nsupdate -- update Internet name servers interactively
nsupdate [-k keydir:keyname] [-d] [-v] [filename]
Nsupdate is a program to update Internet domain name servers supporting
dynamic update. Nsupdate uses the DNS resolver library to pass messages
to a DNS server requesting the additional or deletion of DNS resource
records (RRs). Nsupdate reads input from filename or standard input.
-k Sign updates with TSIG.
-d Debug mode.
-v Virtual circuit - use TCP to communication with server.
Default is UDP.
Nsupdate reads input records, one per line, each line contributing a
resource record to an update request. All domain names used in a single
update request must belong to the same DNS zone. Updates are sent to the
master server as defined in the SOA MNAME field. A blank line causes the
accumulated records to be formated into a single update request and
transmitted to the zone's authoritative name servers. Additional records
may follow, which are formed into additional, completely independent
update requests. For the last request to be transmitted, a blank line
must end the input.
Records take one of two general forms. Prerequisite records specify conditions
that must be satisfied before the request will be processed.
Update records specify changes to be made to the DNS database. A update
request consists of zero or more prerequisites and one or more updates.
Each update request is processed atomically - all prerequisites must be
satisfied, then all updates will be performed.
Nsupdate understands the following input record formats:
prereq nxdomain domain-name Requires that no RR of any type exists with
name domain-name.
prereq yxdomain domain-name Requires that at least one RR named
domain-name must exist.
prereq nxrrset domain-name [class] type Requires that no RR exists of the
specified type and domain-name.
prereq yxrrset domain-name [class] type [data...] Requires that a RR
exists of the specified type and domain-name. If data is specified,
it must match exactly.
update delete domain-name [class] [type [data...]] Deletes RRs named
domain-name. If type (and possibly data) is specified, only
matching records will be deleted.
update add domain-name ttl [class] type data... Adds a new RR with specified
ttl, type, and data.
The following example illustrates the interactive use of nsupdate to
change an IP address by deleting any existing A records for a domain name
and then inserting a new one. Since no prerequisites are specified, the
new record will be added even if there were no existing records to
delete. Note the trailing blank line, required to process the request.
$ nsupdate
> update delete test.example.com A
> update add test.example.com 3600 A 10.1.1.1
>
In this example, a CNAME alias is added to the database only if there are
no existing A or CNAME records for the domain name.
$ nsupdate
> prereq nxrrset www.example.com A
> prereq nxrrset www.example.com CNAME
> update add www.example.com 3600 CNAME test.example.com
>
In this example, the nsupdate will be signed with the key "mykey", which
is in the directory "/var/named/keys".
$ nsupdate -k /var/named/keys:mykey
> update add ftp.example.com 60 A 192.168.5.1
>
"send error" Typically indicates that the authoritative nameservers could
not be reached
"failed update packet" Typically indicates that the nameserver has
rejected the update, either because the nameserver doesn't support
dynamic update, or due to an authentication failure
"res_mkupdate: packet size = size" (and no other messages) The update was
successfully received and authenticated by the nameserver. The
prerequisites, however, may have prevented the update from actually
being performed. The only way to determine if the update
was performed is to use debug mode (-d) and examine the status
field in the nameserver's reply.
/etc/resolv.conf initial domain name and name server addresses
named(8), resolver(3), resolver(5); RFC-1034, ``Domain Names - Concepts
and Facilities''; RFC-1035, ``Domain Names - Implementation and
Specification''; RFC-2136, Dynamic Updates in the Domain Name System.
Brent Baccala
4th Berkeley Distribution March 5, 1999 4th Berkeley Distribution
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