TechnitiumSoftware/DnsServer · error · InvalidDataException

DNS zone type not supported.

Error message

DNS zone type not supported.

What it means

Thrown by AuthZoneManager.CreateEmptyApexZone in the default case of its switch over AuthZoneType — the method handles the known zone types (Primary, Secondary, Stub, Forwarder, Catalog, SecondaryCatalog) and throws for any other/unexpected enum value. It guards against an uninitialized or newly added AuthZoneType value that has no apex constructor wired up.

Source

Thrown at DnsServerCore/Dns/ZoneManagers/AuthZoneManager.cs:739

                case AuthZoneType.SecondaryForwarder:
                    apexZone = new SecondaryForwarderZone(_dnsServer, zoneInfo);
                    break;

                case AuthZoneType.Catalog:
                    apexZone = new CatalogZone(_dnsServer, zoneInfo);
                    break;

                case AuthZoneType.SecondaryCatalog:
                    SecondaryCatalogZone secondaryCatalogZone = new SecondaryCatalogZone(_dnsServer, zoneInfo);
                    secondaryCatalogZone.ZoneAdded += SecondaryCatalogZoneAdded;
                    secondaryCatalogZone.ZoneRemoved += SecondaryCatalogZoneRemoved;

                    apexZone = secondaryCatalogZone;
                    break;

                default:
                    throw new InvalidDataException("DNS zone type not supported.");
            }

            if (_root.TryAdd(apexZone))
                return apexZone;

            throw new DnsServerException("Zone already exists: " + zoneInfo.DisplayName);
        }

        internal AuthZone GetOrAddSubDomainZone(string zoneName, string domain)
        {
            return _root.GetOrAddSubDomainZone(zoneName, domain, delegate ()
            {
                if (!_root.TryGet(zoneName, out ApexZone apexZone))
                    throw new DnsServerException("Zone was not found for domain: " + domain);

                if (apexZone is PrimaryZone primaryZone)
                    return new PrimarySubDomainZone(primaryZone, domain);
                else if (apexZone is SecondaryCatalogZone secondaryCatalogZone)

View on GitHub (pinned to d0484b6c1e)

Solutions

1. Validate AuthZoneInfo.Type is one of the supported values before creating the zone.
2. If a new zone type was added to the enum, extend CreateEmptyApexZone's switch.
3. Restore the zone config from a known-good source if the type byte is corrupt.

Example fix

// before
var zone = zoneManager.CreateEmptyApexZone(zoneInfo); // unknown type throws

// after
if (!Enum.IsDefined(typeof(AuthZoneType), zoneInfo.Type) || zoneInfo.Type == AuthZoneType.Unknown)
    throw new ArgumentException("Unsupported zone type: " + zoneInfo.Type);
var zone = zoneManager.CreateEmptyApexZone(zoneInfo);

static readonly HashSet<AuthZoneType> Supported = new()
{
    AuthZoneType.Primary, AuthZoneType.Secondary, AuthZoneType.Stub,
    AuthZoneType.Forwarder, AuthZoneType.Catalog, AuthZoneType.SecondaryCatalog
};
bool IsSupportedZoneType(AuthZoneInfo zi) => Supported.Contains(zi.Type);

static bool IsKnownZoneType(AuthZoneType t) =>
    t == AuthZoneType.Primary || t == AuthZoneType.Secondary || t == AuthZoneType.Stub ||
    t == AuthZoneType.Forwarder || t == AuthZoneType.Catalog || t == AuthZoneType.SecondaryCatalog;

try { zoneManager.CreateEmptyApexZone(zoneInfo); }
catch (InvalidDataException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("zone type not supported"))
{
    // unknown/corrupt type — restore config or reject the request
}

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a zone whose AuthZoneInfo.Type is an enum value not covered by CreateEmptyApexZone — e.g. a future/None/unknown value, or a deserialized zone with a corrupt type byte.

Common situations: A corrupt zone-info type field from a bad binary file, a code change that added a new AuthZoneType without updating the switch, or deserialization producing an out-of-range enum.

Related errors

• Zone was not found for domain: {key}
• Zone was not found: {zoneName}
• The domain name '<domain>' does not belong to the zone: <zon
• Zone already exists: <zoneInfo.DisplayName>
• Zone was not found for domain: <domain>

AI-assisted analysis of TechnitiumSoftware/DnsServer@d0484b6c1e (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d9f052ebdc8c096d. Report an issue: GitHub.