Backup and Restore Zones in DNS Server

Hi there,

A lot of System Administrator even don’t think about to backup DNS zones,

Have you ever thought about backup DNS zones? this article will be useful and necessary for you.

If you are performing daily and weekly backups of your Active Directory [integrated] environment, maybe this article won’t be relevant for you, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t do it 🙂  you can backup your important DNS zones. along with that guys, it always good to know.

This is my Lab environment:

Windows Server 2012 R2 with Active Directory integrated.

By default, there’s DNS folder that’s located on “C:\Windows\System32\DNS” path, this folder as you can imagine storing all DNS information such as logbasic DNS file, and backups, if you are not able to see the DNS folder it because the folder is as Hidden Item just disable it.

Backup Restore Zones

Once you click on the “root,contoso.com.dns file you see everything about zone information:

Backup Restore Zones

Hope you have not forgotten, the DNS data saved on Active Directory Partition (DNS Partition), this is my DNS Server:

Backup Restore Zones

By the way, who does not what Zone _Msdcs, as soon as we are establishing a new DC automatically created a new ZONE with important information like SRV Records of Kerberos and Global catalog and PDC, PDC and all of these records are serve the Active Directory Services.

 

Firstly we need open Powershell and export all Zone data:

dnscmd /zoneexport root.contoso.com root.contoso.com.txt 

Backup Restore Zones

Do you remember DNS folder? so our backup located there:

Backup Restore Zones

 

Now I want to delete “Root.Contoso.com”

Backup Restore Zones

Backup Restore Zones

After that we have to create a new zone:

Primary Zone:

Backup Restore Zones

Backup Restore Zones

Make sure you are typing the same zone name as is:

Backup Restore Zones

And here I am selecting on “Use This existing File” and I am specifying the Zone Name as it has written:

Backup Restore Zones

 

Finish

Backup Restore Zones

Eventually, we have to update server data files:

Backup Restore Zones

Restart:

Backup Restore Zones

 

The zone has restored successfully:

Backup Restore Zones