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Allow Dynamic Updates

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Domain Name System (DNS) client computers can use dynamic update to register and dynamically update their resource records with a DNS server whenever changes occur. This reduces the need for manual administration of zone records, especially for clients that frequently move or change locations and use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to obtain an IP address.

You can use this procedure to allow dynamic updates using either the DNS Manager snap-in or the dnscmd command-line tool.

Membership in Administrators, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at Local and Domain Default Groups (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477).

Allowing dynamic updates

  • Using the Windows interface

  • Using a command line

To allow dynamic updates using the Windows interface

  1. Open DNS Manager. To open DNS Manager, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the applicable zone, and then click Properties.

  3. On the General tab, verify that the zone type is either Primary or Active Directory-integrated.

  4. In Dynamic Updates, click Nonsecure and secure.

Additional considerations

  • Dynamic update is a Request for Comments (RFC)–compliant extension to the DNS standard. The DNS update process is defined in RFC 2136, "Dynamic Updates in the Domain Name System (DNS UPDATES)."

To allow dynamic updates using a command line

  1. Open a command prompt. To open an elevated Command Prompt window, click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

  2. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    dnscmd <ServerName> /Config {<ZoneName>|..AllZones} /AllowUpdate {1|0}
Parameter Description

dnscmd

The command-line tool for managing DNS servers.

<ServerName>

Required. Specifies the DNS host name of the DNS server. You can also type the IP address of the DNS server. To specify the DNS server on the local computer, you can also type a period (.)

/Config

Required. Configures the specified zone.

<ZoneName>|..AllZones

Required. Specifies the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the zone. To configure all zones that are hosted on the specified DNS server to allow dynamic updates, type ..AllZones.

/AllowUpdate

Required. Enables dynamic updates for the specified zones.

1|0

Configures dynamic update. To allow dynamic updates, enter a value of 1. To not allow dynamic updates, enter a value of 0.

To view the complete syntax for this command, at a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

dnscmd /Config /help

Additional considerations

  • Dynamic update is an RFC-compliant extension to the DNS standard. The DNS update process is defined in RFC 2136, "Dynamic Updates in the Domain Name System (DNS UPDATES)."

Additional references