Dynamic zones - Micetro - 26.1.0

Micetro Reference Articles
ft:locale
en-US
Product name
Micetro
Version
26.1.0

Micetro allows you to work with dynamic zones on BIND and Microsoft DNS servers.

This reference article describes how Micetro handles dynamic zones and how to configure your DNS server to allow Micetro to work with dynamic zones.

Configuring BIND DNS servers for dynamic zones

Micetro assumes that a zone in BIND is dynamic if it has been configured to allow any external updates. You can either change this configuration through the allow-update or the update-policy option. For more information on how Micetro determines a zone is dynamic, refer to Dynamic zone and key handling.

When you have configured the server, you can change the zone type from static to dynamic by editing zone options. For instructions on how to change a static zone to a dynamic zone, refer to Static vs. Dynamic zones. You cannot create a dynamic zone on a BIND server from zone creation.

Note: As dynamic zones are transferred from the DNS server using a zone transfer, make sure to allow zone transfers to the servers listed in the zone or, if you want to use a specific list of servers, that it contains localhost.

If a TSIG key is defined in your BIND configuration, you can use it to restrict DNS updates to dynamic zones. To add a TSIG key to a configuration:

  1. Use rndc-confgen to create a new key statement. For example, this creates the key with the name "newkey":
    rndc-confgen -k newkey
  2. Copy the resulting key statement that is provided on the screen.
  3. On the Admin page, select Service management in the left sidebar.
  4. Locate the DNS service you want to add the key to.
  5. Use either the Action or Row ... menu to select Edit server options.
  6. In the dialog, open the Raw configuration tab.
  7. Use the File dropdown to select a good location for the key, for example, in the file conf/user_before.
  8. Paste the the key statement into the provided field and then select Save.

The key should now be an option you can select when configuring the Update restrictions in the zone options.

Configuring Microsoft DNS servers for dynamic zones

Micetro can manage dynamic zones on Microsoft DNS servers, including both Active Directory (AD) integrated zones and file-based zones. It's not possible to disable dynamic zones that are hosted on a Microsoft DNS server.

Note: Dynamic zones are transferred from the DNS server using a zone transfer. If you restrict zone transfers from your DNS server (by editing zone options), make sure to allow zone transfers to the servers listed in the zone or, if you want to use a specific list of servers, that it contains localhost.

When viewing a zone's contents in the DNS data grid, a new Timestamp column is added to the grid for dynamic zones hosted on Microsoft DNS servers. This column displays the time of creation for records that are added dynamically (aka dynamic records). Static records, however, do not have a record timestamp.