KB196432 - DNS SOA Default Values Are Not Configurable

Article ID: 196432

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition

This article was previously published under Q196432

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

It is not possible to change the following default DNS Start of Authority (SOA) values:

Serial Number
Minimum TTL
Expire Timer
Retry Timer
Refresh Timer

For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

163971 The Structure of a DNS SOA Record

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or the individual software update. For information on obtaining the latest service pack, please go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/servicepacks/ -or-
152734 how to obtain the latest windows nt 4.0 service pack

For information on obtaining the individual software update, contact Microsoft Product Support Services. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/directory/overview.asp

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT version 4.0 Service Pack 5.

MORE INFORMATION

Some organizations, responsible for registering DNS domain names, demand specific DNS SOA values to be used when registering DNS domains. This is to make sure that these values adapt well to the requirements of the Internet.

The following is an example of the values that were requested by one of these organizations:

serial number is not in YYYYMMDDxx format
minimum ttl should fit the 40000-345600 range
expire timer should fit in the 604800-360000 range
retry timer does should fit in the 1800-28800 range
refresh timer should fit in the 10000-86400 range

Changing these values through DNS Admin is possible, but very labor- intensive when creating lots of zones. Therefore the following registry entries have been made to make these values configurable for all zones that are created.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS\Parameters ForceSoaSerial (REG_DWORD) ForceSoaMinimumTtl (REG_DWORD) ForceSoaRefresh (REG_DWORD) ForceSoaRetry (REG_DWORD) ForceSoaExpire (REG_DWORD)

NOTE: Be sure to click Decimal in Registry Editor when entering values.

These registry keys:

Overwrite the appropriate SOA value of every primary zone that loads on the computer.
Serve as default values for any new zone written

Using these registry entries will lock down the values; changing them through the DNS Admin Tool is still possible, but on the next restart of the DNS server, these SOA values are rewritten from the above registry entries.

NOTE: ForceSoaSerial should only be used for registration purposes as described above. After registering, this key should be deleted to ensure normal serial number functionality. If this key is not deleted, on every DNS server restart, the serial number is reset using the ForceSoaSerial value.

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kbbug kbfix kbqfe KB196432