BIND Configuration File Guide - zone Statement


Syntax

zone domain_name [ ( in | hs | hesiod | chaos ) ] { 
  type master;
  file path_name;
  [ check-names ( warn | fail | ignore ); ]
  [ allow-update { address_match_list }; ]
  [ allow-query { address_match_list }; ]
  [ allow-transfer { address_match_list }; ]
  [ notify yes_or_no; ]
  [ also-notify { ip_addr; [ ip_addr; ... ] };
};

zone domain_name [ ( in | hs | hesiod | chaos ) ] { 
  type ( slave | stub );
  [ file path_name; ]
  masters { ip_addr; [ ip_addr; ... ] };
  [ check-names ( warn | fail | ignore ); ]
  [ allow-update { address_match_list }; ]
  [ allow-query { address_match_list }; ]
  [ allow-transfer { address_match_list }; ]
  [ max-transfer-time-in number; ]
  [ notify yes_or_no; ]
  [ also-notify { ip_addr; [ ip_addr; ... ] };
};

zone . [ ( in | hs | hesiod | chaos ) ] { 
  type hint;
  file path_name;
  [ check-names ( warn | fail | ignore ); ]
};

Definition and Usage

Zone Types

master
The master copy of the data in a zone.
slave
A slave zone is a replica of a master zone. The masters list specifies one or more IP addresses that the slave contacts to update its copy of the zone. If file is specified, the replica will be written to the file. Use of file is recommended, since it often speeds server startup and eliminates a needless waste of bandwidth.
stub
A stub zone is like a slave zone, except that it replicates only the NS records of a master zone instead of the entire zone.
hint
The initial set of root name servers is specified using a hint zone. When the server starts up, it uses the root hints to find a root name server and to get the most recent list of root name servers.

Note: Previous releases of BIND used the term primary for a master zone, secondary for a slave zone, and cache for a hint zone.

Class

The zone's name may optionally be followed by a class. If a class is not specified, class in is used.

Options

check-names
 
allow-query
 
allow-update
Specifies which hosts are allowed to submit Dynamic DNS updates to the server. The default is to deny updates from all hosts.
allow-transfer
 
max-transfer-time-in
 
notify
 
also-notify
Is meaningful only if notify is active for this zone. The set of machines that will receive a DNS NOTIFY message for this zone is made up of all the listed nameservers for the zone (other than the primary master) plus any IP addresses specified with also-notify. The also-notify option is not meaningful for stub zones. The default is the empty list.