Add an alias (CNAME) resource record to a zone

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To add an alias (CNAME) resource record to a zone

Open DNS.
In the console tree, right-click the applicable forward lookup zone, and then click New Alias.
In the Alias name text box, type the alias name.
In the Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for target host text box, type the fully qualified domain name of the DNS host computer for which this alias is to be used.

As an option, you can click Browse to search the DNS namespace for hosts in this domain that have host (A) records already defined.
Click OK to add the new record to the zone.

Notes

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
To open DNS, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click DNS.

Open Command Prompt.
Type: dnscmd ServerName /RecordAdd ZoneNameNodeName [/Aging] [/OpenAcl] [Ttl] CNAME HostName|DomainName

Value	Description
dnscmd	Specifies the name of the command-line program.
ServerName	Required. Specifies the DNS host name of the DNS server. You can also type the IP address of the DNS server. To specify the DNS server on the local computer, you can also type a period (.)
/RecordAdd	Required. Specifies the command to add a new resource record.
ZoneName	Required. Specifies the name of the zone where this CNAME resource record will be added.
NodeName	Required. Specifies the FQDN of the node in the DNS namespace. You can also type the node name relative to the ZoneName or @, which specifies the zone's root node.
/Aging	Specifies that this resource record is aged and scavenged. If this parameter is not used, the resource record remains in the DNS database unless it is manually updated or removed.
/OpenAcl	Specifies that new records are open to modification by any user. Without this parameter, only administrators may modify the new record.
Ttl	Specifies the Time-To-Live (TTL) setting for the resource record. (The default TTL is defined in SOA resource record).
CNAME	Required. Specifies the resource record type of the record you are adding.
HostName\|DomainName	Required. Specifies the FQDN of any valid DNS host or domain name in the namespace. For FQDN's, a trailing period (.) is used to fully qualify the name.

Notes

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
To open a command prompt, click Start, point to All programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command prompt.
This procedure requires the Dnscmd Windows support tool. For information about installing Windows support tools, see Related Topics.
To view the complete syntax for this command, at a command prompt, type:

dnscmd /RecordAdd /help

Format	Meaning
Italic	Information that the user must supply
Bold	Elements that the user must type exactly as shown
Ellipsis (...)	Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line
Between brackets ([])	Optional items
Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (\|). Example: {even\|odd}	Set of choices from which the user must choose only one
Courier font	Code or program output

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