The ABC.com network consists of a single Active Directory domain named ABC.com. All servers
on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2003. Your instruction is to set up a child domain
named us.ABC.com.
You install Windows Server 2003 on a new standalone server named ABC-DC03 and manually
assign an IP address. You attempt to run dcpromo to promote ABC-DC03 to a domain controller.
You select the new domain in an existing forest option. The wizard prompts you for the network
credentials to join the us.ABC.com to the ABC.com forest. You then receive an error message
indicating that a domain controller in the ABC.com domain cannot be found.
How can you ensure that ABC-DC03 can be promoted to a domain controller in the us.ABC.com
domain?

A.
By installing the DNS Server service on ABC-DC03.

B.
By creating a host (A) record for ABC-DC03 on a DNS server in the ABC.com domain.

C.
By first joining ABC-DC03 to a workgroup named us.ABC.com.

D.
By having the ABC-DC03 client DNS settings configured to use a DNS server in the ABC.com
domain.

E.
By creating a delegation on a ABC.com DNS server to delegate the us.ABC.com zone to ABC-DC03.

Explanation:
This is typically the effect of a DNS problem because the client (in this case a
member server) can not locate the SRV records of a domain. The process needs to contact the
DNS server that is authoritative for the parent domain that you want to make a child domain in.
First, in the Active Directory installation wizard, you specify the DNS name of the Active Directory
domain for which you are promoting the server to become a domain controller. Later in the
installation process, the wizard tests for the following: Based on its TCP/IP client configuration, it
checks to see whether a preferred DNS server is configured. If a preferred DNS server is
available, it queries to find the primary authoritative server for the DNS domain you specified
earlier in the wizard.
It then tests to see whether the authoritative primary server can support and accept dynamic
updates as described in the DNS dynamic update protocol. If, at this point in the process, a
supporting DNS server cannot be located to accept updates for the specified DNS domain name
you are using with Active Directory, you are provided with the option to install the DNS Server
service.
Reference:
Craig Zacker, MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-293): Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft
Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure, Microsoft Press, Redmond, Washington, 2004, p. 4:
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