DNS for local SOHO, ip ranges and suffixes

[devConram]

Setting up a local DNS on 2019 to eventually become a small AD.

IP range used is 192.168.1.1/24 and the number of devices are about 40, including phones and infrastructure and such.

I have been reviewing  some documentation, but it does not really answer some questions.

Gateway is at *.1.1

Server has currently static IP at *.1.51

• Can I use an IP from the used range as DNS server or should I use something completely different?
• I see different answers and references in regards to what local suffix to use, there is an article on MS Tech net advising against using ".local" as local suffix. What goes?

[#2]

If you use DHCP, it's always a good idea to exclude a small range at the start and end of the range and use those ip-adresses for static. (For DC/DNS/DHCP/Firewall/Phonesystem etc.) But in your case you could use 100-200 for clients and use everything else for static, you can register them as static in your DHCP console as an overview of what you already assigned even though you aren't assigning them using DHCP.

And as long as you use something that is not being used externally, you can use anything for your local suffix. Don't see any issues in using a something.local?

[#3]

@Harm_Veenstra 

Thanks, well it was more or less as I thought in regards to DHCP and IP range. 

I cant really risk connectivity since I work a lot from this location and was puzzled about hardly anyone actually bothering to explain if you can use your current DHCP range, even with static addresses, for DNS. My attempts so far made me loss connection. Probably not setting right IP in forward zone.

The thing about .local is from here:

Do not use single-label DNS names. For more information, see Information about configuring Windows for domains with single-label DNS names (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=106631). Also, we do not recommend using unregistered suffixes, such as .local.

Selecting the Forest Root Domain | Microsoft Docs

[#4]

Your DNS server (Or service if running on an appliance/router/firewall) should always be static and should be provided to clients using DHCP. You can leave it in the DHCP range if you make a reservation to prevent that the address will be assigned to a client.

And ok.. I have seen companies with a .local and it works just fine.. Not sure why you should register it, it's only used inside..