Adjust the refresh, retry, or expire intervals for a zone

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 change the following intervals for a Domain Name System (DNS) zone:

• Refresh interval. Used to determine how often other DNS servers that load and host the zone must attempt to renew the zone.

• Retry interval. Used to determine how often other DNS servers that load and host the zone are to retry a request for update of the zone each time that the refresh interval occurs.

• Expire interval. Used by other DNS servers that are configured to load and host the zone to determine when zone data expires if it is not renewed.

The default values for each interval are as follows:

• Refresh interval: 15 minutes.

• Retry interval: 10 minutes.

• Expire interval: one day.

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.

Adjusting the refresh, retry, or expire interval for a zone

• Using the Windows interface

• Using the command line

To adjust the refresh, retry, or expire interval for a zone using the Windows interface

1. Open the DNS snap-in.

2. In the console tree, right-click the applicable zone, and then click Properties.

3. On the General tab, verify that the zone type is either Primary or Active Directory-Integrated.

4. Click the Start of Authority (SOA) tab.

5. In Refresh interval, Retry interval, or Expires after, click a time period in minutes, hours, or days, and type a number in the text box.

6. Click OK to save the adjusted interval.

To adjust the refresh, retry, or expire interval for 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] SOA PrimSvr Admin Serial#\ Refresh Retry Expire MinTTL

  Value	Description
  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 (.)
  /RecordAdd	Required. Adds or modifies a resource record.
  ZoneName	Required. Specifies the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the zone.
  NodeName	Required. Specifies the FQDN of the node in the DNS namespace for which the SOA record is added. You can also type the node name relative to the ZoneName, or you can type @, which specifies the zone's root node.
  /Aging	Specifies that this resource record is able to be aged and scavenged. If this parameter is not used, the resource record remains in the DNS database unless it is updated or removed manually.
  /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.
  SOA	Required. Specifies the type of resource record that you are modifying.
  PrimSvr	Required. Specifies the FQDN name of the server that is the primary source for information about the zone, for example, nameserver.place.sales.wingtiptoys.com..
  Admin	Required. Specifies the name of the DNS administrator for the zone, for example, postmaster.nameserver.place.sales.wingtiptoys.com.
  Serial#\	Required. Specifies the version information for the zone.
  Refresh	Required. Specifies the refresh interval for the zone. The standard setting is 3600 seconds (one hour).
  Retry	Required. Specifies the retry interval for the zone. The standard setting is 600 seconds (10 minutes).
  Expire	Required. Specifies the expire interval for the zone. The standard setting is 86400 seconds (one day).
  MinTTL	Required. Specifies the minimum TTL value. This is the length of time that is used by other DNS servers to determine how long to cache information for a record in the zone before expiring and discarding it. The standard setting is 3600 seconds (one hour).