12.4.3. Command Line Options

An rndc command takes the following form:
rndc <options> <command> <command-options>
When executing rndc on a properly configured localhost, the following commands are available:
  • halt — Stops the named service immediately.
  • querylog — Logs all queries made to this nameserver.
  • refresh — Refreshes the nameserver's database.
  • reload — Reloads the zone files but keeps all other previously cached responses. This command also allows changes to zone files without losing all stored name resolutions.
    If changes only affected a specific zone, reload only that specific zone by adding the name of the zone after the reload command.
  • stats — Dumps the current named statistics to the /var/named/named.stats file.
  • stop — Stops the server gracefully, saving any dynamic update and Incremental Zone Transfers (IXFR) data before exiting.
Occasionally, it may be necessary to override the default settings in the /etc/rndc.conf file. The following options are available:
  • -c <configuration-file> — Specifies the alternate location of a configuration file.
  • -p <port-number> — Specifies a port number to use for the rndc connection other than port 953, the default.
  • -s <server> — Specifies a server other than the default-server listed in /etc/rndc.conf.
  • -y <key-name> — Specifies a key other than the default-key option in /etc/rndc.conf.
Additional information about these options can be found in the rndc man page.