OS X Server Wildcard DNS

So many folks have asked me about this when they have been trying to setup a WordPress Network with an OS X server.

On 10.6.x you do the following:

  1. Setup your base level domain in Server Admin (usually www)
  2. Open Applications > Utilities > Terminal
  3. Type – cd /var/named/zones
  4. This get you to the folder with DNS configuration files
  5. Type – ls -al
  6. Find the db file that is similar to your domain (i.e. db.my.website.zone.apple)
  7. Open the file in a text editor by typing – nano db.my.website.zone.apple (use your file name)
  8. Ctrl-V (or scroll) to the bottom of the document
  9. Add wildcard entry by typing – * IN CNAME website.com.
  10. Close the document with Ctrl-x and then type – y to save.
  11. Go back to Server Admin and restart the DNS service.
  12. * should now appear.

Showing DNS wildcard in Server Admin