DNS on Windows 2000, Second Edition

Chapter 7.  Maintaining the Microsoft DNS Server

“Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a little, “you’d generally get to somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time as we’ve been doing.”

“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”

This chapter discusses a number of related topics pertaining to name server maintenance. We’ll talk about commands you can (and can’t) send to a running name server, modifying the zone data files, and keeping the root name server cache file up to date. We’ll also list common Event Log messages.

This chapter doesn’t cover troubleshooting problems. Maintenance involves keeping your data current and watching over your name servers as they operate. Troubleshooting involves putting out fires—those little DNS emergencies that flare up periodically. Firefighting is covered in Chapter 13.

What About Signals?

Those of you familiar with the BIND name server know that it’s possible to signal a running name server to perform certain tasks, such as rereading its configuration file or turning on debugging information. The Microsoft DNS Server has no exact analog to a BIND name server’s signals, but you can still make it perform certain tasks while running. We’ll go over the tasks possible using signals on a BIND name server and show how to accomplish the same thing (if possible) with ...