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Change Zone Replication Scope

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

You can use these procedures to change the replication scope for a zone using either the DNS Manager snap-in or the dnscmd command-line tool. Only Active Directory–integrated primary and stub forward lookup zones can change their replication scope. Because they are not integrated with Active Directory, secondary forward lookup zones cannot change their replication scope.

Warning

Improperly configuring the replication scope of a zone can cause replication to fail or produce unexpected results, interfering with name resolution for the zone. You should not change the replication scope of a zone unless you fully understand how Active Directory replication works.

The following table describes the available zone replication scopes for Active Directory–integrated Domain Name System (DNS) zone data.

Zone replication scope Description

All DNS servers in the Active Directory forest

Replicates zone data to all DNS servers that are running on domain controllers in the Active Directory forest. Usually, this is the broadest scope of replication.

All DNS servers in the Active Directory domain

Replicates zone data to all DNS servers that are running on domain controllers in the Active Directory domain. This option is the default setting for Active Directory–integrated DNS zone replication in Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

All domain controllers in the Active Directory domain

Replicates zone data to all domain controllers in the Active Directory domain.

All domain controllers in a specified application directory partition

Replicates zone data according to the replication scope of the specified application directory partition. For a zone to be stored in the specified application directory partition, the DNS server that is hosting the zone must be enlisted in the specified application directory partition.

Membership in DnsAdmins or Domain Admins in AD DS, 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).

Changing zone replication scope

  • Using the Windows interface

  • Using a command line

To change zone replication scope 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, note the current zone replication type, and then click Change.

  4. Select a replication scope for the zone.

To change zone replication scope using the 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 a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    dnscmd <ServerName> /ZoneChangeDirectoryPartition <ZoneName> <NewPartitionName>
    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 (.)

    /ZoneChangeDirectoryPartition

    Required. Changes a zone's replication scope.

    <ZoneName>

    Required. Specifies the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the zone.

    <NewPartitionName>

    Required. The FQDN of the DNS application directory partition where the zone will be stored.