LPIC-2 DNS, Web and Mail Services Practice Question
A company has two BIND DNS servers, a primary and a secondary. The secondary fails to receive zone updates. Which command can be used to check if the primary allows zone transfers to the secondary?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse a simple DNS query (like `dig -x` or `nslookup -type=any`) with a zone transfer request, not realizing that only AXFR (or IXFR) can verify whether the primary server is configured to allow the secondary to pull the full zone data.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
dig axfr example.com @primary
The `dig axfr example.com @primary` command performs an AXFR (full zone transfer) request against the primary DNS server. If the primary allows zone transfers to the secondary, the command will return the entire zone file; if it is denied, it will return a 'Transfer failed' or 'refused' message. This directly tests the allow-transfer ACL configuration on the primary, which is the most common cause of secondary servers failing to receive zone updates.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
dig axfr example.com @primary
Why this is correct
dig axfr requests the full zone from the primary, allowing verification of transfer permissions.
- ✗
host -l example.com primary
Why it's wrong here
host -l also requests a zone transfer, but may not work if transfers are restricted or the command is not available.
- ✗
dig -x 192.0.2.1 @primary
Why it's wrong here
dig -x performs a reverse lookup, not a zone transfer.
- ✗
nslookup -type=any example.com primary
Why it's wrong here
nslookup -type=any queries for all record types, not a full zone transfer.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-2 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LPIC-2 exam.