Server Responsiveness Degrades and Queries Time Out When You Run the DNS Server Service (830381)

RESOLUTION

Hotfix Information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart Requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix Replacement Information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File Information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date         Time   Version      Size     File name
 ---------------------------------------------------
07-Oct-2003  06:58  5.2.3790.90  421,376  Dns.exe

MORE INFORMATION

As soon as Windows Server 2003 starts servicing client DNS queries, the CPU utilization for the DNS process will start increasing in a linear fashion. At some point, typically within an hour, the CPU utilization for the DNS process may hit 100 percent on each CPU, depending on the relative performance of the hardware.

As the CPU utilization increases toward 100 percent, you may also notice a leak in Private Bytes for the DNS process.

If the load level is sufficiently high and if it is sustained for a sufficient length of time, there will be a noticeable degradation in the DNS server's responsiveness.

As the system degrades in responsiveness, queries will start to time out. If you use the NSLOOKUP tool with a higher-than-normal timeout setting (for example, 20 seconds instead of 2 seconds), you will notice that most queries are in fact still being serviced. However, it takes a long time for the DNS server to respond.