RNDC(8)RNDC(8)NAMErndc - name server control utility
SYNOPSISrndc [ -c config-file ] [ -k key-file ] [ -s server ] [ -p port ] [
-V ] [ -y key_id ] command
DESCRIPTIONrndc controls the operation of a name server. It supersedes the ndc
utility that was provided in old BIND releases. If rndc is invoked with
no command line options or arguments, it prints a short summary of the
supported commands and the available options and their arguments.
rndc communicates with the name server over a TCP connection, sending
commands authenticated with digital signatures. In the current versions
of rndc and named named the only supported authentication algorithm is
HMAC-MD5, which uses a shared secret on each end of the connection.
This provides TSIG-style authentication for the command request and the
name server's response. All commands sent over the channel must be
signed by a key_id known to the server.
rndc reads a configuration file to determine how to contact the name
server and decide what algorithm and key it should use.
OPTIONS-c config-file
Use config-file as the configuration file instead of the
default, /etc/rndc.conf.
-k key-file
Use key-file as the key file instead of the default,
/etc/rndc.key. The key in /etc/rndc.key will be used to authen‐
ticate commands sent to the server if the config-file does not
exist.
-s server
server is the name or address of the server which matches a
server statement in the configuration file for rndc. If no
server is supplied on the command line, the host named by the
default-server clause in the option statement of the configura‐
tion file will be used.
-p port
Send commands to TCP port port instead of BIND 9's default con‐
trol channel port, 953.
-V Enable verbose logging.
-y keyid
Use the key keyid from the configuration file. keyid must be
known by named with the same algorithm and secret string in
order for control message validation to succeed. If no keyid is
specified, rndc will first look for a key clause in the server
statement of the server being used, or if no server statement is
present for that host, then the default-key clause of the
options statement. Note that the configuration file contains
shared secrets which are used to send authenticated control com‐
mands to name servers. It should therefore not have general read
or write access.
For the complete set of commands supported by rndc, see the BIND 9
Administrator Reference Manual or run rndc without arguments to see its
help message.
LIMITATIONSrndc does not yet support all the commands of the BIND 8 ndc utility.
There is currently no way to provide the shared secret for a key_id
without using the configuration file.
Several error messages could be clearer.
SEE ALSOrndc.conf(5), named(8), named.conf(5)ndc(8), BIND 9 Administrator Ref‐
erence Manual.
AUTHOR
Internet Systems Consortium
BIND9 June 30, 2000 RNDC(8)
