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7.4.2. Configuring /etc/rndc.conf

The key is the most important statement in /etc/rndc.conf.
key "<key-name>" {
	algorithm hmac-md5;
	secret "<key-value>";
};

The <key-name> and <key-value> should be exactly the same as their settings in /etc/named.conf.
To match the keys specified in the target server's /etc/named.conf, add the following lines to /etc/rndc.conf.
options {
	default-server  localhost;
	default-key     "<key-name>";
};

This directive sets a global default key. However, the rndc configuration file can also specify different keys for different servers, as in the following example:
server localhost {
	key  "<key-name>";
};

Important

Make sure that only the root user can read or write to the /etc/rndc.conf file.
For more information about the /etc/rndc.conf file, refer to the rndc.conf man page.