{"id":49002,"date":"2023-02-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jotelulu.com\/blog\/10-powershell-commands-for-managing-your-dns-server\/"},"modified":"2023-02-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-19T23:00:00","slug":"10-powershell-commands-managing-dns-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jotelulu.com\/en-gb\/blog\/10-powershell-commands-managing-dns-server\/","title":{"rendered":"10 PowerShell Commands for Managing Your DNS Server"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, we’ll reveal 10 PowerShell commands that you can use to manage your DNS server <\/strong>to keep everything under control as efficiently as possible.<\/p>\n

In a previous article, we looked at how to deploy a DNS server using PowerShell commands<\/a>, leaving you with a completely functional DNS server with very little effort.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, we saw that by using scripts, you can replicate the process really easily for future deployments.<\/p>\n

In this article, however, we’re going to see how you can use PowerShell commands to perform maintenance tasks. So, here are ten commands that you can use to manage your DNS server in the easiest way possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10 PowerShell Commands for Managing Your DNS Server<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Below, we’ve listed ten cmdlets that you can use to manage your DNS server quickly and easily. In reality, all the tasks listed here can be performed using the graphic interface, which might seem easier, but PowerShell is much quicker.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Stop the DNS Service<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the most basic tasks that you need to know how to do is how to stop the service<\/strong>. This command can actually be used to stop all kinds of services but to stop the DNS service specifically, it will look something like this:<\/p>\n

Stop-Service DNS<\/em><\/p>\n

This command will only work on servers, not on client devices. On client devices, you can stop the cache but not the service entirely.<\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 1 – Stop the DNS service on the server using PowerShell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Start the DNS Service<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Just as important as being able to stop the service is being able to start it again. And once again, this command can be used to start all kinds of services. But to start the DNS service, it will look like this:<\/p>\n

Start-Service DNS<\/em><\/p>\n

Normally, you won’t see any confirmation message after running this command. Instead, if you want to check that the command has been run correctly, you can either launch the command «Get-Service DNS» or open the graphic interface.<\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 2 – Start the DNS service on the server using PowerShell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Restart the DNS Service<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You already know how to start and stop the service, but sometimes you might want to stop it and start again straight away.<\/p>\n

Luckily, you can do this with a single reset command, which looks like this<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Restart-Service DNS<\/em><\/p>\n

This command will order the server to re-read the configuration files, and that way, you can apply changes or resolve an error.<\/p>\n

With these three commands, you’ve now got the basics taken care of.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 3 – Reset the DNS server using PowerShell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Check DNS Resolution<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another common task is to check the name resolution to see whether the system can resolve a specific name.<\/p>\n

The cmdlet «Resolve-DnsName» queries the DNS for the specified name.<\/p>\n

This cmdlet performs a similar task to nslookup, which allows users to query names.<\/p>\n

There are two ways of using this command, as you can choose to specify the server to use if you wish.<\/p>\n

If you don’t want to specify a server to use, the command will look something like this (using the Jotelulu website as an example):<\/p>\n

Resolve-DnsName -Name www.jotelulu.com<\/p>\n

However, if you want to use a specific server to resolve the query, the command will look like this:<\/p>\n

Resolve-DnsName -Name www.jotelulu.com -Server 10.0.0.1<\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 4 – Check name resolution<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Show the DNS Cache<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now and again, you might be interested to see what the resolver cache looks like, whether from a server or a client device. To do this, you can either use the classic command prompt or use our good old friend PowerShell.<\/p>\n

To show the contents of the DNS cache <\/strong>using PowerShell, simply run the following command:<\/p>\n

Show-DnsServerCache<\/em><\/p>\n

This command will return pages and pages of entries, so you might want to dump the results into a text document so you can examine it in more detail.<\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 5 – Show the contents of the DNS cache<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Clear the DNS Cache<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You can also clear the DNS cache <\/strong>for your server or client device. To do this, simply run the following command:<\/p>\n

Clear-DnsServerCache<\/em><\/p>\n

This command can be run in between two queries so that you can see that the entries have been deleted.<\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 6 – Clear the DNS cache<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7. Review the DNS Server Statistics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another interesting thing you can do with PowerShell is consult the DNS Server statistics<\/strong>, which will show you things like entries, queries, etc.<\/p>\n

You can perform this task using the graphic interface too, but PowerShell is still quicker. Here’s the cmdlet:<\/p>\n

Get-DnsServerStatistics<\/em><\/p>\n

Again, there will be a lot of data here, so you’ll probably want to move it all into a text file for easier reading.<\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 7 – Review the DNS Server statistics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8. Review the DNS Service Settings<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you need to take a look at the settings for your DNS server, there’s a PowerShell command for that too!<\/p>\n

To see the configuration details <\/strong>for your DNS Server, simply run the following cmdlet:<\/p>\n

Get-DnsServer<\/em><\/p>\n

A useful thing to do with the output of this command is to save it in a text file for future consultation. That way, you’ll have a record of previous settings if you make any changes later on.<\/p>\n

\"Command
Command 8 – Review your DNS Server settings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9. Add New Service and Device Records<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another command task when managing a DNS server is registering all the services, devices and servers that your infrastructure uses.<\/p>\n

To do this, you need to use the different kinds of records stored on the DNS server.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Add-DnsServerResourceRecordCName -ZoneName <ZONE_NAME> -Name  <ENTRY>  -HostNameAlias <FULL_ALIAS><\/em><\/p>\n

Where:<\/p>\n