I'm working at a small company where I'm the go-to person for tech questions until we hire a new IT person. Currently, we have one server that manages our domain and DNS, but I'm confused about how it's all set up. Our domain name is the same as our website, which is hosted on GoDaddy, and while the computers can join the domain, they can't access the website using the domain name. I believe I need to create a specific DNS record for this to work. I'm using Windows Server 2022.
After contacting GoDaddy support, I learned that our company website doesn't have a public IP address. What should I do next? Do I have to wait until we hire someone or should I consider renaming the domain or creating a new one?
2 Answers
Your internal domain should actually match your public domain. To access your website via `www.domain.com` from your internal network, create an `A record` on your DNS server that points to the public IP address. This will allow everyone in the office to reach the website by just typing it in!
Actually, it’s not a requirement to have the same domain name; a subdomain could work better for your situation.
You’ll want to set up an `A record` for `www.yourcompanywebsite.com` in your forward lookup zone. This record should point to the correct external IP address for your website. You'll need the public IP from your hosting provider to get this done. Just make sure that the `www` is included so that it directs properly!
You're almost there! Just be sure the A record specifically includes `www`.
I recommend using conditional forwarding for the DNS setup. This allows you to utilize an external DNS server for things like the `www` subdomain, which can save you hassle if your public IP changes down the line.
If I were you, I’d suggest using a subdomain like `corp.domain.com` for your Active Directory. Split-brain DNS can lead to confusion.