This version of Dual Server support replication.

FEATURES
1. It supports Full Zone Transfer AXFR only, it does not support IXFR (incr
emental Zone Transfer)
2. When Secondary Dual Server starts, it pulls RRs from Primary Server (see
below).
3. It do not send Notify message.
4. It supports DHCP Database replication using special DHCP INFORM message.
5. One Dual Server can be in Linux while other can be on Windows, it works
same way.
REPLICATION SCHEMES
DNS Server loads DNS_HOSTS, MX and ALIAS records and serves them. If DHC
P Service is also
enabled, thoes records are also served by DNS Server.
How about this server going down. A secondary server is also put in serv
ice, which just backs
up data from Primary Server and serves it if primary server is down. Sec
ondary server should
have exact same data and hence it pulls the whole data (all records of a
Zone) from Primary
Server and also needs to refresh its data from Primary Server, as data o
n Primary Server may
change.
Dual Server can be used as Primary Server and also Secondary Server or a
Third Party Server
can also be used as Primary or Secondary Server with Dual Server. Dual S
erver supports following
arrangements:-
1. Dual Server with only DNS Service as Primary and Secondary Server.
This is the simple most arragement. When primary server is started it re
ads ALIASes, MX and
DNS_HOSTS records from it's ini file. When Secondary Server starts, it d
oes not read these
entries from its' ini file, but pulls the full zone from Primary Server.
Secondary Server keeps
checking the Serial from Primary Server, using UDP SOA query, if Serial
advances, full zone
is transfered from Primary.
If any changes are made in ini file of Primay Server, it needs to be res
tarted and thereafter
Secondary Server would pull automatically all RRs from Primary, after re
fresh time.
Dual Servers do not support NOTIFY.
2. Dual Server with DNS and DHCP as Primary Server and Dual Server with only DNS
as Secondary Server
This is the conventional arrangement.
When Primary Server starts, it reads DNS_HOSTS, MX, CNAMEs from ini file
. When Secondary
server starts/restarts, it pulls DNS_HOSTS, MX, Alises and DHCP added RR
s from Primary Server.
Secondary Server keeps updating its database through convensional refres
h after refresh time.
When any DHCP lease is added or released at Primary Server, its serial n
umber
advances and secondary DNS Server gets this entry when refresh takes pla
ce. Secondary
server keeps checking the serial of primary and if it advances, full zon
e is refreshed at
secondary server. Similarly changing the Static Entries at Primary Serve
r (followed by
restart) also advances its serial and Secondary refreshes automatically.
2. Dual Server with DNS and DHCP as Primary Server and Dual Server with DNS and
DHCP as Secondary Server
THIS IS THE RECOMMENDED ARRANGEMENT as it provides both DNS and DHCP rep
licated operation.
When Primary Server starts, it reads DNS_HOSTS, MX, CNAMEs from ini file
. When Secondary
server starts/restarts, it pulls DNS_HOSTS, MX, Alises and DHCP added RR
s from Primary Server.
Secondary Server keeps updating its database through convensional refres
h after refresh time.
DHCP Leases as and when issued by either Primary Server or Secondary Ser
ver are immidiately
replicated on other server by special Inform messages. If any server fai
ls, other can simply
refresh the lease without a break.
When any DHCP lease is added or released at Primary Server, its serial n
umber advances and
secondary DNS Server gets this entry when refresh takes place. Secondary
server keeps checking
the serial of primary and if it advances, full zone is refreshed at seco
ndary server. When a new
Lease is added in Secondary DHCP Server, it sends DHCP replication to Pr
imary Server and DHPC HOST
still added in the zone of Primary Server and the Serial of Primary Serv
er advances and record
is replicated in Secondary Server through AXFR
3. Dual Server with DNS and DHCP as Primary Server and third party DNS server a
s Secondary Server.
This arragement too works similar to 2. Dual Server supports only full z
one tranfer.
Dual Server do not send NOTIFY message and do not send increment zone tr
asfer.
The secondary server needs to pull the full zone after refresh time.
The advantage is that all DHCP alloted RRs are also transfered with zone
transfer to secondary
server.
4. Dual Server as secondary server and third party server as primary server.
This arragement too works similar to 2. However third party primary DNS
Server might update its
database through DHCP Dynamic update or some other mechanism. Secondary
Dual Server would get
updated full zone after refresh time.
5. Dual Server with only DNS (or third party DNS) as Primary and Dual Serve
r with DHCP as Seocondary.
This arrangement works too but there is no DNS backup server which is re
quired as per RFC.
Future Releases of Dual Server may support NOTIFY and Increment Zone Transfers.