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Service location (SRV) records in DNS offer
flexibility for networks that contain multiple servers for a
particular service. One example of when SRV records come in handy
is when you have multiple HTTP servers.

SRV records let you easily move a service from
one host to another. Using SRV records, you can also designate
specific hosts as the primary host for a given service and others
as the secondary host.

Resolvers that support SRV records submit a
request to the DNS server in the subject domain, requesting a
specific TCP/IP service, such as HTTP. The DNS server responds with
a list of all servers in the domain that have a corresponding SRV
record for the specified service. The client can then choose a host
based on that list.

To create an SRV record, follow these
steps:

  1. Open the DNS console on the server,
    right-click the location for the new record, and choose Other New
    Records.
  2. In the Resource Record Type dialog box,
    choose Service Location, and click Create Record.
  3. Select the predefined service type for the
    service, and choose either TCP or UDP depending on the requirements
    of the service.
  4. For the Priority value, specify an integer
    between 0 and 65535 to allocate a preference order for the target
    server. A lower value gives the server a lower priority; the client
    attempts connections starting with higher priority servers
    first.
  5. For the Weight value, specify an integer
    between 0 and 65535. When multiple servers have the same priority,
    the Weight value serves as a secondary priority indicator. DNS
    returns hosts with a higher weight first to the client. To turn off
    weighting and improve SRV query response time, use a value of
    0.