I have a master - slave setup of Bind9 on a debian installation, which runs as exspected.

But, there is something I do not understand.
Everytime a zonefile is changed, it is required to run "rndc reload" command or else bind will never pickup the changes in the zonefile. The serial is updated as well!

Running "rndc reload" will also force an update to the slave servers.
BUT, what is the purpose then of the "Refresh" value in the zonefile, if it is required to run the "rndc reload" command manually after changes, when this also forces the slave servers to update?

The Refresh value looks for changes for the slaves on the master in a given timeframe. But since the master will never pickup the changes automatically, it really does not have a function?

Or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks

Hi and welcome to LQ
This is how a master dns server gets notified that a zone has changed

It does not force an update. It sends a NOTIFY to slaves and they start the procedure to update. You can stop NOTIFY, so slaves will not be notified.

The Refresh and the other times in the SOA record are used by the slave in case it doesn't receive a NOTIFY from master.

Take a look at this for more details

Regards

1 members found this post helpful.

Awsome man. That explains it.

Thanks a lot.