Documentation
From first connection
to verified change.
A practical starting point for ConfigWitness DNS. The installed package includes the detailed product documentation.
01 / Install on your workstation
Run the Windows x64 MSI as an administrator. Start ConfigWitness DNS from the Start Menu. The installer keeps writable application data outside Program Files.
Check the system requirements, including Windows PowerShell 5.1 and the DnsServer module. Use Help → Startup checks if a prerequisite is missing.
02 / Connect deliberately
Enter a DNS server name or IP address. Choose explicit credentials when required, then select Connect. A successful read saves a snapshot. Saved profiles hold connection metadata, not passwords, and do not reconnect automatically.
Local-server operations require elevation. Remote connections use CIM/DCOM and your account’s DNS permissions.
03 / Review before planning
DNS Health analyzes the loaded configuration. Compare shows semantic differences between snapshot pairs, including snapshots from different servers. Drift History builds a timeline from consecutive saved snapshots for one server.
Save snapshots intentionally. Drift History does not collect data in the background or identify the exact time of external changes.
04 / Plan, preflight, apply, verify
Use the supported policy creation, editing, replacement, or deletion workflow. Review its typed plan and explicit confirmation. Professional authorizes new changes before the operation starts; the workflow then performs fresh preflight, journaling, execution, and verification.
Preview text is informational and is never executed directly. Do not assume a failed or timed-out operation made no changes.
05 / Inspect incomplete operations
Open Operations History and review fresh-state recovery analysis. Choose an explicitly labeled recovery action only after inspecting its proposed effect. Supported rollback and recovery remain available in Community and after updates entitlement expires.
Completion may be unknown. Verify through Operations/Recovery before retrying a mutation.
06 / Activate Professional
Purchase Professional from Pricing. Your activation credential is sent by email after payment processing. Open Manage License in the desktop application and activate online. Keep your activation credential private.
Online activation is user-initiated and has no heartbeat. A valid local perpetual license remains usable offline for entitled versions. Offline activation request/import is also available in Manage License.
For detailed operation-specific behavior, use the documentation shipped alongside your installed version.