Brian Leahy

Q: DNS service won't start

I can't get DNS service to run - I switch it on and it quickly pops back to off.   Sometimes so quickly, I have to refresh the page to see the switch back at "Off".

 

The logs aren't too helpful, just this:

 

6/11/16 1:26:03.705 AM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.system) Could not import service from caller: caller = smd.266, service = org.isc.named, error = 119: Service is disabled

6/11/16 1:26:03.801 AM configd[78]: preference: NAT64 disabled

6/11/16 1:26:13.000 AM syslogd[70]: ASL Sender Statistics

 

The server OS has been upgraded several times ..  the DNS worked at one point in the past, but stopped a while ago.   Only recently has it become important enough for me to actively seek a solution.

 

Running OS X El Capitan 10.11.5

 

Server version 5.1.5

 

Hardware:

 

  Model Name: Mac mini

  Model Identifier: Macmini5,1

  Processor Name: Intel Core i5

  Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz

  Number of Processors: 1

  Total Number of Cores: 2

  L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

  L3 Cache: 3 MB

  Memory: 8 GB

 

Any suggestions?

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), Server, 8GB RAM

Posted on Jun 10, 2016 10:27 PM

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Q: DNS service won't start

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Strontium90,

    Strontium90 Strontium90 Jun 11, 2016 6:29 AM in response to Brian Leahy
    Level 5 (4,077 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jun 11, 2016 6:29 AM in response to Brian Leahy

    So you can try running:

     

         named-checkconf /Library/Server/named/named.conf

     

    However, I suspect you have a bad entry on your zone files.  If you tried to create an apex record or manually entered one incorrectly, this can cause DNS to fail to start.  If this is the case, how many records do you have in your DNS?  If you only have a few and you know all the values, try deleting all the records in Server.app.  Once they are deleted, create your SOA and first entry (which would likely be the FQDN of your server and its IP address.  With just the one record in place, try starting the service.

     

    Reid

    Apple Consultants Network

    Author - "El Capitan Server – Foundation Services"

    Author - "El Capitan Server – Control & Collaboration"

    Author - "El Capitan Server – Advanced Services"

  • by Brian Leahy,

    Brian Leahy Brian Leahy Jun 11, 2016 12:44 PM in response to Strontium90
    Level 1 (70 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jun 11, 2016 12:44 PM in response to Strontium90

    Thanks for the suggestions.   FYI for what it's worth, the Host Name for the machine is server3.tekrep.private.

     

    So in DNS I created a primary zone record named tekrep.private, zone data valid for 24 hours, no zone transfers.

     

    Then I added a machine record for zone tekrep.private and named it server3.  I provided the server's local IP address, nothing under "text".

     

    After i clicked OK on that, I saw the following:

     

    tekrep.private          Primary Zone

    server3.tekrep.private          A Record

    server3.tekrep.private          NS Record

     

    0.168.192.in-addr.arpa          Reverse Zone

    192.168.0.12               PTR Record         

    server3.tekrep.private     NS Record

     

     

    The two NS's, the PTR and the Reverse Zone seemed to appear out of nowhere.

    And DNS still won't start.