Add a CNAME resource record to a zone

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

You can use the following procedure to add an alias canonical (CNAME) resource record to a zone. You can perform this procedure by using the DNS snap-in or by using the Dnscmd command-line tool.

Administrative credentials

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 the Run as command to perform this procedure.

Adding a CNAME resource record to a zone

  • Using the Windows interface

  • Using the command line

To add a CNAME resource record to a zone using the Windows interface

  1. Open the DNS snap-in.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the applicable forward lookup zone, and then click New Alias (CNAME).

  3. In Alias name, type the alias name.

  4. In Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for target host, type the FQDN of the Domain Name System (DNS) host computer for which this alias is to be used.

    As an option, you can click Browse to search the DNS namespace for hosts in this domain that have host address (A) records already defined.

  5. Click OK to add the new record to the zone.

Note

To open the DNS snap-in, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.

To add a CNAME resource record to a zone using the command line

  • At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    dnscmd ServerName /RecordAdd ZoneNameNodeName [/Aging] [/OpenAcl] [Ttl] CNAME HostName|DomainName

    Value Description

    ServerName

    Required. Specifies the DNS host name of the DNS server. You can also type the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the DNS server. To specify the DNS server on the local computer, you can also type a period (.)

    /RecordAdd

    Adds a new resource record.

    ZoneName

    Required. Specifies the name of the zone where this CNAME resource record will be added.

    NodeName

    Required. Specifies the FQDN of the node in the DNS namespace. You can also type the node name relative to the ZoneName or @, which specifies the zone's root node.

    /Aging

    Specifies that this resource record is aged and scavenged. If this parameter is not used, the resource record remains in the DNS database unless it is manually updated or removed.

    /OpenAcl

    Specifies that new records are open to modification by any user. Without this parameter, only administrators may modify the new record.

    Ttl

    Specifies the Time to Live (TTL) setting for the resource record. The default TTL is defined in the start-of-authority (SOA) resource record.

    CNAME

    Required. Specifies the resource record type of the record that you are adding.

    HostName|DomainName

    Required. Specifies the FQDN of any valid DNS host or domain name in the namespace. For FQDNs, a trailing period (.) is used to fully qualify the name.