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NSD allows dynamic zone management through nsd-control. Zones can be added, removed, or changed without editing the configuration file or restarting the server.

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Overview

Zone management commands work with the zonelist file, which stores zones added dynamically. These zones persist across restarts.
Zones defined directly in nsd.conf cannot be managed dynamically. They must be modified in the configuration file and applied with nsd-control reconfig.

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Adding Zones

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addzone

Add a new zone to the running server: 
nsd-control addzone <zone name> <pattern name>
Parameters:
  • zone name - Fully qualified domain name (e.g., example.com)
  • pattern name - Name of an existing pattern in nsd.conf
Example: 
nsd-control addzone example.com secondary-pattern
The command:
  1. Adds the zone to the zonelist file on disk
  2. Loads the zone into memory
  3. For secondary zones: immediately attempts zone transfer
  4. For zones with zone files: reads the zone file
Output: 
ok
The specified pattern must already exist in nsd.conf. If it doesn’t exist, the command will fail with:
error pattern <name> does not exist

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addzones

Add multiple zones at once (bulk operation): 
nsd-control addzones
Reads zone definitions from stdin, one per line: 
zone1.example.com pattern1
zone2.example.com pattern2
zone3.example.com pattern1
<Ctrl+D>
Output: 
added: zone1.example.com
added: zone2.example.com
added: zone3.example.com
added 3 zones
  1. Start the command: 
    nsd-control addzones
  2. Enter zone definitions (one per line): 
    example.com primary-pattern
sub.example.com secondary-pattern
  3. Press Ctrl+D to finish
  4. Review the results: 
    added: example.com
added: sub.example.com
added 2 zones

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Deleting Zones

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delzone

Remove a zone from the running server: 
nsd-control delzone <zone name>
Example: 
nsd-control delzone example.com
The command:
  1. Removes the zone from the zonelist file on disk
  2. Removes the zone from the nsd.db file
  3. Removes the zone from memory
  4. Leaves the zone file on disk (if it exists)
Zones configured inside nsd.conf itself cannot be removed this way. To delete such zones:
  1. Remove them from nsd.conf
  2. Run nsd-control reconfig

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delzones

Remove multiple zones at once (bulk operation): 
nsd-control delzones
Reads zone names from stdin, one per line: 
zone1.example.com
zone2.example.com
zone3.example.com
<Ctrl+D>
Output: 
removed: zone1.example.com
removed: zone2.example.com
removed: zone3.example.com
deleted 3 zones

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Changing Zones

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changezone

Change a zone to use a different pattern: 
nsd-control changezone <zone name> <pattern name>
Example: 
nsd-control changezone example.com new-pattern
This performs a seamless transition:
  1. Deletes the old zone configuration
  2. Adds the zone with the new pattern
  3. Both operations happen in one reload cycle
  4. No downtime for the zone
Use cases:
  • Switch from primary to secondary (or vice versa)
  • Change notify targets
  • Update request-xfr settings
  • Modify ACLs
Zones configured in nsd.conf cannot be changed this way. Instead:
  1. Edit the pattern in nsd.conf (or the included file)
  2. Run nsd-control reconfig

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Zone Patterns

Before adding zones, you need to define patterns in nsd.conf.

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Primary Zone Pattern

pattern:
    name: "primary-pattern"
    zonefile: "/var/nsd/zones/%s.zone"
    notify: 192.0.2.1 NOKEY
    notify: 192.0.2.2 NOKEY
    provide-xfr: 192.0.2.1 NOKEY
    provide-xfr: 192.0.2.2 NOKEY
Add a primary zone: 
nsd-control addzone example.com primary-pattern

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Secondary Zone Pattern

pattern:
    name: "secondary-pattern"
    zonefile: "/var/nsd/zones/secondary/%s.zone"
    request-xfr: AXFR 192.0.2.53 NOKEY
    allow-notify: 192.0.2.53 NOKEY
Add a secondary zone: 
nsd-control addzone sub.example.com secondary-pattern
The zone transfer will start immediately.

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Checking Zone Status

After adding or modifying zones, check their status: 
nsd-control zonestatus example.com
Output for a primary zone: 
zone:   example.com
state:  primary
Output for a secondary zone: 
zone:   sub.example.com
pattern: secondary-pattern
state:  ok
served-serial: "2024030801 since 2024-03-08 10:15:23"
commit-serial: "2024030801 since 2024-03-08 10:15:23"
See Zone Transfers for more details on zone status.

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Working with Zonelist File

The zonelist file stores dynamically added zones. Location is typically:
  • /var/nsd/zone.list
  • Or as configured in nsd.conf with zonelist-file
Format (one zone per line): 
zone_name pattern_name
Example: 
example.com primary-pattern
sub.example.com secondary-pattern
test.com primary-pattern
Do not edit the zonelist file manually while NSD is running. Use nsd-control commands instead.

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Common Workflows

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Adding a New Primary Zone

  1. Create the zone file: 
    vi /var/nsd/zones/newzone.com.zone
  2. Add the zone: 
    nsd-control addzone newzone.com primary-pattern
  3. Verify: 
    nsd-control zonestatus newzone.com
  4. Test: 
    dig @localhost newzone.com SOA

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Adding a New Secondary Zone

  1. Add the zone: 
    nsd-control addzone newsecondary.com secondary-pattern
  2. Check transfer status: 
    nsd-control zonestatus newsecondary.com
    You may see: 
    state: refreshing
transfer: "sent UDP to 192.0.2.53"
  3. After transfer completes: 
    nsd-control zonestatus newsecondary.com

    state: ok
served-serial: "2024030801 since 2024-03-08 10:20:15"

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Converting Primary to Secondary

  1. Create a secondary pattern if needed (in nsd.conf)
  2. Change the zone: 
    nsd-control changezone example.com secondary-pattern
  3. Zone transfer begins immediately
  4. Verify: 
    nsd-control zonestatus example.com

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Bulk Zone Addition from File

  1. Create a file with zone definitions: 
    cat zones.txt
zone1.example.com pattern1
zone2.example.com pattern1
zone3.example.com pattern2
  2. Add all zones: 
    cat zones.txt | nsd-control addzones
  3. Verify: 
    nsd-control zonestatus

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Catalog Zones

NSD supports DNS catalog zones for automatic zone provisioning.
Catalog member zones (zones added via catalog) cannot be managed with addzone, delzone, or changezone. They are managed through the catalog zone itself.Attempting to delete a catalog member will produce:
Error: Zone is a catalog consumer member zone with id <member-id>
Remove the member id from the catalog to delete this zone.

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Error Messages

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Pattern does not exist

error pattern secondary-pattern does not exist
Solution: Check available patterns in nsd.conf or create the pattern first.

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Zone already exists

zone example.com already exists
Solution: Use changezone to modify the existing zone, or delete it first.

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Zone defined in nsd.conf

error zone defined in nsd.conf, cannot delete it in this manner:
remove it from nsd.conf yourself and reconfig
Solution: Edit nsd.conf and run nsd-control reconfig.

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Zone not present

warning zone example.com not present
This is just a warning when trying to delete a non-existent zone.

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Cannot parse zone name

error cannot parse zone name 'invalid..com'
Solution: Use a valid fully qualified domain name.

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See Also

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