# Zone Import and Export

## Overview

Zones can be imported into and serialised out of Designate using the zone import and export APIs. Using the zone file format along with these APIs you can both create zones and recordsets in batches and export zone data from Designate easily.

## Exporting Zones

You can export a zone file from Designate using the zone export create subcommand on an existing zone, and subsequently access the exported zone file using zone export showfile.

For example, use openstack recordset list to view the records for a zone you’d like to export:

    $ openstack recordset list example.org.
    +--------------------------------------+------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | id                                   | name             | type | records                                                             | status | action |
    +--------------------------------------+------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | b4dfeb36-c4ae-4399-9493-6e6997099356 | example.org.     | NS   | ns1.example.org.                                                    | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | e9e3b31f-8aef-465f-9380-e3380191f8bd | example.org.     | SOA  | ns1.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624414033 3583 600 86400 3600  | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | 09407eaa-1fac-4257-b9e1-11d693bc1eae | www.example.org. | A    | 192.0.2.2                                                           | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    |                                      |                  |      | 192.0.2.1                                                           |        |        |
    +--------------------------------------+------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+

Using the openstack zone export create command, export example.org.:

    $ openstack zone export create example.org.
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | Field      | Value                                |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | created_at | 2021-06-23T02:01:30.000000           |
    | id         | e75aef2c-b562-4cd9-a426-4a73f6cb82be |
    | location   | None                                 |
    | message    | None                                 |
    | project_id | cf5a8f5cc5834d2dacd1d54cd0a354b7     |
    | status     | PENDING                              |
    | updated_at | None                                 |
    | version    | 1                                    |
    | zone_id    | d8f81db6-937b-4388-bfb3-ba620e6c09fb |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+

You can access the contents of the zone file using zone export showfile. Using the -f value parameter will print the contents of the zone file without any tabulation, which can be useful if you want to modify the exported zone file locally and then import it back into Designate to update the zone.

    $ openstack zone export showfile e75aef2c-b562-4cd9-a426-4a73f6cb82be -f value
    $ORIGIN example.org.
    $TTL 3600

    example.org.  IN NS ns1.example.org.
    example.org.  IN SOA ns1.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624414033 3583 600 86400 3600

    www.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.2
    www.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.1

By default, the zone export file will be created on demand as it is accessed and as a result the contents of the zone export file will be updated as you add new recordsets to the zone:

    $ openstack recordset create example.org. test --type A --record 192.0.2.100
    +-------------+--------------------------------------+
    | Field       | Value                                |
    +-------------+--------------------------------------+
    | action      | CREATE                               |
    | created_at  | 2021-06-23T02:35:06.000000           |
    | description | None                                 |
    | id          | aa27ccd8-77b1-41df-a3ed-2129259b334a |
    | name        | test.example.org.                    |
    | project_id  | cf5a8f5cc5834d2dacd1d54cd0a354b7     |
    | records     | 192.0.2.100                          |
    | status      | PENDING                              |
    | ttl         | None                                 |
    | type        | A                                    |
    | updated_at  | None                                 |
    | version     | 1                                    |
    | zone_id     | d8f81db6-937b-4388-bfb3-ba620e6c09fb |
    | zone_name   | example.org.                         |
    +-------------+--------------------------------------+
    $ openstack zone export showfile e75aef2c-b562-4cd9-a426-4a73f6cb82be -f value
    $ORIGIN example.org.
    $TTL 3600

    example.org.  IN NS ns1.example.org.
    example.org.  IN SOA ns1.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624415706 3583 600 86400 3600
    www.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.2
    www.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.1
    test.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.100

### Zone Export Internals

The zone export resource created does not contain the zone file data, instead it holds the location of that data as Designate can be configured by the operator to store zone exports in external services. By default, the location of the zone export file is internal to Designate and uses the Designate protocol designate://. In this case, zone file data will be generated on demand when zone export showfile is used. You can view the location URI of the zone file data using zone export show:

    $ openstack zone export show e75aef2c-b562-4cd9-a426-4a73f6cb82be
    +------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Field      | Value                                                                          |
    +------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | created_at | 2021-06-23T02:01:30.000000                                                     |
    | id         | e75aef2c-b562-4cd9-a426-4a73f6cb82be                                           |
    | location   | designate://v2/zones/tasks/exports/e75aef2c-b562-4cd9-a426-4a73f6cb82be/export |
    | message    | None                                                                           |
    | project_id | cf5a8f5cc5834d2dacd1d54cd0a354b7                                               |
    | status     | COMPLETE                                                                       |
    | updated_at | 2021-06-23T02:01:30.000000                                                     |
    | version    | 2                                                                              |
    | zone_id    | d8f81db6-937b-4388-bfb3-ba620e6c09fb                                           |
    +------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

## Zone Import

You can import a zone and all of its recordsets by putting them all into a file that uses the zone file format and calling openstack zone import create:

    $ cat zone_file
    $ORIGIN example.org.
    $TTL 3600

    example.org.  IN NS ns1.example.org.
    example.org.  IN SOA ns1.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624415706 3583 600 86400 3600
    www.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.2
    www.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.1
    test.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.100

    $ openstack zone import create zone_file
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | Field      | Value                                |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | created_at | 2021-06-24T03:39:58.000000           |
    | id         | 6140580d-c72a-4f07-82ab-908da979a9a3 |
    | message    | None                                 |
    | project_id | cf5a8f5cc5834d2dacd1d54cd0a354b7     |
    | status     | PENDING                              |
    | updated_at | None                                 |
    | version    | 1                                    |
    | zone_id    | None                                 |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+

You can now view the zone in Designate:

    $ openstack recordset list example.org.
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | id                                   | name              | type | records                                                             | status | action |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | 3d9e96c2-da27-4c5b-9b2b-c1b44a58c1e5 | www.example.org.  | A    | 192.0.2.2                                                           | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    |                                      |                   |      | 192.0.2.1                                                           |        |        |
    | 541bac15-18da-411f-a8e5-8ccecb65ae1f | example.org.      | SOA  | ns1.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624415706 3541 600 86400 3600  | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | a643b088-6052-49c0-81f7-6ade6682d9a3 | example.org.      | NS   | ns1.example.org.                                                    | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | f97274f1-e062-4f59-8ec0-11bccd830547 | test.example.org. | A    | 192.0.2.100                                                         | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+

You cannot use zone imports to update a zone or create records in a zone that already exists. Importing a zone that already exists will result in an error and no records will be created or modified.

    $ echo "new.example.org. IN A 192.0.2.101" >> zone_file
    $ openstack zone import create zone_file
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | Field      | Value                                |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | created_at | 2021-06-24T03:40:28.000000           |
    | id         | 50516762-23ec-4bf3-a065-530171c5d0fb |
    | message    | None                                 |
    | project_id | cf5a8f5cc5834d2dacd1d54cd0a354b7     |
    | status     | PENDING                              |
    | updated_at | None                                 |
    | version    | 1                                    |
    | zone_id    | None                                 |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    $ openstack zone import show 50516762-23ec-4bf3-a065-530171c5d0fb
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | Field      | Value                                |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | created_at | 2021-06-24T03:40:28.000000           |
    | id         | 50516762-23ec-4bf3-a065-530171c5d0fb |
    | message    | An undefined error occurred.         |
    | project_id | cf5a8f5cc5834d2dacd1d54cd0a354b7     |
    | status     | ERROR                                |
    | updated_at | 2021-06-24T03:40:28.000000           |
    | version    | 2                                    |
    | zone_id    | None                                 |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    $ openstack recordset list example.org.
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | id                                   | name              | type | records                                                             | status | action |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | 3d9e96c2-da27-4c5b-9b2b-c1b44a58c1e5 | www.example.org.  | A    | 192.0.2.2                                                           | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    |                                      |                   |      | 192.0.2.1                                                           |        |        |
    | 541bac15-18da-411f-a8e5-8ccecb65ae1f | example.org.      | SOA  | ns1.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624415706 3541 600 86400 3600  | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | a643b088-6052-49c0-81f7-6ade6682d9a3 | example.org.      | NS   | ns1.example.org.                                                    | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | f97274f1-e062-4f59-8ec0-11bccd830547 | test.example.org. | A    | 192.0.2.100                                                         | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+

You must set the zone TTL using a TTL statement in the zone tile. The SOA record created for the zone will not always match the values in the zone file as some values are dependent on Designate configuration options:

- The MNAME is set using the zone’s assigned pool information.

- The refresh value is set randomly between the `default_soa_refresh_min` and `default_soa_refresh_max` configuration values.

- The minimum value is set to the `soa_default_minimum` configuration value.

The NS record for the zone is generated based on the pool the zone has been assigned. Other NS records are imported without modification.

For example, the following zone file uses test.example.org. as its namserver, and provides its own values for the zone TTL, refresh, minimum and expire. The refresh and minimum values will be discarded on import and the nameserver changed to the pool’s nameserver at ns1.example.org.:

    $ cat zone_file
    $ORIGIN example.org.
    $TTL 3000

    example.org.  IN NS test.example.org.
    example.org.  IN SOA test.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624415706 9000 500 86000 5000
    www.example.org.  IN A 192.0.2.2
    test.example.org.  IN NS test.example.org.
    $ openstack zone import create zone_file
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | Field      | Value                                |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    | created_at | 2021-06-25T07:07:41.000000           |
    | id         | ccd0af00-aa5f-43e0-a57d-67cfa2f3738e |
    | message    | None                                 |
    | project_id | cf5a8f5cc5834d2dacd1d54cd0a354b7     |
    | status     | PENDING                              |
    | updated_at | None                                 |
    | version    | 1                                    |
    | zone_id    | None                                 |
    +------------+--------------------------------------+
    $ openstack recordset list example.org.
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | id                                   | name              | type | records                                                             | status | action |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | 35143297-5268-4bc9-80bb-9d2d12c609e0 | example.org.      | SOA  | ns1.example.org. admin.example.org. 1624415706 3582 500 86000 3600  | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | 3532dee3-effc-4aac-b5c4-90b6e2ad20e0 | test.example.org. | NS   | test.example.org.                                                   | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | bef04729-f49e-4920-83b6-2ef9b620fa9d | example.org.      | NS   | ns1.example.org.                                                    | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    | c290d79a-6583-4666-a6f7-d4b967f67d79 | www.example.org.  | A    | 192.0.2.2                                                           | ACTIVE | NONE   |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+

this page last updated: 2026-08-19 02:25:39

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