Section 4.12. Command-Line Utilities
4.12. Command-Line UtilitiesIn this section, I'll describe some useful programs designed to be run from a command line that you can use to automate your DNS setup and configuration processes. 4.12.1. DNSCmdThe Windows Server 2003 Support Tools collection, described earlier in the book, contains the DNSCmd utility , which is a great way to access some command DNS configuration-related functions through the power and speed of the command prompt. To get to DNSCmd, look in the Support\Tools directory on the Windows Server 2003 distribution CD for the file support.cab. Inside, copy and paste DNSCmd to a convenient location. DNSCmd displays and changes the properties of DNS servers, zones, and resource records. Some operations of this tool work at the DNS server level while others work at the zone level. You can use DNSCmd on any Windows 2000 or XP computer as long as the user that is running the application is a member in the Administrators or Server Operators group on the target computer. Both the user account and the server computer must be members of the same domain or reside within trusted domains. DNSCmd can be used in any of the following situations:
You use DNSCmd simply by specifying attributes and their values as part of a command. For example, to create a new standard primary zone called corp.hasselltech.local on a server named dc1.corp.hasselltech.local and stored in corp.hasselltech.local.dns files, use the following syntax: dnscmd dc1.corp.hasselltech.local/ZoneAdd corp.hasselltech.local /Primary /file corp. hasselltech.local.dns I could have also chosen to make corp.hasselltech.local a secondary zone by replacing the /Primary switch with /Secondary. To create a new A record, I could issue the following command, which adds a record for a machine named wwwto the zone with an IP address of 192.168.1.23to the same DNS server as the previous example: Dnscmd dc1.corp.hasselltech.local /RecordAdd corp.hasselltech.local www A 192.168.1.23 You can see all of the zones on a target server by entering the following command: dnscmd dc1.corp.hasselltech.local /enumzones If you're experiencing some problems with replication and want to trigger the process manually, you can start it with the following command (assuming you want to use the same server to begin the process as in the previous examples): Dnscmd dc1.corp.hasselltech.local /ZoneRefresh corp.hasselltech.local Likewise, you might find yourself needing to manually age all of the records on a particular machine. You can easily do so through DNSCmd using the following: dnscmd corp.hasselltech.local /ageallrecords dc1.corp.hasselltech.local You'll need to confirm your choice, and then the current time will be applied to all records on that machine. You might also need to clear the DNS cache on a target server, which can be done using this command: Dnscmd dc1.corp.hasselltech.local /clearcache To quickly stop and start the DNS process on the target computer, use the following command: Dnscmd dc1.corp.hasselltech.local /restart If you want to export a particular zone to a file, you can issue the following command: dnscmd /zoneexport corp.hasselltech.local corp.hasselltech.local.dns And, finally, to delete a zone from a target server, use the following command: dnscmd dc1.corp.hasselltech.local /zonedelete corp.hasselltech.local 4.12.2. DNSLintAlso on the distribution CD in support tools is DNSLint. DNSLint is a utility born out of the desire to automate the process of troubleshooting lame delegation issues and problems with AD replication because of faulty DNS records. DNSLint is a great tool to make sure that every DNS server that has records on your services has correct records and that there are no issues with those DNS servers' data. (And in case you're wondering, the name "DNSLint" comes from the idea that lint is something you find in your blue jeans after they come out of the dryer. When you find lint, it is useless and perhaps even embarrassing, meaning you probably quickly discard it. You should do the same with outdated or inaccurate DNS records for critical machines on your network.) The best thing to do from the start is to create a standard report on any given DNS domain, using the following: dnslint /d hasselltech.local /v DNSLint produces an HTML-based report and then starts Internet Explorer to display the result. The results are color-coded with warnings in amber and errors in red for easy scanning. (You can elect to get a text-based report, if you prefer.) The report generated by the previous command will show a detailed listing of each DNS server for the corp.hasselltech.local domain and indicate whether or not the server responds to a query on port 53, which is the standard DNS port. It will tell you how it found each server, and it will also list each server that reports authoritatively. You will also see Mail Exchanger (MX) records in the zone, which is a useful addition to help with troubleshooting SMTP routing problems. If you are specifically having email difficulties, you can use DNSLint to determine whether a designated email server listens on the correct port. Use the following command: dnslint /d domainname.tld /c The report generated by that command will list whether a server indicated in an MX record is listening for SMTP, POP3 and IMAP4 requests, and will also show the SMTP header returned by the server to help in diagnostics. To assist in troubleshooting, the following functions are available in DNSLint:
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