DDNS and A records not being scavenged

[Haiyan Li]

Hi,

We have a Dynamic DNS server setup for a test Domain, run Bind 8.2.2 on 
DEC OSF.1/Digital.
 
And I want to know how to configure the  DNS server to "scavenge" and
delete outdated A records for the test domain and all the child
domains, the term is "scavenge" for the Windows2000 Dynamic DNS
server. I searched the list and can't find any help.

Thanks,
Haiyan

> -----------from the Technet article----------------------------------
> Aging and Scavenging of Stale Records  on Windows2000 DNS servers  
> With dynamic update, records are automatically added to the zone when
> computers and domain controllers are added. However, in some cases, they
> are not automatically deleted. For example, if a computer registers its
> own A resource record and is improperly disconnected from the network,the
> A resource record might not be deleted. If your network has many mobile
> users, this can happen frequently. 
> Having many stale resource records presents a few different problems.
> Stale resource records take up space on the server, and a server might use
> a stale resource record to answer a query. As a result, DNS server
> performance suffers. 
> To solve these problems, the Windows 2000 DNS server can "scavenge" stale
> records; that is, it can search the database for records that have aged
> and delete them. Administrators can control aging and scavenging by
> specifying the following: 
> *     Which servers can scavenge zones 
> *     Which zones can be scavenged 
> *     Which records must be scavenged if they become stale 
> The DNS server uses an algorithm that ensures that it does not
> accidentally scavenge a record that must remain, provided that you
> configure all the parameters correctly. By default, the scavenging feature
> is off. 
> Caution By default, the scavenging mechanism is disabled. Do not enable it
> unless you are absolutely certain that you understand all the parameters.
> Otherwise, you might accidentally configure the server to delete records
> that it should retain. If a name is accidentally deleted, not only do
> users fail to resolve queries for that name, but also, any user can create
> that name and then take ownership of it, even on zones configured for
> secure dynamic update. 
> You can manually enable or disable aging and scavenging on a per-server,
> per-zone, or per-record basis. You can also enable aging for sets of
> records by using the command line tool Dnscmd.exe. (For information about
> Dnscmd.exe, see Windows 2000 Support Tools Help. For information about
> installing and using the Windows 2000 Support Tools and Support Tools
> Help, see the file Sreadme.doc in the directory \Support\Tools on the
> Windows 2000 operating system CD.) Keep in mind that if you enable
> scavenging on a record that is not a dynamic update record, the record
> will be deleted if it is not periodically refreshed, and you must recreate
> the record if it is still needed. 
> If scavenging is disabled on a standard zone and you enable scavenging,
> the server does not scavenge records that existed before you enabled
> scavenging. The server does not scavenge those records even if you convert
> the zone to an Active Directory-integrated zone first. To enable
> scavenging of such records, use the AgeAllRecords in Dnscmd.exe. 
> Aging and Scavenging Parameters
> The Windows 2000 DNS server uses the timestamp that it gives each record,
> along with parameters that you configure, to determine when to scavenge
> records.