How does a filer determine what ip address to register with Active Directory DNS ?

[JWOODYU]

So we have put off changing the IP address on our filer as long as we can. My primary interface is a multilink VIF with an IP address of 172.30.XXX.XXX. I am thinking the correct play is to renumber that VIF to the new space 10.192.XXX.XXX then apply the old address 172.30.XXX.XXX as an IP ALIAS. It would be sweet if I could just apply the new IP 10.192.XXX.XXX as the IP ALIAS then force an update in the AD DNS to reflect the Alias. It would certainly be less invasive if there is no down side to doing it that way. The questions are:

1.) How does the filer determine which IP address it registers with AD.

2.) How do i force it update immediately after changing the primary IP.

3.) Is there a way to register an Alias IP with AD

4.) Is there a negative aspect to using an Alias IP with AD if it is indeed possible

Thanks!

[macmillangm]

Personally I think your making this a little more complicated than necessary. I have not done this myself but I think you might be better off adding a new DNS entry manually for the new IP. Simple enough there but the rub is if you can create a new VIF on the filer, add the IP and then remove an ethernet port from the old VIF and assign it to the new one. With that, both IP's will be registered in DNS. If the switching and routing is done correctly then you should be able to hit the filer by either IP. Then when your ready to collapse the 172 subnet just move the remaining ethernet ports to the new VIF and your off to the races. Your mileage may vary.

I have not done this personally so you might want to consult with phone support for a sanity check.

[wilsj]

You can always go into DNS snap-in on the domain controller and make a CNAME or A host record for the filer manually. Here is what I would do:

1) Change the IP of the filer during a maintenance window.

2) Go into DNS snap-in on the domain controller Update the IP address for the DNS record manually. (If you just create a brand new record or an alias, some client may resolve to the old address, causing problems).

3) Go to a windows client, open CMD, and run a "IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS" to ensure the dns cache on the client is clear.

4) Test access to the filer to make sure it works.

Juist my two cents.