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 versions
     of rndc and named named the only supported authentication algorithm is
     HMAC-MD5, which uses a shared secret on each end of the connection.  This
     provides TSIG-style authentication for the command request and the name
     server's response. All commands sent over the channel 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