DNSSEC-KSR(1) BIND 9 DNSSEC-KSR(1)
NAME
dnssec-ksr - create signed key response (SKR) files for offline KSK se-
tups
SYNOPSIS
dnssec-ksr [-E engine] [-e date/offset] [-F] [-f file] [-h] [-i
date/offset] [-K directory] [-k policy] [-l file] [-o] [-V] [-v level]
{command} {zone}
DESCRIPTION
The dnssec-ksr can be used to issue several commands that are needed to
generate presigned RRsets for a zone where the private key file of the
Key Signing Key (KSK) is typically offline. This requires Zone Signing
Keys (ZSKs) to be pregenerated, and the DNSKEY, CDNSKEY, and CDS RRsets
to be already signed in advance.
The latter is done by creating Key Signing Requests (KSRs) that can be
imported to the environment where the KSK is available. Once there, this
program can create Signed Key Responses (SKRs) that can be loaded by an
authoritative DNS server.
OPTIONS
-E engine
This option specifies the cryptographic hardware to use, when ap-
plicable.
When BIND 9 is built with OpenSSL, this needs to be set to the
OpenSSL engine identifier that drives the cryptographic accelera-
tor or hardware service module (usually pkcs11).
-e date/offset
This option sets the end date for which keys or SKRs need to be
generated (depending on the command).
-F This options turns on FIPS (US Federal Information Processing
Standards) mode if the underlying crytographic library supports
running in FIPS mode.
-f This option sets the SKR file to be signed when issuing a sign
command.
-h This option prints a short summary of the options and arguments
to dnssec-ksr.
-i date/offset
This option sets the start date for which keys or SKRs need to be
generated (depending on the command).
-K directory
This option sets the directory in which the key files are to be
read or written (depending on the command).
-k policy
This option sets the specific dnssec-policy for which keys need
to be generated, or signed.
-l file
This option provides a configuration file that contains a
dnssec-policy statement (matching the policy set with -k).
-o Normally when pregenerating keys, ZSKs are created. When this op-
tion is set, create KSKs instead.
-V This option prints version information.
-v level
This option sets the debugging level. Level 1 is intended to be
usefully verbose for general users; higher levels are intended
for developers.
command
The KSR command to be executed. See below for the available commands.
zone
The name of the zone for which the KSR command is being executed.
COMMANDS
keygen Pregenerate a number of keys, given a DNSSEC policy and an inter-
val. The number of generated keys depends on the interval and the
key lifetime.
request
Create a Key Signing Request (KSR), given a DNSSEC policy and an
interval. This will generate a file with a number of key bun-
dles, where each bundle contains the currently published ZSKs
(according to the timing metadata).
sign Sign a Key Signing Request (KSR), given a DNSSEC policy and an
interval, creating a Signed Key Response (SKR). This will add the
corresponding DNSKEY, CDS, and CDNSKEY records for the KSK that
is being used for signing.
EXIT STATUS
The dnssec-ksr command exits 0 on success, or non-zero if an error oc-
curred.
EXAMPLES
When you need to generate ZSKs for the zone "example.com" for the next
year, given a dnssec-policy named "mypolicy":
dnssec-ksr -i now -e +1y -k mypolicy -l named.conf keygen example.com
Creating a KSR for the same zone and period can be done with:
dnssec-ksr -i now -e +1y -k mypolicy -l named.conf request example.com > ksr.txt
Typically you would now transfer the KSR to the system that has access
to the KSK.
Signing the KSR created above can be done with:
dnssec-ksr -i now -e +1y -k kskpolicy -l named.conf -f ksr.txt sign example.com
Make sure that the DNSSEC parameters in kskpolicy match those in mypol-
icy.
SEE ALSO
dnssec-keygen(8), dnssec-signzone(8), BIND 9 Administrator Reference
Manual.
AUTHOR
Internet Systems Consortium
COPYRIGHT
2025, Internet Systems Consortium
9.20.15-1~deb13u1-Debian 2025-10-18 DNSSEC-KSR(1)
Generated by dwww version 1.16 on Wed Dec 10 00:33:27 CET 2025.