June 30, 2000
rndc 8 BIND9
rndc name server control utility
2004 2005 2007 Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")
2000 2001 Internet Software Consortium.
`rndc` `-b source-address` `-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`, 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

-b source-address

  Use source-address as the source address for the connection to the server. Multiple instances are permitted to allow setting of both the IPv4 and IPv6 source addresses.

-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 options statement of the `rndc` 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 key_id

  Use the key key_id from the configuration file. key_id must be known by named with the same algorithm and secret string in order for control message validation to succeed. If no key_id 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 , rndc-confgen 8 , named 8 , named.conf 5 , ndc 8 , BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual.

## AUTHOR

Internet Systems Consortium