Working with DNS Zones

This page details some common DNS tasks performed from the DNS tab.

DNS Zones are accessed under the DNS tab, DNS Groups or DNS Zones sub-tabs. Separate zone lists exist under each DNS Group.

For a more general overview of each of those sub-tabs, see Working with DNS Groups and DNS Zones Overview. This page focuses on specific DNS zone tasks.

DNSv3 Zone Directory

In DNSv3, zone files in the server directory will have a number appended, similar to 'example.com._123.zone'. This number is the Resource ID associated with the zone, and is used in ProVision to identify the zone and differentiate zones that may have the same name, but under different DNS Groups. This append does not affect any zone functionality otherwise.

Working with DNS Zones

Add a Zone

Add a new zone while in the DNS Groups tab by selecting "Add Zone" under the desired Group.

You may also add new zones from the DNS Zones tab, by clicking "Add Zone" next to Zone List.

The "Create New Zone" dialog will pop up.

Enter the name of your new zone and select a parent resource, if desired. The DNS group will already be selected.

DNSv3 allows you to populate the zone with three options:

Empty Zone - create the zone as an empty zone, and manually create records
Populate by AXFR Transfer - transfer zones from an outside server
Clone an existing zone - use an existing zone as a template, and manually edit as needed

From there, you may either save your changes and complete zone creation, or add in optional field details.

Optional Fields

Expand the "Optional Fields" section by clicking on the chevron (>) or the "Optional Fields" header.

Under this section, add in optional values for Zone Host, Email, Serial , Refresh, Retry, Expiry, or TTL.

When finished, click "Save Changes".

To exit without saving, simply click "Close".

Edit a Zone (View Zone page)

Zones may be editing by clicking on the Zone name in any zone list in which it appears - the DNS Zones Zone List, DNS Groups Zone List, or zones listed as attached to a server under DNS Servers.

Clicking on the zone name from any zone list opens up the View Zone page.

Here, comments may be added, records added or updated, servers attached to the zone, advanced settings edited, backups restored or the zone pushed / exported. For a general interface overview of the View Zone page, see DNS Zones Overview.

Add a comment

To add a comment to a zone, click anywhere inside the comment area and begin typing. The comment will be saved when an area outside of the comment box is clicked, deselecting the comment area.

Edit Advanced Settings

Open the zone "Advanced Settings" section by clicking on the header or the expansion arrow (>).

Under this area, you can change settings such as Parent Resource, DNSSEC, Lists, Zone permissions, and free lines.

Edit fields as needed, and click "Save" when done.

Add Zone Records

From the View Zone page, under DNS Records, look for the line "Add a new ___ Record".

Select the desired record type from the dropdown list, then click "Add".

Fill in the information for the new record, selecting options for adding to groups or skipping validation.

When done, click "Save Changes".

Edit Zone Records

To edit an existing zone record, click on the record line in the DNS Records list.

The Edit Record dialog will open, allowing you to fill in record details.

Fill in the Host, Value, TTL, and comment if desired.

An option exists to "Skip Validation" - check to select if you wish to bypass validation for the record.

If previous versions of the record exist, the revision log will be visible under "Record revisions".

When edits or reviewing is complete, click "Save changes", or "Close" to exit without saving.

Delete Zone Records

Delete a zone record by clicking the "Delete" button under "Actions" for the desired record entry.

Check a Record

Check a record for errors by clicking the "Check" button under "Actions" for the desired record entry.

A dialog box will appear, with details on any errors.

You may clear the error if desired, recheck, or close the box.

Attach / Detach Servers to a Zone

Under the "Attached Servers" section of the View Zone page, next to "Attach Server:", select the desired server to attach and choose the server type (Default, Master, Slave), then click the "Attach" button.

To detach a server from a zone, look for the server under the "Attached Servers" list, then click "Detach" under actions for that server.

Restore a Zone / Record from Backup

If a zone has had changes sucessfully pushed, a "Zone Backups" section appears near the bottom of the page, showing the date and time of the backup.

To view details, or restore the zone to the previous version, click on the row of the desired date/time backup, and the "Zone Restore" module will open.

From here, you may restore individual records by clicking on them, or restore the entire zone by clicking the "Restore Zone" button.

To exit without saving, click the "Close" button.

Move Zones to a Different Group

Zones may be moved to a different Group than the one created under, by clicking the "Move" button in the zone's Actions menu.

The "Move Zone" modal will appear - select the new Group to move to the zone under, and click "Save Changes" to complete.

Pushing Zones

Zones may be pushed individually ("Push Zone Now"), as a scheduled future push ("Schedule Push"), or pushed as part of a Group or Server Push.

Push Now (from Group List)

To immediately push a single zone, navigate to the DNS Group the zone is under, then click the "Push" button in the Actions column for the zone.

You may also look for the zone in the DNS Zones tab Zone List, and then likewise, click the "Push" button in the zone row.

The "Push Status" modal will appear, showing status and any errors that occur. When a successful zone push is complete, a green "Finished DNS Pushing Request" message will appear, and the window may be closed.

Push Now (from View Zone page)

The View Zone page, accessed from clicking on the zone name in the Group zone list, includes a "Push Zone Now" button that immediately attempts to push the zone to the attached server(s).

Click on "Push Zone Now", and the "Push Status" modal will appear, showing status and any errors that occur.

When a successful zone push is complete, a green "Finished DNS Pushing Request" message will appear, and the window may be closed.

Schedule Push (from View Zone page)

The View Zone page includes an option to schedule a zone push, similar to scheduling a Group push.

Click "Schedule Push" for the zone, then select a date, time (12 hour, with AM / PM toggle), add a notification email address, and click "Save changes".

The Scheduled task will be shown in both the Zone View page (under "Scheduled Tasks") and the Admin Scheduler task list.

The task may be deleted prior to running by clicking the "delete" button, but will automatically be removed once completed.

Schedule Push (Admin Scheduler):

Scheduled zone and server pushes may also be set up by Admin users from the Scheduler tab. For more information, see the Scheduler Tab documentation.

Group Push:

All zones contained in a DNS Group may be pushed at the same time, by pushing the DNS Group.

For information on working with DNS Groups, including performing a manual or scheduled Group push, see Working with DNS Groups - Pushing a Group.

Server Push:

Admin users may push all zones on a server from the DNS Tab -> DNS Servers page.

For information on working with DNS Servers, including performing a manual or scheduled server push, see Working with DNS Servers - Pushing a Server.

Export a Zone

Individual zones may be exported to a .zone file by clicking the "Export Zone" button on the View Zone page.

Individual .zone files may later be compressed into a .zip, and used with ProVision's BIND DNS Zone Upload / Import tool.

Import Zone

A zone file (.zone) may be imported into a ProVision zone to populate record data. Click "Import Zone" on the View Zone page.

A Zone Import dialog box will open. Next to Zone File:, click "Choose File" and select your .zone file to import. Then, select an import policy to follow.

When done, Click "Import Zone".

Delete a Zone

Users with resource delete permissions over the zone may delete a zone record by clicking the "Delete" button under "Actions" for the desired zone entry in any Zone List.