RNDC(8) 																   RNDC(8)

NAME

       rndc - name server control utility

SYNOPSIS

       rndc [ -c config-file ]	[ -k key-file ]  [ -s server ]	[ -p port ]  [ -V ]  [ -y key_id ]  command

DESCRIPTION

       rndc 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  ver-
       sions  of  rndc and named named the only supported authentication algorithm is HMAC-MD5, which uses a shared secret on each end of the con-
       nection.  This provides TSIG-style authentication for the command request and the name server's response. All commands sent over the  chan-
       nel 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 authenticate 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 configuration file will be
	      used.

       -p port
	      Send commands to TCP port port instead of BIND 9's default control 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 commands 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.

LIMITATIONS

       rndc 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 ALSO

       rndc.conf(5), named(8), named.conf(5) ndc(8), BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual.

AUTHOR

       Internet Software Consortium

BIND9								   June 30, 2000							   RNDC(8)