, click Aging, and then select the Scavenge stale resource records check box. 4. Modify other aging and scavenging properties as needed. Cheers guys.

Hello, see this article to configure aging/scavenging: http://blogs.technet.com/b/networking/archive/2008/03/19/don-t-be-afraid-of-dns-scavenging-just-be-patient.aspxBest regards Meinolf Weber Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.