If your DNS server is running Windows Server Core, you can create reverse lookup zones from the command-line by using the DNSCMD command. While forward lookup zones are named using the FQDN of the domain to which the zone maps, reverse lookup zones are named using the following convention:
[octet address form of network ID in reverse order].in-addr.arpa.
For example, if the network ID for clients in the forward lookup zone is 172.16.11/24 (that is, 172.16.11.0 with subnet mask 255.255.255.0), then the reverse lookup zone usually is named 11.16.172.in-addr.arpa.
As an example, you can use the following command to create a reverse lookup standard primary zone named 11.16.172.in-addr.arpa on a DNS server named SEA-SC4:
dnscmd SEA-SC4 /zoneadd 11.16.172.in-addr.arpa /primary
For more information on managing DNS servers running on Windows Server Core, see my book Windows Server 2008 Server Core Administrator's Pocket Consultant from Microsoft Press.
