Importing Zone Files

Importing Zone Files #

If you are moving to SynergyCP from an existing DNS server, you can import your reverse zone files instead of re-entering records by hand. The importer is on the Network > rDNS PTRs page, in the Import Zone File panel: choose a file and submit.

Supported formats #

The importer reads BIND-style zone files and understands most real-world exports (package 2.3+):

  • IPv4 zones of any size — in-addr.arpa zones from /8 to /24, including classless zones with multi-label record names.
  • IPv6 zones — ip6.arpa zones.
  • Bulk multi-zone files — a single file containing records for many zones, using fully-qualified record names (e.g. 100.226.192.104.in-addr.arpa.); handy for dumping an entire DNS server into one import.
  • Multiple $ORIGIN sections in one file, including bare $ORIGIN .in-addr.arpa. lines.
  • Relative or fully-qualified record names, with optional TTL and class fields.

A minimal example:

$ORIGIN 113.0.203.in-addr.arpa.
10  IN  PTR  mail.customer-a.example.
11  IN  PTR  web.customer-b.example.

What an import does #

  • Records are imported in one efficient batch — large files with tens of thousands of records import in seconds.
  • Each imported IP is linked to its IP entity automatically (IPv4 and IPv6), so records show up on the right server’s Reverse DNS page and are visible to the right client.
  • Records that already exist with the same hostname are left untouched; records that exist with a different hostname are updated, and the update is synced to the DNS provider and logged.
  • Records with invalid names are skipped rather than imported as wrong addresses.
  • The result message reports how many records were added, updated, and unchanged.

Importing loads the records into SynergyCP and syncs changed records to the provider. If you are populating a brand-new DNS provider with the imported records, run a full re-sync after the import.