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  3. Domain Name System (DNS)

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Who do I contact for DNS changes?
    Please send requests for new domain registrations, DNS IP changes to dns@k-state.edu
  2. Who do I contact for questions about DNS?
    If you need assistance configuring your computer to use the DNS servers or have any other DNS questions, contact the IT Help Desk at helpdesk@k-state.edu.

Domain Name System (DNS)

Enterprise Service Technologies (EST) in Computing and Telecommunications Services maintains a set of officially supported Domain Name System (DNS) servers for use by members of the K-State computing community.

Domain name registration

EST is the primary contact for setting up and managing the central domain name service on campus. This includes new registrations, renewals and IP changes to current domains.

Changes or additions

To initiate a change or addition to a current domain, send e-mail to dns@k-state.edu with the information request.

Requests for new domain names

To initiate a request to purchase a domain, send e-mail to dns@k-state.edu. The following information is requested:

  • Name of domain
  • Brief description defining the domain's purpose
  • Sponsor of domain and affiliation with K-State
  • Domain content administrator and contact information: Name, address, phone, fax
  • Billing information if different from content administrator
  • IP address of domain

For complete information concerning the policy and procedures for domain registrations, please see the policy Registering Internet domain names at Kansas State University.

Client-side configuration

Why set up DNS?

DNS servers are used to convert "Fully Qualified Domain Names" (FQDN) such as "www.ksu.edu" or "www.k-state.edu" into numeric IP addresses such as "129.130.12.1". This is necessary before a network connection can be made to the remote service or host. Since it is the DNS servers that provide this service, you must configure your system with the numeric IP addresses of the DNS servers. This is not usually necessary for other services such as SMTP or POP.

The DNS servers are located on a dedicated network that is directly connected to the network backbone.

Who can use K-State's DNS servers?

The K-State DNS servers are for use by anyone on the K-State network.

If you are connected from the residence halls, elsewhere on campus, or via the K-State dial-in service, you should use K-State's DNS servers.

If you connect to the Internet by any other method, contact your Internet service provider for the appropriate DNS setup information. For security and performance reasons, the K-State DNS servers are configured to deny service to clients outside the K-State network.

DNS addresses

The numeric IP addresses of the DNS servers are

dns-1.ksu.edu 129.130.254.2
dns-2.ksu.edu 129.130.254.3
dns-3.ksu.edu 129.130.254.4

In addition, we provide one server that is on a different subnet as a backup:

dns-backup.ksu.edu 129.130.12.18

You should list these servers in a random order in your network-connection software to help distribute the load. The backup address should be listed last.

Example of settings

The following order of servers would be reasonable:

129.130.254.4
129.130.254.2
129.130.12.18 *(backup server listed last)

This configuration lists the primary DNS servers in a random order, but also includes the backup DNS server in the unlikely event that the subnet containing the primary DNS servers is unavailable.