What is the term for transferring a copy of the DNS zone file from the primary DNS server to a secondary DNS server?

What is the term for transferring a copy of the DNS zone file from the primary DNS server to a secondary DNS server?

• A. Dig command
• B. Nslookup
• C. DNS zone transfer
• D. Showmount

Answer: (C)

A DNS zone transfer is the process of copying the DNS zone file from the primary (master) server to a secondary (slave) server so the latter has an up-to-date copy of all records in that zone. This keeps multiple DNS servers in sync, enabling continued name resolution even if the primary goes down. Transfers can be full (AXFR) or incremental (IXFR) and typically occur over TCP to ensure reliable delivery. Security considerations are important: transfers should be restricted to authorized secondaries, often using authentication like TSIG and access controls to prevent data leakage. Tools like dig or nslookup are used to query DNS data, and while a server may be queried for a transfer, the mechanism’s name remains DNS zone transfer. Showmount relates to NFS and is not involved in DNS.

A DNS zone transfer is the process of copying the DNS zone file from the primary (master) server to a secondary (slave) server so the latter has an up-to-date copy of all records in that zone. This keeps multiple DNS servers in sync, enabling continued name resolution even if the primary goes down. Transfers can be full (AXFR) or incremental (IXFR) and typically occur over TCP to ensure reliable delivery. Security considerations are important: transfers should be restricted to authorized secondaries, often using authentication like TSIG and access controls to prevent data leakage. Tools like dig or nslookup are used to query DNS data, and while a server may be queried for a transfer, the mechanism’s name remains DNS zone transfer. Showmount relates to NFS and is not involved in DNS.