Which DNS utility and syntax is used to request a zone transfer (AXFR) from a DNS server?

• A. nslookup -zoneexport
• B. dig @server target.tgt -t AXFR
• C. traceroute -AXFR
• D. ping -t AXFR

Answer: (B)

Requesting a DNS zone transfer uses an AXFR query to pull the entire zone from a DNS server. The reason dig is the best tool here is that it’s designed to perform specific DNS record queries, including full zone transfers, and its syntax clearly directs the query to a chosen server and specifies the transfer type. You run it by pointing to the target server with @server, giving the zone name as the domain, and using -t AXFR to request a transfer. If the server allows AXFR to your machine, you’ll receive the full set of zone records; if not, the server will deny or ignore the request. Other options aren’t appropriate for fetching DNS data: traceroute and ping test network reachability rather than DNS content, and while nslookup can perform AXFR, the shown syntax isn’t the standard way to request a transfer, making it less reliable in this context.