Configure SRV1 with a contoso.com conditional forwarder
Short answer
On SRV1, create a Conditional Forwarder for contoso.com that points to DC1's IP address in DNS Manager, and keep recursion enabled with root hints intact so all other names resolve through the root hints servers.
Question
You need to configure SRV1 as a DNS server. SRV1 must be able resolve names from the contoso.com domain by using DC1. All other names must be resolved by using the root hint servers.
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Key Takeaways
It tests Windows DNS conditional forwarding: only a conditional forwarder scopes forwarding to the contoso.com zone, and root hints must remain enabled for the rest of the namespace.
SRV1 is set up as a DNS server using a conditional forwarder that sends all contoso.com queries to DC1, while every other name resolves through the default root hints servers with recursion left enabled.
Common mistake: Creating a secondary or stub zone for contoso.com with a zone transfer from DC1, or disabling root hints/recursion — this makes SRV1 authoritative or breaks fallback for all other names instead of forwarding contoso.com queries to DC1.
Expert Analysis
Governing principle
The requirement splits name resolution into two scopes: queries for contoso.com must be sent to DC1, while everything else must reach the Internet root hints servers. In Windows DNS, the feature that scopes forwarding to a single domain is the conditional forwarder — a setting on the DNS server that matches only queries for that zone and onward-forwards them to the IP addresses you specify. Forwarders and root hints then handle the rest of the namespace, so the two mechanisms coexist without conflict.
Configuration steps on SRV1
Sign in to SRV1, open DNS Manager, expand the server node, right-click Conditional Forwarders and choose New Conditional Forwarder. Enter contoso.com as the domain, add DC1's IP address as the forwarder, and leave the option to store the forwarder in Active Directory cleared unless SRV1 is domain-joined and you want it replicated. DC1 must be able to answer authoritatively for contoso.com, which it does as the domain's DNS server.
Keeping root hints active Root hints are enabled by default on a Windows DNS server. One learner note rightly points to the server's Advanced properties: confirm that the option to disable recursion (which also disables forwarders) is not checked, and verify the Root Hints tab still lists the root servers. If recursion were disabled, any query the conditional forwarder cannot answer would fail instead of falling through to root hints.
Why not a secondary zone
Comments also suggest a secondary (or stub) zone with a zone transfer from DC1. That would make SRV1 authoritative for contoso.com and would require transfer permissions; the requirement says to resolve names by using DC1, which means forwarding queries there. The correct answer is a conditional forwarder for contoso.com → DC1, with root hints left enabled for all other names.
Exam Strategy
When a DNS task splits resolution between one domain and "all other names," match the scope to the feature: a single zone means a conditional forwarder, the whole namespace means a forwarder list, and default Internet resolution means root hints with recursion enabled. Always verify recursion is not disabled, since Windows disables forwarders together with recursion, which silently breaks the fallback path the question asks you to preserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use a conditional forwarder instead of a secondary zone for contoso.com on SRV1?
Do I need to enable root hints on SRV1 separately?
Discussion 4 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 4
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Ksk08 👍 2Access SRV1: Use Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) to connect to SRV1 if needed2. Open DNS Manager: On SRV1, open the DNS Manager from the Administrative Tools. Configure Conditional Forwarder: In DNS Manager, right-click on "Conditional Forwarders" and select "New Conditional Forwarder." Enter "contoso.com" as the domain name. Add the IP address of DC1 as the forwarding server. Verify Root Hints Configuration: In DNS Manager, right-click on the server name and select "Properties." Go to the "Root Hints" tab and ensure it is correctly configured with root servers. Test Configuration: Use tools like nslookup to verify that queries for contoso.com are resolved by DC1 and other queries use root hints.
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Jothar 👍 1Root hints are enabled by default UNLESS they're disabled. Instead configure your DNS server to not use root hint name server by selecting the Disable recursion server option in the DNS Manager console Advanced tab. I guess you need to check advanced tab on dns console and make sure disable recursion is not checked.
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Jothar 👍 1Actually to be simpler, you are setting this up as a secondary zone, set up dc2 to allow zone transfers to this secondary server, and let it use root hints.
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examtaker2026 👍 1conditional will forward'notresolve. The correct is secondary
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