View When a Zone Can Start Scavenging Stale Resource Records

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

You can use this procedure to verify that a Domain Name System (DNS) zone's scavenging interval is correct. You can complete this procedure using either the DNS Manager snap-in or the dnscmd command-line tool.

Membership in Administrators, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at Local and Domain Default Groups (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477).

Viewing when a zone can start scavenging stale records

  • Using the Windows interface

  • Using a command line

To view when a zone can start scavenging stale records using the Windows interface

  1. Open DNS Manager. To open DNS Manager, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.

  2. On the View menu, click Advanced.

  3. Right-click the applicable zone, and then click Properties.

  4. On the General tab, click Aging.

  5. Under Refresh interval, view when the zone is first eligible to be scavenged for stale resource records.

Additional considerations

  • The “start scavenging” date and time stamp determine when zone scavenging starts.

  • After the “start scavenging” date and time stamp are reached, scavenging can occur only if the Scavenge stale resource records check box is selected. If the check box is cleared, scavenging for the zone cannot occur.

To view when a zone can start scavenging stale records using a command line

  1. Open a command prompt. To open an elevated Command Prompt window, click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

  2. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    dnscmd <ServerName> /ZoneInfo <ZoneName> RefreshInterval
Parameter Description

dnscmd

The command-line tool for managing DNS servers.

<ServerName>

Required. Specifies the 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 (.).

/ZoneInfo

Required. Displays configuration information.

<ZoneName>

Required. Specifies the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the zone.

RefreshInterval

Required. Specifies the configuration property that appears when the zone is first eligible to be scavenged for stale resource records. The output value is in hours. The default setting is 168 hours (one week).

To view the complete syntax for this command, at a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

dnscmd /ZoneInfo /help

Additional references