--- title: "How to configure BIND DNS for an Active Directory Environment" slug: "how-to-configure-bind-dns-for-an-active-directory-environment" description: "Use a Linux BIND server for DNS rather than Microsoft DNS, this article shows how to configure BIND DNS for Active Directory" updated: 2026-10-27T19:37:32Z published: 2026-10-28T18:36:57Z canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/how-to-configure-bind-dns-for-an-active-directory-environment" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vastdata.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to configure BIND DNS for an Active Directory Environment ## Background Some customers prefer to use a Linux BIND server for DNS rather than Microsoft DNS, but still leverage Active Directory for LDAP and SMB services. To do this, several entries in the BIND zone file are required. This article outlines those required entries. ## Zone File Entries ### 1. A Records (Host records) Each domain controller needs to have an A record like so: ```plaintext dc1 IN A 10.1.1.10 dc2 IN A 10.1.1.11 ``` ### 2. SRV Records These should go into _msdcs. and zones. If using LDAP: ```plaintext _ldap._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 389 dc1.. _kerberos._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 88 dc1.. _ldap._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 389 dc2.. _kerberos._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 88 dc2.. ``` If using LDAPS: ```plaintext _ldap._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 636 dc1.. _kerberos._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 88 dc1.. _ldap._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 636 dc2.. _kerberos._tcp.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 88 dc2.. ``` ### 3. For Global Catalog If using LDAP: ```plaintext _ldap._tcp.gc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 3268 dc1.. _ldap._tcp.gc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 3268 dc2.. ``` If using LDAPS: ```plaintext _ldap._tcp.gc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 3269 dc1.. _ldap._tcp.gc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 3269 dc2.. ``` ### 4. PDC Emulator (Primary Domain Controller) If using LDAP: ```plaintext _ldap._tcp.pdc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 389 dc1.. _ldap._tcp.pdc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 389 dc2.. ``` If using LDAPS: ```plaintext _ldap._tcp.pdc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 636 dc1. _ldap._tcp.pdc._msdcs.. 3600 IN SRV 0 100 636 dc2. ``` ### 5. Reverse DNS (PTR) ```plaintext 10.1.1.10.in-addr.arpa. IN PTR dc1.. 11.1.1.10.in-addr.arpa. IN PTR dc2.. ```