Q. How can I force network clients to register DNS records in a single-label domain?
A. Normally, Windows XP and Windows 2000 (SP4 or later) clients won't register DNS records in a single-label DNS domain; however, you can enable this functionality by making the following registry change:
- Start the registry editor (regedit.exe)
- Move to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DnsCache\Parameters for Windows 2000/XP or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DNSClient for Windows Server 2003/Vista
- From the Edit menu select New - DWORD value
- Enter a name of UpdateTopLevelDomainZones and press Enter
- Double click the new value and set to 1. Click OK
- Restart the computer
Make the change on all computers, including domain controllers (DCs) in the forest. You can make this change via Group Policy on XP and later computers by enabling the Update Top Level Domain Zones policy under the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\DNS Client.
—John Savill