In the Domain Name System of the Internets zone marks the parts of the domain tree, for which a name server possesses determining, leading (autoritative) information. A zone is administered by a Primary name server. For the increase of the availability with server losses it is usual to reflect a zone on one or more Secondary a name server.

The data of a zone are specified in a zone file, which contains all resource record of this zone. The original file is on the Primary name server. From there it is transferred when changes by zone transfer to the Secondary name servers. The terms zone and zone file are exchangeable in nearly all situations. References to the syntax of a zone file are under zone file.

A zone can cover an entire domain. Normally are represented however by own zones. With pointers - which LV resource record (NS-RR) - thereby to Sub zones one refers which can be on other name servers. This procedure is called delegation: A zone possesses even no autoritative information to the DNS entries of a knows however, where that or the autoritativen servers are and delegates inquiries (DNS Requests) there. The transition between two zones is called thereby zone CUT since by a delegation a zone becomes "“low-cut"” of a domain.

The Top level domain de for example contains several millions DNS entries including all It is impossible to hold these in only one zone file. The belonging zone file de to the domain contains of references therefore predominantly to the direct Per autoritativem name server of a thereby a LV entry exists.

Example: Assumed, the fictitious enterprise example possesses the domain example.com. In addition two exist: einkauf.example.com and produktion.example.com. For each of these three domains its own zone file exists. The LV-RRs (pointer) of the zone file example.com .db looks as follows:

einkauf.example.com IN LV nameserver-1.example.com. produktion.example.com IN LV nameserver-2.example.com.  

From that to the domain assigned zone file it can be derived that two exist that the autoritative name server for einkauf.example.com of the nameserver-1 and for produktion.example.com. the nameserver-2 is. The domains einkauf.example.com and produktion.example.com can contain naturally for their part further which can be represented by own zone files.

Difference between domain and zone

While a domain always covers the entire subordinated DNS name area, only applies to the zone, if Subdomains of the domain were not delegated into independent zones. Only in this case domain and zone may be used synonymously.

Of a zone one speaks also, if one means the physical realization - thus on which server and in which zone file the DNS entries lie. The term domain is also used, if one itself on the contents of (which names a domain or the vested titles (for whom a domain is refers.

The domain tree defined by the lining up of domain name (label) and the zone tree developed over the LV-RRs are almost congruent. In rare cases only one zone file can contain also several domains. The zone tree is slightly smaller therefore than the domain tree.

Articles in category "Zone (DNS)"

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