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DNS_ERROR_NEED_SECONDARY_ADDRESSES
The secondary zone has no transfer source
A secondary zone is a read-only copy that obtains authoritative data from master servers. Windows exposes master server addresses as a required input when creating a secondary zone, and the DNS zone model uses refresh and transfer operations to keep the copy coherent. Without at least one transfer source, the server cannot establish where the zone should be loaded or refreshed from.
Provide the IP addresses of authoritative servers that permit transfers for this secondary. Validate the zone name and transfer policy before treating reachability as the only issue. A recursive resolver or arbitrary public DNS server is not automatically a valid master: the selected server must be authoritative for the zone and willing to serve AXFR or the supported refresh mechanism.
What to inspect
- List the intended primary or master servers and verify they are authoritative for the zone.
- Check zone-transfer permissions and TCP connectivity to the selected servers.
- Confirm the secondary-zone configuration contains the correct IPv4 or IPv6 master addresses.
References
- Microsoft: Add-DnsServerSecondaryZone and required master servers
- Microsoft: DNS zone types and zone transfer behavior
- IETF RFC 5936: authoritative zone transfer with AXFR
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