Configure DNS record creation for fenced services in Commander

When you deploy a fenced service in Commander, the virtual machines behind the fence are isolated from the rest of your network and do not automatically receive DNS records. Although users outside the fence can connect by IP address if permitted, DNS names cannot be used unless records are manually created.

Follow these instructions to enable DNS record creation for fenced VMs.

Requirements

Install the DNS snap-in on the Commander application server.
Ensure the Commander Service Account has permission to create and modify DNS records on the target DNS server.
Adding the account to the DnsAdmins group is the simplest method.
Apply the workflow to individual components rather than services, including vApps.

Creating the Batch Files

Create the following batch files on the Commander application server. Flexera recommends you use a single directory for all executables that Commander will call in workflows.

Add_DNS.bat

@echo off
dnscmd.exe %1 /RecordAdd %2 %3 A %4

Remove_DNS.bat

@echo off
echo Y | dnscmd.exe %1 /RecordDelete %2 %3 A %4

Alternatively, download FencedDNS.zip here and extract it to the scripts directory on your Commander application server.

You can also choose to use the embedded script workflow step to make the workflow more portable.

Workflow Step – Add DNS Record

Create a new completion workflow or add the following step to an existing workflow. When you do so, replace dnsServer and domainName with the correct values for your domain.

Make sure that the Completion Workflow is applied only to those services in your catalog which are fenced.

Workflow Step – Remove DNS Record

Similarly, when decommissioning you can add the following step to remove the DNS records in your change request approval workflow. When you do so, replace DnsServer and domainName with the correct values for your environment.

Make sure that the Change Request Approval Workflow is applied only to the decommissioning request form(s).

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Product

Snow Commander

Solution Area

Workflows

Deployment type

On-premises

Visibility

Guest

URL Name

addingandremovingdnsrecordsforfencedvms