How to replicate equivalent to PS cmdlets Get-DnsServerZone and Get-DnsServerResourceRecord

[flipcode1973]

Hi, great library. Been trying to replicate an existing PS script in C# that retrieves DNS zones and resource records e.g.

$zones = Get-DnsServerZone -ComputerName $DNSServer
$allColumns = @()

$zones | ForEach-Object {
  if ($_.ZoneType -eq 'Forwarder' -or $_.ZoneType -eq 'Primary'){
    $zone = $_.ZoneName
    Write-Output "`n[$(Get-Date)] - Checking $zone for any records"

    $records_from_zone = Get-DnsServerResourceRecord -ComputerName $DNSServer -ZoneName $zone # | Where-Object { $_.RecordType -eq  'A' -or $_.RecordType -eq 'CNAME' }
    Write-Output "[$(Get-Date)] - $($records_from_zone.Count) records found! preparing to process, please wait..."

but am struggling to see how to do this using DnsClient.NET. Am I just being thick? (every possibility) :-)

[MichaCo]

maybe check this out: https://github.com/rmbolger/DnsClient-PS

I personally don't do much with powershel, so I cannot really help you ;)
Getting zone information is not really that easy though outside of DNS Server adminstrative tools where you have full access. You can request a zone transfer with a dnsclient (like this library) but you might not get any results unless you have access to the server.

[flipcode1973]

Thanks for the quick response Michael, I'll have a look at the link you sent through.

Perhaps my question wasn't clear, I don't want to use your library in PS, I want to replace the existing PS routine with one in C# (utilising your library).

When you say 'request a zone transfer', what function/option would achieve this?

And similarly, once I retrieve the zones (if available), how would I then get the properties (e.g Hostname, DistinguishedName, RecordType etc) like that of Get-DnsServerResourceRecord? Is this even achievable outside the PS cmdlets? Cheers Colin

[MichaCo]

Ah ok, no that was not clear. Then I don't really get what the problem is. The documentation should have enough examples of how to query records.

Just query for A type records or whatever you need using whatever server you want to use.

Regarding zone information, the DNS protocol has a query type AXFR which is supported by this library if TCP transport is used.

[flipcode1973]

Thanks for the info, I'll dig into the docs. Must be doing something wrong as I'm getting a 'Non-Existent Domain' error when I try querying with QueryType.AXFR.

[MichaCo]

Well, as I said, TCP mode must be enabled for AXFR, that's just required per RFC -> DnsQuerySettings.UseTcpOnly
And, the you need permissions to get a reply from the DNS server you are asking. Otherwise, you'll not get anything back.

[flipcode1973]

Yeah, I suspect its permissions. Thanks for all your help.