Installation guide

242 Chapter 16. Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND)
• stats — Dumps the current named stats to the /var/named/named.stats file.
• stop — Stops the server gracefully, saving any dynamic update and IXFR data before exiting.
Occasionally, you may want to override the default settings in the /etc/rndc.conf file. The follow-
ing options are available:
• -c
configuration-file — Tells rndc to use a configuration file other than the default
/etc/rndc.conf.
• -p
port-number — Specifies a different port number to use for the rndc connection other
than the default 953.
• -s
server — Tells rndc to send the command to a server other than the default-server
option in /etc/rndc.conf file.
In order for this to work, you must have configured the other named service to accept commands
from your host and have the key for that nameservice.
• -y key-name — Allows you to specify a key other than the default-key option in
/etc/rndc.conf file.
Additional information about these options can be found in the rndc man page.
16.4. Advanced Features of BIND
Most BIND implementations only use named to provide name resolution services or to act as an
authority for a particular domain or sub-domain. However, BIND version 9 has a number of advanced
features that, when properly configured, allow for a more secure and efficient DNS service.
Caution
Some of these advanced features, such as DNSSEC, TSIG, and IXFR, should only be used in net-
work environments with nameservers that support the features. If your network environment includes
non-BIND or older BIND nameservers, check to see if a particular advanced feature is available
before attempting to use it.
Do not assume another type of nameserver supports all of these features, as many do not.
All of the features discussed here are discussed in greater detail in the BIND 9 Administrator Reference
Manual. See Section 16.6 for places to find this manual.
16.4.1. DNS Protocol Enhancements
BIND supports Incremental Zone Transfers (IXFR), where slave nameserver will only download the
updated portions of a zone modified on a master nameserver. The standard transfer AXFR process
requires that the entire zone be transferred to each slave nameserver for even the smallest change.
For very popular domains with very lengthy zone files and many slave nameservers, IXFR makes the
notification and update process much less resource intensive.
Note that IXFR is only available if you are also using dynamic updating to make changes to master
zone records. If you are manually editing zone files to make changes, AXFR will be used. More
information on dynamic updating is available in the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual.