I've been successfully joining machines to my domain for years without needing to add a .local suffix to the name. Recently, however, if I try to join without adding .local, I get an error saying it can't find a Domain Controller. What's going on?
4 Answers
I found that this might happen if there’s an incorrect configuration in the DNS settings. If you ever misconfigure a Windows server, you might end up with bizarre suffix issues like .local.local. It’s worth double-checking your DNS path.
This could also be happening if your machines are recent, like running Windows 11. I noticed my setup has needed a different suffix lately too (I had to start using .com).
Sounds like a DNS issue to me. If you’ve got a different DNS server or configuration, that could explain it. I’ve seen this happen when the network isn’t using a proper Windows DNS server, especially if the DHCP is handled by a firewall or another device.
Honestly, it’s always DNS. If the DNS resolution isn’t set up correctly, it doesn’t matter what’s on the machine, it just won’t connect right!
Totally agree! It's the first thing to check when you encounter this kind of issue.
Yeah, I had a similar problem in the past. It’s usually linked to DNS configuration.