10.4.4 update and now my DNS zones aren't visible!

Question

After the 10.4.4 update, I can't see my DNS zones, and the log says there are now errors . for example: servermgr_dns: Bad zone file for zone macs4ever.com MX/CNAME line: "@" before A line. Ignoring.
This wasn't an issue before. Has something changed in the zone formatting?
What file can I edit to correct the syntax if needed.
I appreaciate your time and assistance,
matt caswell

Answer 1

Note that I write my own zone files and prefix them with "db." just so that I do not overwrite the default ones. The name of the zone file is in itself not critical, as long as the correct file is referenced in named.conf.
My zone definitions in /etc/named.conf...
// a caching only nameserver config
zone "." IN {
type hint;
file "named.ca";
zone "localhost" IN {
type master;
file "db.localhost";
allow-update { none; };
zone "0.0.127.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type master;
file "db.127.0.0";
allow-update { none; };
zone "foo.com" in {
file "db.foo.com";
type master;
zone "0.0.10.in-addr.arpa" IN {
file "db.10.0.0";
type master;
============================
The Zone Files in /var/named...
============================
Zone File "db.localhost"
$TTL 86400
localhost. IN SOA server.foo.com. postmaster.foo.com. (
42 ; serial (d. adams)
3H ; refresh
15M ; retry
1W ; expiry
1D ) ; minimum
IN NS server.foo.com.
IN A 127.0.0.1
====================
Zone file "127.0.0" (reverse zone for localhost)
$TTL 86400
0.0.127.in-addr.arpa. IN SOA server.foo.com. postmaster.foo.com. (
2006011511 ; Serial
3h ; Refresh
1h ; Retry
1w ; Expire
1h ) ; Minimum
0.0.127.in-addr.arpa. IN NS server.foo.com.
1.0.0.127.in-addr.arpa. IN PTR localhost.foo.com.
==========================
Zone file "db.foo.com"
$TTL 86400
foo.com. IN SOA server.foo.com. postmaster.foo.com. (
2005101301 ; serial
3h ; refresh
1h ; retry
1w ; expiry
1h ) ; minimum
; NAME SERVERS
foo.com. IN NS server.foo.com.
; ADDRESSES FOR CANONICAL NAMES
localhost IN A 127.0.0.1
server IN A 10.0.0.1
; ALIASES
ical.foo.com. IN CNAME server
mail.foo.com. IN CNAME server
ftp.foo.com. IN CNAME server
; MAIL RECORDS
foo.com. IN MX 0 server
======================
Zone File db.10.0.0 (reverse zone for foo.com)
$TTL 86400
0.0.10.in-addr.arpa. IN SOA server.foo.com. postmaster.foo.com. (
2006011500 ; serial
3h ; refresh
1h ; retry
1w ; expiry
1h ) ; minimum
0.0.10.in-addr.arpa. IN NS server.foo.com.
; REVERSE LOOKUPS
1 IN PTR server.foo.com.
========================
Note that you may have different records but hopefully you get the drift of it.
"Bad zone file for zone domain.com MX/CNAME..."
The particular cause, for me, of the above error was that, in db.foo.com, I used to have the following for the MX record...
foo.com. IN MX 0 mail
This created the error message as there was not a direct A record for 'mail'. The amended zone file now works... but...
I still have an issue with this... In my case my DNS is purely for the private LAN but if it was a public DNS then I would have needed to set up the server with a hostname "mail.foo.com" instead of "server..." and then alias 'server' to 'mail'. Something you really should know before setting up the server
(Actually, I don't even know why I have the MX record in the internal DNS as the mail server can function quite happily without it.)
Anyway, I find this on-line reference really handy although you can get a bit 'lost' in all the links within it...
http://www.zytrax.com/books/dns/
Have fun.
-david