Import zones to a new DNS

[Eyas]

Hi

I'm going to migrate the zones in two Bind servers to a couple of DNS servers on Win2003Srv. Is there an easy (read automatic) way to do this? I'm familiar with both coping the .txt-files and setting up a secondary zone but both of these involve some manual steps (like creating the zone etc.) which I really wouldn't like to repeat 700 times.

Does anybody have any ideas or tools for this task?

/Tommy Gustafsson

 

[ITPangaeaArchitect]

Best guesses:

If 2003 boxes are member servers only (this should be done on 1 at a time to ensure it will work and save bandwidth):
1. create secondary zones for each zone and allow zone replication to occur
2. change client/server IP configuration to point to new DNS servers
3. change scope of zones to primary
**this can be scripted...but scripting this task could potentially be more daunting.

If 2003 boxes are DCs:

1. create secondary zones for each zone and allow zone replication to occur
2. change client/server IP configuration to point to new DNS servers
3. change scope of zones to Active Directory integrated
**this can be scripted...but scripting this task could potentially be more daunting.

there are ways to import records into a zone in Windows...but I am not sure how to export the necessary information from the BIND servers...or whether the format is usable.


here's what I could find quickly for ya...its a snip from MS:
Moving BIND-based files
When moving from a BIND DNS server to a DNS server running Windows Server 2003 , however, you need to copy any BIND-created zone or boot files that you intend to use with the DNS Server service. Also, if you continue to use a BIND boot file to provide the initial configuration settings used by the DNS Server service when it is started, you need to change the boot method used by the DNS Server service or rename the zone files from the BIND naming convention to that used by DNS servers running under the DNS Server service provided in Windows operating systems. For more information, see Change the boot method used by the DNS server.

Any zone files created and stored on UNIX DNS servers that use BIND need to be manually copied from those servers to the systemroot\System32\Dns folder on the server running Windows Server 2003 .

If you do not migrate the BIND boot file or specify the BIND name when creating the zones using the DNS console, then you will need to rename these zones. The following table shows examples of how BIND server files are renamed for use with the DNS Server service that is provided on servers running a member of the Windows Server 2003 family.


Description UNIX file name Windows Server 2003 file name
Boot file
named.boot
Boot

Forward lookup zone file
db.domain_name
domain_name.dns

Reverse lookup zone file
db.IP_network_forward_notation
IP_network_reverse_notation.dns



For a reverse lookup zone, BIND uses a convention of noting reverse domain names as a forward notation of mapped IP network, such as db.192.1.168 for a reverse lookup zone created for an example IP network address of 192.168.1.0. DNS servers running Windows Server 2003 , however, use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the zone, which includes the in-addr.arpa domain, to complete the file name. In this example, the correct name to use for the same zone in Windows Server 2003 DNS is 168.1.192.in-addr.arpa.dns when copying and renaming the file.

Notes

• If you are using the BIND boot file with the DNS Server service after migration, there are other limitations that apply to the use of this file by the DNS Server service. For example, some BIND boot directives are not supported -- in particular, xfrnets and other directives provided with versions of BIND, such as version 8.1.1 or later. For more information, see articles Q194513, "The Structure of a Domain Name System Boot File"; Q234144, "DNS Boot File Directives and Configuration for Windows NT 4.0," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

• If you are accustomed to manually editing DNS zone files, be aware that the DNS Server service uses RFC-compliant notation for its supported resource records (RRs). In most cases, the DNS Server service interprets and loads RRs from zone files originally created for BIND DNS servers without any need for file changes. If, however, you have used non-standard record formatting, the DNS Server service can detect these edits and interpret them as bad or errored zone data. For more information about RFCs, see DNS RFCs.


and the link to it:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...elp/6b03afbc-3d4f-4e3a-bda0-8fc408770837.mspx

-Brandon Wilson
MCSE00/03, MCSA:Messaging, MCSA03, A+
almost got a paragraph there