Network Registrar Help
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Zone Administration

A zone administrator is responsible for one or more DNS zones. This administrator needs to perform all DNS zone creation and management functions possible with Network Registrar. To perform this role, the zone administrator must know the details of the zone, including its Start of Authority (SOA) and Name Server (NS) records, and all other DNS resource records for the zone. Note that a zone administrator has permission to work only on zones that the global administrator specifies.

You can view zones, both forward and reverse, in two ways:

As a zone administrator, you can:

Zone Administrator Tasks

Listing and Adding Zones

List/Add Zones Page
(Regional) List Forward Zones Page
(Regional) List Reverse Zones Page
(Read-only Local: List Zones Page)

If you have read-write privileges as a zone-admin, you can list, create, choose for editing, and delete zones on this page. If you have read-only privileges, you can only list the zones for viewing. Zones are listed in the order they are created.

Field/Choice Description
Name Name of the zone. Required. Must be unique and fully qualified; for example, the boston.example.com. zone.
Owner Choose from the drop-down list of existing zone owners, as created by clicking Administration on the Primary Navigation bar, then Owners on the Secondary Navigation bar. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Template Choose from the drop-down list of existing zone templates, as created by clicking Zone Templates on the Secondary Navigation bar. Applying a zone template means that you do not need to enter any more properties for the zone -- the Start of Authority (SOA) and Name Server (NS) records are already defined by the template. Optional. No choices if constrained.

After entering these values or making these choices, click Add Zone, or click Cancel to cancel the add operation.

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Viewing the Zone Tree

View Forward Zones Tree Page
View Reverse Zones Tree Page

This page displays the tree of forward or reverse zones, in a hierarchical sorted order, based on the domain name path. If you have read-write privileges, you can edit the zones on this page, and you can manage the configuration and active server resource records for each zone and subzone. If you have read-only privileges, you can only list the zones and subzones for viewing.

The zones are arranged by zones and their child subzones, with the subzones indented under each zone. You can expand and collapse each level in the tree by clicking the plus (+) and minus (-) signs next to each zone name.

The structure of the list is designed to keep the hierarchical view intact. Scrolling through long and deeply embedded lists displays ancestor nodes at the top of the list that are hierarchically organized. These ancestor nodes are in addition to the number of visible entries determined by the value in the Change Page Size field. You can navigate at each level of the hierarchy by clicking the arrow icons to the right of the header entry names. The arrow icons appear only if the node is expanded -- an up arrow means that there are children for the node that precede the first one displayed; a down arrow means that there are child nodes following the ones displayed.

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Adding a Zone Without a Template

Add Zone Page

To continue adding a zone that does not have a zone template applied to it on the List/Add Zone or List/Add Reverse Zone page, you must complete the zone's Start of Authority (SOA) and Name Server (NS) data. Enter the data in the following fields and choose from the drop-down lists. You can also set zone attributes on this page.

The time values can be in seconds (s), minutes (m), days (d), weeks (w), or years (y), or any combination thereof. For example, to set the time value to 10 seconds, enter it as 10s.

NOTE: You must click Add Zone on this page to finish creating the zone. The Name, Serial Number, Nameserver, and Contact E-Mail values are required, as well as entering at least one authoritative nameserver. Also, you cannot apply a zone template on this page; you must finish adding the zone and then edit it to apply a template.

Field/Choice Description
Name Read-only. You cannot modify this value.
Owner Choose an owner name, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Administration on the Primary Navigation bar, then Owners on the Secondary Navigation bar. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Distribution Choose a zone distribution, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Zone Distribution on the Secondary Navigation bar. Default is the default zone distribution. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Zone Default TTL Default time-to-live for the zone data, which defaults to 24h. Optional.
SOA Attributes  
Serial Number Serial number of the zone's SOA record, which is incremented with each zone change. Required. Enter 1 or some other serial number.
SOA TTL Time-to-live for the SOA record; also, the negative cache TTL for negative responses for the zone. Optional. If omitted, the TTL is the Zone Default TTL value.
Nameserver Primary DNS nameserver for the zone, as host name or fully qualified domain name. For example, ns1 (ns1.example.com. as fully qualified). Required.
Contact E-Mail E-mail address of the hostmaster for the zone, in the form hostmaster (hostmaster.example.com. as fully qualified), or some other address. Required.
Secondary Refresh Time at which to refresh records with the secondary DNS server, which defaults to 3h. Required.
Secondary Retry Time at which to retry the secondary server for updates, which defaults to 60m. Required.
Secondary Expire Time at which to expire records on the secondary server and send a zone update to it, which defaults to 7d. Required.
Minimum TTL Minimum time-to-live of the SOA record, which defaults to 10m. Required.
Nameservers  
NS TTL Time-to-live of the NS record. Optional. If omitted, defaults to the Zone Default TTL value.
nameservers You must add the primary nameserver name again here, as host name or fully qualified, then add any additional ones. Required. For each server added, click Add Nameserver. If you need to delete a nameserver, click the Delete icon (Delete) next to its name. This immediately removes the nameserver; you do not receive a confirmation page.

The optional zone attributes that you can set appear categorized under these fields. You can click the attribute name to open a help window describing it.

After entering these values, click Add Zone to create the zone, or Cancel. You can edit or delete the created zone, if necessary, on the List/Add Zones page.

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Editing (or Viewing) a Zone

Edit Zone Page
(Read-only: View Zone Page)

If you have read-write privileges as a zone-admin and you click a zone name on the List/Add Zones or List/Add Reverse Zone page, you can change any of the zone's attributes and you can add further attributes. If you have read-only privileges, you can only view the zone information.

The following table shows the fields and choices on this page. Based on your administrator role constraints, drop-down lists may not have values to choose. For example, if you are constrained to a specific zone, the Owner, Distribution, and Template drop-down lists have no values to choose.

The time values can be in seconds (s), minutes (m), days (d), weeks (w), or years (y), or any combination thereof. For example, to set the time value to 10 seconds, enter it as 10s.

NOTE: The Name, Serial Number, Nameserver, and Contact E-Mail values are required, as well as entering at least one authoritative nameserver.

Field/Choice Description
Name Read-only. You cannot modify this value.
Owner Choose another owner name, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Administration on the Primary Navigation bar, then Owners on the Secondary Navigation bar. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Distribution Choose a zone distribution, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Zone Distribution on the Secondary Navigation bar. Default is the default zone distribution. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Template If you want to associate a zone template with this zone, choose a template name from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Zone Templates on the Secondary Navigation bar. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Zone Default TTL Default time-to-live for the zone data, which defaults to 24h. Optional.
SOA Attributes  
Serial Number Serial number of the zone's SOA record, which is incremented with each zone change. Required. Enter 1 or some other serial number. You can also retrieve the DNS server's value for the serial number by clicking the Refresh icon (Refresh) next to the DNS Server Value field.
SOA TTL Time-to-live for the SOA record. Optional. If omitted, the TTL is the Zone Default TTL value.
Nameserver Primary DNS nameserver for the zone, as host name or fully qualified domain name. For example, ns1 (ns1.example.com. as fully qualified). Required.
Contact E-Mail E-mail address of the hostmaster for the zone, in the form hostmaster (hostmaster.example.com. as fully qualified), or some other address. Required.
Secondary Refresh Time at which to refresh records with the secondary DNS server, which defaults to 3h. Required.
Secondary Retry Time at which to retry the secondary server for updates, which defaults to 60m. Required.
Secondary Expire Time at which to expire records on the secondary server and send a zone update to it, which defaults to 7d. Required.
Minimum TTL Minimum time-to-live of the SOA record, which defaults to 10m. Required.
Nameservers  
NS TTL Time-to-live of the NS record. Optional. If omitted, defaults to the Zone Default TTL value.
nameservers You must add the primary nameserver name again here, as host name or fully qualified, then add any additional ones. Required. For each server added, click Add Nameserver. If you need to delete a nameserver, click the Delete icon (Delete) next to its name. This immediately removes the nameserver; you do not receive a confirmation page.

The optional zone attributes that you can set appear categorized under these fields. You can click the attribute name to open a help window describing it.

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Editing (or Viewing) a Zone in a Regional Zone Distribution

Edit Forward Zone Page
Edit Reverse Zone Page
(Read-only: View Forward Zone Page)
(Read-only: View Reverse Zone Page)

If you have read-write privileges as a ccfg-admin and you click a zone name on the List Forward Zones or List Reverse Zone page for a zone distribution at the regional cluster, you can change any of the zone's attributes and you can add further attributes. If you have read-only privileges, you can only view the zone information.

The following table shows the fields and choices on this page. Based on your administrator role constraints, drop-down lists may not have values to choose. For example, if you are constrained to a specific zone, the Owner, Distribution, and Template drop-down lists have no values to choose.

The time values can be in seconds (s), minutes (m), days (d), weeks (w), or years (y), or any combination thereof. For example, to set the time value to 10 seconds, enter it as 10s.

NOTE: The Name, Serial Number, Nameserver, and Contact E-Mail values are required, as well as entering at least one authoritative nameserver.

Field/Choice Description
Distribution Choose the zone distribution this zone should be in from the drop-down list.
Owner Choose another owner name, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Administration on the Primary Navigation bar, then Owners on the Secondary Navigation bar. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Zone Default TTL Default time-to-live for the zone data, which defaults to 24h. Optional.
SOA Attributes  
Serial Number Serial number of the zone's SOA record, which is incremented with each zone change. Required. Enter 1 or some other serial number. You can also retrieve the DNS server's value for the serial number by clicking the Refresh icon (Refresh) next to the DNS Server Value field.
SOA TTL Time-to-live for the SOA record. Optional. If omitted, the TTL is the Zone Default TTL value.
Nameserver Primary DNS nameserver for the zone, as host name or fully qualified domain name. For example, ns1 (ns1.example.com. as fully qualified). Required.
Contact E-Mail E-mail address of the hostmaster for the zone, in the form hostmaster (hostmaster.example.com. as fully qualified), or some other address. Required.
Secondary Refresh Time at which to refresh records with the secondary DNS server, which defaults to 3h. Required.
Secondary Retry Time at which to retry the secondary server for updates, which defaults to 60m. Required.
Secondary Expire Time at which to expire records on the secondary server and send a zone update to it, which defaults to 7d. Required.
Minimum TTL Minimum time-to-live of the SOA record, which defaults to 10m. Required.
Nameservers  
NS TTL Time-to-live of the NS record. Optional. If omitted, defaults to the Zone Default TTL value.
Nameserver List You must add the primary nameserver name again here, as host name or fully qualified, then add any additional ones. Required. For each server added, click Add Nameserver. If you need to delete a nameserver, click the Delete icon (Delete) next to its name. This immediately removes the nameserver; you do not receive a confirmation page.

The optional zone attributes that you can set appear categorized under these fields. You can click the attribute name to open a help window describing it.

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Saving the Zone as a Template

Save New Zone Template Page

You can save zone information as a template so that you can re-use it for other zones. From the Edit Zone page, click Modify Zone and Save Template.

On the Save New Zone Template page, give the template a unique name in the Value field, and click Save Zone Template, or Cancel to cancel saving it. You return to the List/Add Zones page.

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Managing Zone Resource Records

After you create the zone, you can manage the following types of static resource records for it. Each resource record has a specific data format requirement.

Note that the Start of Authority (SOA) record type is not included, because the SOA record is created automatically at zone creation.

You can perform the following tasks on these static resource records:

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Resource Record Data Formats

List/Add Static Resource Records for Zone Page
List/Add (View) DNS Server Resource Records for Zone Page
Edit (View) Resource Record Set in Zone Page
Edit (View) Resource Record in Zone Page

Each resource record type has a specific data format requirement in its data field, as described in the table.

Resource Record Type Data Field Format
A (Host Address
RFC 1035)
ipaddress (IP address)
Example: 192.168.50.123
A6 (IPv6 Address
RFC 2874)
prefixlength<space>suffixaddr<space>prefixname
Example: 0 2345:00c1:ca11:0001:1234:5678:9abc:def0
  • prefixlength is the subnet prefix length, encoded as an eight-bit unsigned integer with value between 0 and 128 inclusive. Required.
  • suffixaddr is an IPv6 subnet suffix, encoded in network order (high order octet first). There must be exactly enough octets in this field to contain a number of bits equal to 128 minus prefix length, with 0 to 7 leading pad bits to make this field an integral number of octets. Pad bits, if present, must be set to zero when loading a zone file and ignored (other than for DNSSEC verification) on reception. Required if prefixlength is not 128.
  • prefixname is the domain name prefix. Optional (do not include if the prefixlength is 0).
AAAA (IPv6 Address
RFC 1884)
ipv6node or subnetprefix<space>interfaceid
Example: 1345:c1:ca11:1:1234:5678:9abc:def0
  • ipv6node is the IP address of the IPv6 node. Required.
  • subnetprefix is an IPv6 subnet prefix. Optional, but required if used with the interfaceid.
  • interfaceid is the IP address of the network interface. Optional, but required if used with the subnetprefix.
AFSDB (Andrew File System Data Base
RFC 1183)
subtype<space>hostname
Example: 1 AFSDBhost.example.com.
  • subtype is a 16-bit integer: with subtype 1, the host has an AFS version 3.0 Volume Location Server for the named AFS cell; with subtype 2, the host has an authenticated nameserver holding the cell-root directory node for the named DCE/NCA cell. Required.
  • hostname is a domain name of a host that has a server for the cell named by the owner name of the record. Required.
CNAME (Canonical Name
RFC 1035)
canonicalname (canonical name of the alias in the Name field)
Example: host1234
HINFO (Host Information
RFC 1035)
cpu<space>os (CPU type and operating system type of the host)
Example: CPU1 OS2
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network Address
RFC 1183)
isdnnumber<space>subaddr
Example: 150862028003217 004
  • isdnnumber is the ISDN number of the owner and DDI (Direct Dial In), if any, as defined by E.164 [8] and E.163 [7], the ISDN and Public Switched Telephone Network numbering plan. E.163 defines the country codes, and E.164 the form of the addresses. Its format in master files is a character string syntactically identical to that used in TXT and HINFO records.
  • subaddr is the subaddress, a character string syntactically identical to that used in TXT and HINFO records.
MB (Mailbox Domain Name
RFC 1035)
mbox (domain name of the host with the specified mailbox)
Example: mailbox.example.com.
MG (Mail Group Member
RFC 1035)
mgroup (domain name of the mailbox that is a member of the mail group specified by the domain name)
Example: mbgroup.example.com.
MINFO (Mailbox Information
RFC 1035)
respmbox<space>errormbox
Example: resp.example.com. error.example.com.
  • respmbox is the domain name of the mailbox responsible for the mailing list or mailbox. If this domain name names the root, the owner of the MINFO record is responsible for itself.
  • errormbox is the domain name of the mailbox to receive error messages related to the mailing list or mailbox specified by the owner of the MINFO record.
MR (Mail Rename
RFC 1035)
newmbox (domain name of the mailbox that is the proper rename of the specified mailbox)
Example: renamedmb.example.com.
MX (Mail Exchanger
RFC 1035)
preference<space>exchange
Example: 10 exchanger.example.com.
  • preference is a 16-bit integer that specifies the preference given to this record among others at the same owner. Lower values are preferred.
  • exchange is the domain name of the host willing to act as a mail exchange for the owner name.
NAPTR (Naming Authority Pointer
RFC 2915)
order<space>pref<space>flags<space>serv<space>regexp<space>replace
Example: 4.3.2.1.6.7.9 naptr 100 10 u sip+E2U /^.*$/sip:info@tele2.se/ .
  • order is a 16-bit integer specifying the order in which the NAPTR records are processed to ensure the correct ordering of rules.
  • pref is a 16-bit unsigned integer that specifies the order in which NAPTR records with equal order values are processed, low numbers being processed before high numbers.
  • flags is a character string containing flags to control aspects of the rewriting and interpretation of the fields in the record. Flags are single characters from the set [A-Z0-9] (case is not significant). The four flags are "S" (the next lookup should be for SRV records), "A" (the next lookup should be for an A, AAAA, or A6 record), "U" (the next step is not a DNS lookup but that the output of the regexp is an URI that adheres to the absolute URI production found in the ABNF of RFC 2396, and "P" (the remainder of the application side algorithm is done protocol-specific).
  • serv is the service(s) or protocol(s) available down the rewrite path (must be a protocol if the flags field states that the NAPTR is terminal).
  • regexp a regular expression string containing a substitution expression that is applied to the original string held by the client to construct the next domain name to look up.
  • replace is the fully qualified domain name of the next Name to query for NAPTR, SRV, or address records, depending on the value of the flags field.
NSAP (Network Service Access Point Address
RFC 1706)
nsapaddress (variable length string of octets containing the NSAP address; the value is the binary encoding of the NSAP as it would appear in the CLNP source or destination address field)
Example: 39840f80005a0000000001e13708002010726e00
PTR (Pointer
RFC 1035)
dname (reverse mapping IP address, specifically in the in-addr.arpa zones for translation of addresses to names; PTRs use official names, not aliases)
Example: host1234.example.com.
RP (Responsible Person
RFC 1183)
mbox<space>txthost
Example: resp.example.com. text.example.com.
  • mbox is a domain name that specifies the mailbox for the responsible person. Its format in master files uses the DNS convention for mailbox encoding, identical to that used for the RNAME mailbox field in the SOA record.
  • txthost is a domain name for which TXT records exist. A subsequent query can retrieve the associated TXT resource records there. This provides a level of indirection so that the entity can be referred to from multiple places in the DNS.
RT (Route Through
RFC 1183)
pref<space>intermediatehost
Example: 10 routthru.example.com.
  • pref is a 16 bit integer, representing the preference of the route. Smaller numbers indicate more preferred routes.
  • intermediatehost is the domain name of the host to serve as an intermediate in reaching the host specified by the Owner. The resource records associated with this host are expected to include at least one A, X25, or ISDN record.
SRV (Service Location
RFC 2782)
priority<space>weight<space>port<space>target
Example: 10 1 60 host7.example.com.
  • priority is the priority of this target host. A client tries to contact the target host with the lowest numbered priority it can reach; target hosts with the same priority are tried in an order defined by the weight field. The range is 0-65535.
  • weight is the relative weight for entries with the same priority. Larger weights are given a proportionately higher probability of being chosen. The range is 0-65535.
  • port is the port on this target host of this service. The range is 0-65535.
  • target is the domain name of the target host. There must be one or more address records for this name, and it cannot be an alias.
TXT (Text
RFC 1035)
textstring (one or more character strings)
Example: "this message"
WKS (Well Known Services
RFC 1035)
addr<space>protocol<space>servicelist
Example: 192.168.40.56 tcp telnet
  • addr is a 32-bit IP address, to provide availability information for servers for TCP and UDP.
  • protocol is an 8-bit IP protocol number.
  • servicelist is one bit per port of the specified protocol (RFC 1010).
X25 (X.25 Address
RFC 1183)
psdnaddr (Public Switched Data Network address in the X.121 numbering plan associated with the Owner; its format in master files is a character string syntactically identical to that used in TXT and HINFO records)
Example: 311061700956

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Listing and Adding Static Resource Records for a Zone

List/Add Static Resource Records for Zone Page
(Read-only: List Static Resource Records for Zone Page)

When you click the View icon (View) in the Configuration RRs column for a zone on the List/Add Zones or List/Add Reverse Zones page, the page that appears provides a list of the existing static resource records for the zone.

TIP: If the number of resource records is more than can fit on the visible page, change the page size at the bottom of the page. You can also step through the records using the arrow keys, or search for a particular record.

Unless you are a read-only administrator, this page provides the following functions:

Add a new resource record (If necessary, click the plus sign [+]to the left of the Name field to expand this area of the page.) Enter the following fields:

Name Name of the resource record, which depends on the type chosen. Required.
State This is always static.
TTL Time-to-live of the resource record. If set to -1, the TTL of the zone's SOA record applies. Optional.
Type Type of resource record. Choose from the drop-down list the types listed on the Managing Zone Resource Records help page. Required.
Data The data to enter depends on the type of resource record chosen. For a full explanation, see the Resource Record Data Formats topic. Required.
   
When finished entering these fields, click Add Resource Record. The new record appears in the list.
Edit a particular instance of the resource record Click the Edit icon (Edit) next to the record name. This opens the Edit Resource Record in Zone page.
Delete the record set or a particular instance of a record Click the Delete icon (Delete) next to the record name. If the icon is next to a record set name, this deletes the entire record set; if next to a record instance, this deletes just that record instance. Before the actual deletion, you get a Confirm Delete page.
Edit a resource record set Click the name of the record set in the list. This opens the Edit Resource Record Set in Zone page. (In read-only mode, this opens the View Resource Record in Zone page).

Any static resource records you add appear in the list under the entry fields. Return to the List/Add Zones page by clicking Return to Zone List.

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Listing Active DNS Resource Records for a Zone

List/Add DNS Server Resource Records for Zone Page
List DNS Server Resource Records for Secondary Zone Page
(Read-only: List DNS Server Resource Records for Zone Page)

When you click the View icon (View) in the Active Server RRs column for a zone on the List/Add Zones, List/Add Reverse Zones, or List Secondary Zones page, the page that appears provides a list of all the DNS resource records (static and dynamic) for the zone.

TIP: If the expected records do not appear, reload the DNS server. Click DNS Server on the Secondary Navigation bar to open the Manage DNS Server page, then click the Reload icon (Reload) next to the server to reload the server. Return to the List/Add DNS Server Resource Records for Zone page and the records should appear.

You may not see all the resource records on this page. Navigate through the list using the navigation buttons or change the page size at the bottom of the page. You can also search for a particular record.

Unless you are a read-only administrator, this page provides the following functions:

Add a new dynamic resource record (If necessary, click the + symbol to the left of the Name field to expand this area of the page.) Enter the following fields:

Name Name of the dynamic resource record, which depends on the type chosen. Required.
State This is always dynamic.
TTL Time-to-live of the resource record. If set to -1, the TTL of the zone's SOA record applies. Optional.
Type Type of resource record. You can choose the following subset of resource record types from the drop-down list: A, CNAME, PTR, SRV, and TXT. Required.
Data The data to enter depends on the type of resource record chosen. For a full explanation, see the Resource Record Data Formats topic. Required.
   
Click Add Resource Record. The new record appears in the list.
Edit a particular instance of the resource record Click the Edit icon (Edit) next to the record name. This opens the Edit Resource Record in Zone page.
Edit a resource record set Click the name of the record set in the list. This opens the Edit Resource Records in Zone page.
Return to the zone list Click Return to Zone List or Return to Secondary Zone List. You return to the List/Add Zones page and List Secondary Zones page, respectively.

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Editing (or Viewing) a Resource Record Set

Edit Resource Record Set in Zone Page
(Read-only: View Resource Record Set in Zone Page)

To edit a resource record set, click the record set name on the List/Add Static Resource Records for Zone or List/Add DNS Server Resource Records for Zone page. (In read-only mode, this opens the View Resource Record Set in Zone page.)

On the Edit Resource Record Set in Zone page, you can add a new resource record to the set by entering the TTL, Type, and Data values for a record, then clicking Add Resource Record. You can also edit and delete the resource record instances, including deleting all the instances by clicking Delete All.

To return to the resource record list, click Return to Full Resource Record List.

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Editing a Resource Record Instance

Edit Resource Record in Zone Page
(Reverse zones: Edit Resource Record Page)

To edit an individual resource record, click the Edit icon (Edit) next to the resource record on the List/Add Static Resource Records for Zone or Edit Resource Record Set in Zone page. (In read-only mode, this opens the View Resource Record in Zone page.)

On the Edit Resource Record in Zone page, modify the TTL, Type, and Data fields as appropriate.

When you are done modifying these fields and choices, click Modify Resource Record, or click Cancel to cancel. You return to the List/Add Static Resource Records for Zone, or Edit Resource Record Set in Zones, page. Observe on this page the change, if any, that you made.

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Listing and Adding Reverse Zones

List/Add Reverse Zones Page
(Regional) List Reverse Zones Page
(Read-only: List Reverse Zones Page)

For every subnet, you should have a corresponding reverse zone so that the DNS server can resolve an IP address based on its domain name. Adding reverse zones is similar to adding forward zones except that the reverse zone name is the reverse of the subnet's network IP address prepended to the in-addr.arpa. zone. For example, the 192.168.50.0 subnet has the 50.168.192.in-addr.arpa. reverse zone.

The loopback zone 127.in-addr.arpa is always created.

This page appears only if you have permission to access reverse zones. It lets you list the created reverse zones, their owners and templates, and add and edit these zones, unless you are a read-only administrator. It also lets you manage the reverse zones' resource records.

The List Reverse Zones page also appears if you click List Reverse Zones on the regional List/Add Zone Distributions page. To return to that page, click Return to Zone Distribution.

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Managing Secondary Zones

If the DNS server is acting as a secondary server for some zones, you might need to manually create one or more secondary zones.

NOTE: If the authoritative server for your secondary zones is also running Network Registrar 6.1, you can create the secondary zones by managing the zone distribution. In this way, you can avoid having to create these zones manually in the current section.

Adding secondary zones is similar to adding primary forward zones except that the secondary zones must reference a master server and they have no SOA or NS records. They also include additional attributes that relate to zone transfers from these primary zones. You can list, add, and edit secondary zones.

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Listing Secondary Zones

List Secondary Zones Page

When you configure a zone, choose at least one secondary server. If you have only one nameserver and it becomes unavailable, there is nothing that can look up names. A secondary server splits the load with the primary or handles the whole load if the primary is unavailable. When a secondary server starts up, it contacts the primary and pulls the zone data over. This is known as a zone transfer.

You can configure a secondary DNS server to be responsible for a secondary zone, which makes the server a secondary for that zone. You also need to give the address of the master server from which to perform zone transfers. Network Registrar must know about this master server, which can be a first level secondary server.

This page appears only if you have permission to access secondary zones, and you can add, edit, and delete them, unless you are a read-only administrator.

TIP: If the authoritative server for your secondary zones is also running Network Registrar 6.1, you can go right to managing the zone distribution rather than create these zones manually in the current section.

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Adding a Secondary Zone

Add Secondary Zone Page

When you click Add Secondary Zone on the List Secondary Zones page, the Add Secondary Zone page is for adding secondary zone attributes.

For a description of each attribute, click the attribute name to open a help window. The required attributes are the secondary zone's name and its authoritative servers (master-servers).

NOTE: The master-servers attribute replaces the auth-servers attribute in previous releases. You can append each address in the master-servers list with an optional key name to configure secure zone transfers, in the syntax addresskey.

You can also unset values by clicking a check mark in Unset? next to each attribute and clicking Unset Fields. After making these additions or changes, click Add Secondary Zone, or Cancel to cancel the operation.

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Editing (or Viewing) a Secondary Zone

Edit Secondary Zone Page
(Read-only: View Secondary Zone Page)

When you click a secondary zone's name on the List Secondary Zones page, you can change any of the zone's attributes on that page, and you can add or edit the attributes, unless you are a read-only administrator.

For a description of each attribute, click the attribute name to open a help window. The required attributes are the secondary zone's name and its authoritative servers (master-servers).

NOTE: The master-servers attribute replaces the auth-servers attribute in previous releases. You can append each address in the master-servers list with an optional key name to configure secure zone transfers, in the syntax addresskey.

You can also unset values by clicking a check mark in Unset? next to each attribute and clicking Unset Fields. After making these additions or changes, click Modify Secondary Zone, or Cancel to cancel the operation.

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Managing Zone Templates

A zone template is a convenient way to create a boilerplate for zones that share many of the same attributes. You can apply a zone template to any zone, and override the zone's attributes with those of the template. From the List Zone Templates page, you can:

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Listing Zone Templates

List Zone Templates Page

At the regional and local clusters, this page lists the created zone templates and lets you add, edit, and delete templates, unless you are a read-only administrator.

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Adding a Zone Template

Add Zone Template Page

The zone template fields and choices are identical to those used for adding a zone.

The time values can be in seconds (s), minutes (m), days (d), weeks (w), or years (y), or any combination thereof. For example, to set the time value to 10 seconds, enter it as 10s.

NOTE: The Name, Serial Number, Nameserver, and Contact E-Mail values are required, as well as entering at least one authoritative nameserver.

Field/Choice Description
Attribute
Name Template name, which must be unique. Required.
Zone Owner Choose an owner name, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Administration on the Primary Navigation bar, then Owners on the Secondary Navigation bar. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Zone Distribution Choose a zone distribution, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Zone Distribution on the Secondary Navigation bar. Default is the default zone distribution. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Zone Default TTL Default time-to-live for the zone data, which defaults to 24h. Optional.
SOA Attributes
Serial Number Serial number of the zone's SOA record, which is incremented with each zone change. Required. Enter 1 or some other serial number.
SOA TTL Time-to-live for the SOA record. Optional. If omitted, the TTL is the Zone Default TTL value.
Nameserver Primary DNS nameserver for the zone, as host name or fully qualified domain name. For example, ns1 (ns1.example.com. as fully qualified). Required.
Contact E-Mail E-mail address of the hostmaster for the zone, in the form hostmaster (hostmaster.example.com. as fully qualified), or some other address. Required.
Secondary Refresh Time at which to refresh records with the secondary DNS server, which defaults to 3h. Required.
Secondary Retry Time at which to retry the secondary server for updates, which defaults to 60m. Required.
Secondary Expire Time at which to expire records on the secondary server and send a zone update to it, which defaults to 7d. Required.
Minimum TTL Minimum time-to-live of the SOA record, which defaults to 10m. Required.
Nameservers
NS TTL Time-to-live of the SOA record. If omitted, defaults to the Zone Default TTL value. Optional.
nameservers You must add the primary nameserver name again here, as host name or fully qualified, then add any additional ones. Required. For each server added, click Add Nameserver. If you need to delete a nameserver, click the Delete icon (Delete) next to its name. This immediately removes the nameserver; you do not receive a confirmation page.

For a description of each additional attribute you can set, click its name to open a help window. You can also unset these attribute values using Unset Fields.

After entering these values or making these choices, click Add Zone Template, or click Cancel to cancel the add operation. You return to the List Zone Templates page.

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Editing (or Viewing) a Zone Template

Edit Zone Template Page
(Read-only: View Zone Template Page)

To edit a zone template, click the template's name on the List Zone Templates page. The zone template fields and choices to edit are identical to those used for editing a zone. (In read-only mode, this opens the View Zone Template page.)

The time values can be in seconds (s), minutes (m), days (d), weeks (w), or years (y), or any combination thereof. For example, to set the time value to 10 seconds, enter it as 10s.

NOTE: The Name, Serial Number, Nameserver, and Contact E-Mail values are required, as well as entering at least one authoritative nameserver.

Field/Choice Description
Attribute
Name Template name, which must be unique. Required.
Zone Owner Choose another owner name, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Administration on the Primary Navigation bar, then Owners on the Secondary Navigation bar. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Zone Distribution Choose a zone distribution, if needed, from the drop-down list, as created by clicking Zone Distribution on the Secondary Navigation bar. Default is the default zone distribution. Optional. No choices if constrained.
Zone Default TTL Default time-to-live for the zone data, which defaults to 24h. Optional.
SOA Attributes
Serial Number Serial number of the zone's SOA record, which is incremented with each zone change. Required. Enter 1 or some other serial number.
SOA TTL Time-to-live for the SOA record. Optional. If omitted, the TTL is the Zone Default TTL value.
Nameserver Primary DNS nameserver for the zone, as host name or fully qualified domain name. For example, ns1 (ns1.example.com. as fully qualified). Required.
Contact E-Mail E-mail address of the hostmaster for the zone, in the form hostmaster (hostmaster.example.com. as fully qualified), or some other address. Required.
Secondary Refresh Time at which to refresh records with the secondary DNS server, which defaults to 3h. Required.
Secondary Retry Time at which to retry the secondary server for updates, which defaults to 60m. Required.
Secondary Expire Time at which to expire records on the secondary server and send a zone update to it, which defaults to 7d. Required.
Minimum TTL Minimum time-to-live of the SOA record, which defaults to 10m. Required.
Nameservers
NS TTL Time-to-live of the SOA record. If omitted, defaults to the Zone Default TTL value. Optional.
nameservers You must add the primary nameserver name again here, as host name or fully qualified, then add any additional ones. Required. For each server added, click Add Nameserver. If you need to delete a nameserver, click the Delete icon (Delete) next to its name. This immediately removes the nameserver; you do not receive a confirmation page.

For a description of each of the additional template attributes, click the attribute name to open a help window. You can also unset attribute values using Unset Fields.

After modifying these values, click Modify Zone Template, or Cancel to cancel the modification. You return to the List Zone Templates page.

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Choosing Replica Zone Templates to Pull

Select Replica DNS Zone Template Data to Pull Page
(Read-only: View Local DNS Zone Template Data)

At the regional cluster only, this page appears if you click Pull Replica Zone Templates on the List Zone Templates page. It shows a tree view of the regional server's replica data for the local clusters' zone templates. The tree has two levels, one for the clusters and one for the zone templates in each cluster.

The columns on this page are:

Column Description
Name Name of the local cluster and its VPNs. If necessary, click the cluster name to open the Edit Server Cluster page. You can also view the zone template data by clicking its name to open the View Zone Template page.
Update Replica Data To update the replica data for the local cluster on the regional cluster, click the Replica icon (Replica Data).
Pull Data To pull a specific zone template, click Pull Zone Template next to its name. To pull all the zone templates from the cluster, click Pull All Zone Templates. This opens the Report Pull Replica Zone Templates page.

To complete the operations, click OK, or Cancel, to return to the List/Add VPNs page.

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Reporting Zone Template Replica Data to Pull

Report Pull Replica Zone Templates Page

At the regional cluster only, this page appears when you pull zone templates on the Select Replica DNS Zone Template Data to Pull page. It shows the changes to be made with the pull operation. Click Run, or Cancel to cancel the operation. If you click run, this opens the Run Pull Replica Zone Templates page.

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Running the Zone Template Replica Data Pull

Run Pull Replica Zone Templates Page

At the regional cluster only, this page appears when you click Run on the Report Pull Replica Zone Templates page. After looking at the report data, click Run to complete the pull operation.

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Choosing Local Clusters for Pushing Scope Templates

Push Zone Template Data to Local Clusters Page

At the regional cluster only, this page appears if you click Push Zone Template or Push All Zone Templates on the List Zone Templates page. It shows the templates to be pushed (or All Zone Templates) and a choice of local clusters to which to push them.

The fields and choices on this page are:

Field/Choice Description
Data to Push Zone template chosen to push to the local clusters, or All Zone Templates. Click the template link to open the View Zone Template page.
Data Synchronization Mode Mode to use to synchronize at the regional and local clusters. Required. Click one of the radio buttons:
  • Ensure -- The default: Ensures that the local cluster has the new data without affecting any existing data.

  • Replace -- Replaces the data without affecting other objects that are unique to the local cluster.

  • Exact -- Available for "push all" operations only: Use with caution, because it puts an exact copy of the object data on the local cluster, thereby overwriting any existing data and deleting objects that are unique to the local cluster.
Destination Clusters List of known local clusters. Move the desired cluster or clusters from the Available field into the Selected field using <<. To choose all the clusters, click Select All, then << to move them. To remove one or more clusters, click its name or names in the Selected list, then click >> to move it or them to the Available list. You must move at least one cluster to Selected to make the push operation work.

TIP: The cluster choices and radio buttons are persistent, so that any future operations on this page will retain these settings.

After making these choices, click Push Data to Clusters, or Cancel. This opens the View Push Zone Template Data Report page.

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Viewing the Pushed Zone Templates Report

View Push Zone Template Data Report Page

This page appears if you click Push Data to Clusters on the Push Zone Template Data to Local Clusters page. It shows a read-only summary of the results of the push operation. Click OK or Cancel to return.

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Managing Zone Distributions

Creating a zone distribution map simplifies creating multiple zones that share the same secondary server attributes. Like a template, the zone distribution map can have a unique name. The distribution map requires adding one or more predefined secondary servers. When you run a zone distribution synchronization, this adds secondary zones to the primary zone.

At the local cluster, you can manage only the default distribution and you cannot define any others. The distribution must be in a star topology, that is, one authoritative server and multiple secondary servers. The authoritative server can only be the local primary DNS server where the zone distribution default is defined.

On the Edit Zone Distribution page, the Master Servers list must have the real IP address (or addresses, with optional TSIG key) of the machine on which the primary server is running. The authoritative servers in this list are used to set the master servers list (master-servers) when configuring each secondary zone for the distribution. You add the secondary servers' IP addresses on the List Secondary Server page. When you synchronize the primary and secondary servers, you should see secondary zones on the secondary servers that correspond to the primary zones on the primary server.

Managing zone distributions lets you:

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Listing Local Zone Distributions

List Zone Distributions Page

At the local cluster only, the default zone distribution is named Default. This is currently the only distribution you can manage at the local cluster. This page lets you do the following:

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Editing (or Viewing) a Local Zone Distribution

Edit Zone Distribution Page
(Read-only: View Zone Distribution Page)

At the local cluster only, to edit the Default zone distribution, choose Default on the List Zone Distribution page. (In read-only mode, this opens the View Zone Distribution page.)

The IP address and optional TSIG key combinations in the Master Servers list are used to set the authoritative servers list (master-servers) when configuring each secondary zone for the distribution. Enter each master DNS server's IP address (hyphenated with a TSIG key if desired, in the format address-key) in the Master Servers field, then click Add IP Key. This adds each address (and key combination) separately to the list. To remove a master server, click the Delete icon (Delete) next to its address. This immediately deletes the address; no confirmation page appears.

You can add secondary servers to the zone distribution. To do so, click Add Server to open the Add Secondary Server page.

Finally, you can choose which forward and reverse zones you wish to participate in the zone distribution. Under Forward Zones, move the desired forward zones from the Available field to the Selected field. Under Reverse Zones, move the desired reverse zones from the Available field to the Selected field. In both cases, you can navigate through the lists and search for zones in the Available as well as Selected fields (enter a value, then click Search).

Click Modify Zone Distribution, or Cancel to cancel the operation.

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Managing the Servers in a Local Zone Distribution

List Secondary Servers Page

At the local cluster only, when you click the View icon (View) in the Manage Servers column on the List Zone Distributions page, a list of the secondary servers for the primary appears after a short time. The secondary servers are identified and can be controlled by:

The functions you can perform on this page are:

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Adding a Secondary Server to a Local Zone Distribution

Add Secondary Server Page

At the local cluster only, when you click Add Server on the List Secondary Servers or Edit Zone Distribution page, a number of entry fields appear on the Add Secondary Server page requesting information about the secondary server to effect a proper synchronization. These fields are as follows:

Field Description
Name Host name of the secondary server.
IP Address IP address of the server.
Administrator Username Username of the administrator of the secondary server.
Administrator Password Password of the administrator of the secondary server.
SCP Port Number CCM SCP port number to communicate with the target server. Check the target system for this port number, which is set during Network Registrar installation. On Windows systems, the installation sets the CNR_CCM_PORT registry key. On Solaris and Linux systems, the installation sets the CNR_CCM_PORT variable in the install-dir/conf/nwreglocal.conf file. The default is 1234.
Master Servers IP addresses of one or more master DNS servers for the secondary server that are apart from the Authoritative Server IP Addresses specified in the zone distribution. In this way, you can have different master servers for each secondary server. Separate their IP addresses with commas.

Enter these fields, then click Add Secondary Server, or Cancel to cancel the operation. You return to the List Secondary Servers, or Edit Zone Distribution, page.

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Editing a Secondary Server in a Local Zone Distribution

Edit Secondary Server Page
(Read-only: View Secondary Server Page)

At the local cluster only, when you click the secondary server's name on the List Secondary Servers page, you can modify the following fields:

Field Description
Name Host name of the secondary server.
IP Address IP address of the server.
Administrator Username Username of the administrator of the secondary server.
Administrator Password Password of the administrator of the secondary server.
SCP Port Number CCM SCP port number to communicate with the target failover server. Check the target system for this port number, which is set during Network Registrar installation. On Windows systems, the installation sets the CNR_CCM_PORT registry key. On Solaris and Linux systems, the installation sets the CNR_CCM_PORT variable in the install-dir/conf/nwreglocal.conf file. The default is 1234.
Master Servers IP addresses of one or more master DNS servers for the secondary server that are apart from the Authoritative Server IP Addresses specified in the zone distribution. In this way, you can have different master servers for each secondary server. Separate their IP addresses with commas.

You can unset a field by clicking a check mark in Unset? next to the field and clicking Unset Fields. Click Modify Server, or Cancel. You return to the List Secondary Servers page.

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Synchronizing a Local Zone Distribution

Sync Zone Distribution Page

At the local cluster only, when you click the Start icon (Run) on the List Zone Distributions page, it opens the Sync Zone Distribution page. This page shows the results of the synchronization.

When you click the Report icon (Report) on the List Zone Distribution page, it opens the Sync Zone Distribution page to show what changes would occur as the result of a synchronization. You can then run the synchronization from this page by clicking Run.

You can show or hide the synchronization details by clicking Show Detail or Hide Detail, respectively.

To return to the List Zone Distributions page, click Return to Zone Distribution List.

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Managing the DNS Server

Manage DNS Server Page

Unless you are a read-only administrator, you can manage the DNS server, including viewing its health, statistics, and logs; starting, stopping, and reloading it; and editing its attributes.

Column Description
Name Name of the DNS server, or local.
State State of the DNS server, which can be initialized, running, or disabled. If the Web UI cannot determine the state, ? appears.
Health Relative health of the protocol server, as a color indicator:

  • Optimal Health (10) -- optimal health
  • Less than Optimal Health -- less than optimal health
  • Stopped (0) -- stopped.

If the Web UI cannot determine the server's health, ? appears.

Statistics Click the Statistics icon (Statistics) to view statistics for the server. This opens the DNS Server Statistics page, which shows statistics relevant to the server. You can refresh the statistics using the Refresh icon (Refresh). To return to managing the server, click Return to Manage DNS Server on that page.
View Log Click the Log icon (Log) to view the log files for the server. This opens the Log for Server page, which lists the log items for the particular server ordered by date and time. You can step through the log using the arrow keys and change the number of items shown by clicking Change Page Size. You can display the log items in two different ways, a tabular format and in the log file format (which you can better use for cutting-and-pasting to a text file). Toggle between these two display modes using the View Log icon (View Log) on the Log for Server page. To return to managing the server, click Return to Manage DNS Server on that page.
Start/Stop/Reload Click the:

  • Start icon (Start) to start or restart the server.
  • Stop icon (Stop) to stop the server.
  • Reload icon (Reload) to reload the server.

If any of these functions is unsuccessful, a red X appears in the column.

To edit the DNS server attributes, click the name of the server. This opens the Edit DNS Server page. Refresh the list of server from time to time. The page indicates when it was last refreshed. To move from this page, click any other Navigation bar choice.

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Editing (or Viewing) DNS Server Attributes

Edit DNS Server Page
(Read-only: View DNS Server Page)

When you click the name of the DNS server on the Manage DNS Server page, you can edit DNS server attributes, unless you are a read-only administrator. These attributes are listed in groupings, with their assigned defaults, if any.

For a description of each attribute, click the name of the attribute to open a help window. The required attributes are marked with an *. Note that many of these attributes have default values, as indicated in the Default column.

To unset values, click a check mark in Unset? next to each attribute and click Unset Fields.

To modify the attributes, click Modify Server. To cancel, click Cancel.

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Viewing DNS Server Statistics

DNS Server Statistics Page

When you click the Statistics icon (Statistics) on the Manage DNS Server page, the DNS Server Statistics page shows values for the server identification, services, uptime, answers, queries, responses, and other statistics. (Click the statistic attribute to open a help page describing the statistic.)

The page also shows values for the following total statistics:

For each of these attributes, get help descriptions by clicking the attribute name. When finished viewing the statistics, click Return to Manage DNS Server.

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