Manually update server data files

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To manually update server data files

Open DNS.
In the console tree, click the applicable DNS server.

Where?
- DNS/applicable DNS server
On the Action menu, click Update Server Data Files.

Notes

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
To open DNS, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click DNS.
For standard primary zones, this procedure causes the DNS server to immediately write its in-memory changes out to disk for storage with the zone file. Normally these changes are only written at predefined update intervals and when the DNS server is shut down.
For Active Directory-integrated zones, this procedure does not apply. To update Active Directory-integrated zones, see the command-line procedure below.

Value	Description
dnscmd	Specifies the name of the command-line tool.
ServerName	Required. Specifies the DNS host name of the DNS server. You can also type the IP address of the DNS server. To specify the DNS server on the local computer, you can also type a period (.).
/ZoneUpdateFromDs	Required. Updates the zone file with data from Active Directory.
ZoneName	Required. Specifies the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the zone you are updating.

Notes

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
To open a command prompt, click Start, point to All programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command prompt.
This procedure requires the Dnscmd Windows support tool. For information about installing Windows support tools, see Related Topics.
To view the complete syntax for this command, at a command prompt, type:

dnscmd/ZoneUpdateFromDs/help
The command-line procedure updates Active Directory-integrated zones only. For standard zones, see the Windows interface procedure above.

Format	Meaning
Italic	Information that the user must supply
Bold	Elements that the user must type exactly as shown
Ellipsis (...)	Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line
Between brackets ([])	Optional items
Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (\|). Example: {even\|odd}	Set of choices from which the user must choose only one
`Courier font`	Code or program output

Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.