Microsoft KB Archive/234144

= DNS Boot File Directives and Configuration for Windows NT 4.0 =

Article ID: 234144

Article Last Modified on 10/26/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition

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This article was previously published under Q234144



SUMMARY
Windows NT 4.0 Domain Name System (DNS) supports the directives (or commands) listed in this article. You can use these directives in a boot file in the %SystemRoot%\System32\DNSfile folder or in the EnableRegistryBoot registry key to start DNS with the settings you want. The boot file specifies the startup parameters for DNS. Directives must start at the beginning of a line with no preceding spaces.

The recognized and supports commands are:

cache

primary

secondary

forwarders

slave

options

NOTE: Support for the directory directive was removed after the "DNS and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0" white paper was published. This directive is no longer supported as referenced by the white paper.

NOTE: Support for the options directive, which is not listed in the "DNS and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0" white paper, is available with Service Pack 4 or later for Windows NT 4.0.



Cache
Specifies a cache file used to help the DNS service contact a name server for the ROOT domain. This command and the file it refers to must be present. A cache file suitable for use on the Internet is provided with the Windows NT 4.0 DNS service.

Syntax: cache.

Example:

cache. cache.dns

A cache file contains host information that is needed to resolve names outside the authoritative domains and contains names and addresses of root name servers.

The Windows NT 4.0 DNS service provides a default cache file containing name server information for the ROOT domain on the Internet. By default, this file is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32\DNS folder. This is sufficient for users on the Internet.

For installations not connected to the Internet, modify the file to contain the name servers authoritative for the root of your private networks.

A current Internet cache file is available at:

ftp://rs.internic.net/domain/named.cache

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Primary
Specifies a domain for which this name server is authoritative and a database file that contains the resource records for that domain (that is a zone file). Multiple "primary" command records could exist in the boot file.

Syntax: primary

Examples:

primary microsoft.com microsoft.com.dns

primary PSS.microsoft.com pss.microsoft.com.dns

Secondary
Specifies a domain for which this name server is authoritative, and a list of master server IP addresses from which to attempt downloading the zone information, rather than reading it from a file. It also defines the name of the local file for caching this zone. Multiple "secondary" command records could exist in the boot file.

Syntax: secondary

Examples:

secondary BP.microsoft.com 120.120.120.1 bp.microsoft.com.dns

secondary BOS.microsoft.com 130.130.130.1 bos.microsoft.com.dns

Forwarders
Specifies another server that is willing to try resolving recursive queries on behalf of the system.

Syntax: forwarders

Example:

forwarders 120.120.120.1 130.130.130.1

Slave
Specifies that the use of forwarders is the only possible way to resolve queries. This can only follow a forwarders directive.

Syntax: slave

Example:

forwarders 120.120.120.1 130.130.130.1

slave

Options
Specifies optional configuration parameters. Currently, the only "option" directive supported with the boot file is: no-recursion. Non-recursion specifies that the DNS name server sends non-recursive queries to other name servers.

Syntax: options no-recursion

Example:

options no-recursion

The Boot File
The boot file is a BIND-specific implementation and is not a requirement of the IETF RFCs. This feature is provided for easy migration from BIND-based DNS servers. For more information about configuring the DNS server to boot from a boot file, see the "EnableRegistryBoot" and "BootMethod" sections in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

198408 Microsoft DNS Server Registry Parameters, Part 1 of 3

Although the DNS white paper still lists the directory directive, this directive is not supported. If you use the directory directive in the boot file, the following event is recorded in the Event log, stating that an unsupported directory directive was used:

DNS Parsing Error

