Change the zone type: Domain Name System(DNS)

Change the zone type: Domain Name S...

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Change the zone type

Updated: January 21, 2005

To change the zone type

Using the Windows interface
Using a command line

To change the zone type using the Windows interface

Open DNS.
In the console tree, right-click the applicable zone, and then click Properties.
On the General tab, note the current zone type, and then click Change.
In Change Zone Type, select a zone type other than the current one, and then click OK.

Additional considerations

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
To open DNS, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click DNS.
You can select from Primary zone, Secondary zone, or Stub zone. When selecting the secondary or stub zone types, you must specify the IP address of another DNS server to be used as the source for obtaining updated information for the zone.
If the DNS server computer is operating as a domain controller, the option to change the zone type to Active Directory-integrated is available. This option is not otherwise available. When this zone type is selected for use, zone data is stored and replicated as part of the Active Directory database.
Note
You cannot change the zone type (primary, secondary, or stub) and the method for storing the zone at the same time. You must perform the two operations separately.
Changing a zone from secondary to primary type can affect other zone activities, including management of dynamic updates and zone transfers and the use of DNS notify lists to notify other servers about changes in the zone. For more information, see Related Topics.
Changing a zone from stub to primary type or vice versa is not recommended due to the purpose of stub zones.
Changing DNS zone type or storage can be time-consuming for large zones.

Note
You cannot change the zone type (primary, secondary, or stub) and the method for storing the zone at the same time. You must perform the two operations separately.

To change the zone type using a command line

Open Command Prompt.
Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
dnscmdServerName/ZoneResetTypeZoneNameProperty [MasterIPaddress...] [/file FileName] {/OverWrite_Mem|/OverWrite_Ds|/DirectoryPartition FQDN}

Value	Description
dnscmd	Specifies the name of the command-line tool.
ServerName	Required. Specifies the Domain Name System (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 (.)
ZoneName	Required. Specifies the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of zone.
Property	Required. One of the following zone types: /Primary Standard primary zone. The /fileFileName option is required. /DsPrimary Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)–integrated primary zone. If the zone is not already a primary zone, you must convert it to a primary zone (using /Primary) before you use this option to integrate the zone with AD DS. /Secondary Secondary zone. You must specify at least one MasterIPaddress. /Stub Stub zone. You must specify at least one MasterIPaddress. If the zone is an AD DS–integrated primary zone, you must use /DsStub to convert it to an AD DS–integrated stub zone before using this option. /DsStub Active Directory-integrated stub zone. You must specify at least one MasterIPaddress. If the zone is not already a stub zone, you must convert it to a stub zone (using /Stub) before using this option to integrate the zone with AD DS.
/fileFileName	Required for /Primary. Specifies the name of a file for the new zone. This parameter is not valid for the /DsPrimary zone type.
MasterIPaddress...	Required for /Secondary, /Stub and /DsStub. Specifies one or more IP addresses for the master servers of the secondary or stub zone, from which it copies zone data.
/OverWrite_Mem\|/OverWrite_Ds\| /DirectoryPartitionFQDN	/OverWrite_Mem overwrites exisiting DNS data using the data in Active Directory. /OverWrite_Ds overwrites Active Directory data with data in DNS. /DirectoryPartition stores the new zone in the application directory partition specified by FQDN, such as DomainDnsZones.corp.example.microsoft.com.

Format	Meaning
Italic	Information that the user must supply
Bold	Elements that the user must type exactly as shown
Ellipsis (...)	Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line
Between brackets ([])	Optional items
Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (\|). Example: {even\|odd}	Set of choices from which the user must choose only one
Courier font	Code or program output

Additional considerations

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
To open a command prompt, click Start, point to All programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command prompt.
This procedure requires the Dnscmd Windows support tool.
To view the complete syntax for this command, at a command prompt, type:
dnscmd/ZoneResetType/help
You can select from primary, secondary or stub zone. When selecting the secondary or stub zone type, you need to specify the IP address of another DNS server to be used as the source for obtaining updated information for the zone.
If the DNS server computer is operating as a domain controller, the option to change the zone type to Active Directory-integrated is available. This option is not otherwise available. When this zone type is selected for use, zone data is stored and replicated as part of the Active Directory database.
Changing a zone from secondary to primary type can affect other zone activities, including management of dynamic updates and zone transfers, and the use of DNS notify lists to notify other servers about changes in the zone.
Changing a zone from stub to primary type or vice versa is not recommended due to the purpose of stub zones.

Information about functional differences

Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

To change the zone type

Additional considerations

Additional considerations

Information about functional differences

Additional references