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| diff --git a/contrib/bind/doc/misc/FAQ.1of2 b/contrib/bind/doc/misc/FAQ.1of2 deleted file mode 100644 index 99619eb37a250..0000000000000 --- a/contrib/bind/doc/misc/FAQ.1of2 +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1602 +0,0 @@ -Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains,comp.answers,news.answers -Path: vixie!news1.digital.com!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.mathworks.com!news.kei.com!uhog.mit.edu!rutgers!njitgw.njit.edu!hertz.njit.edu!cdp2582 -From: cdp2582@hertz.njit.edu (Chris Peckham) -Subject: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (Part 1 of 2) -Message-ID: <cptd-faq-1-849940949@njit.edu> -Followup-To: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains -Originator: cdp2582@hertz.njit.edu -Keywords: BIND,DOMAIN,DNS -Sender: news@njit.edu -Supersedes: <cptd-faq-1-847336183@njit.edu> -Nntp-Posting-Host: hertz.njit.edu -X-Posting-Frequency: posted during the first week of each month -Reply-To: domain-faq@njit.edu (comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains FAQ comments) -Organization: NJIT.EDU - New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA -Date: Sat, 7 Dec 1996 06:42:36 GMT -Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU -Expires: Sat 11 Jan 97 02:42:29 EDT -Lines: 1582 -Xref: vixie comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains:12904 comp.answers:22440 news.answers:85682 - -Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2 -Archive-name: internet/tcp-ip/domains-faq/part1 -Revision: 1.14 1996/12/07 06:42:05 - - -Note that this posting has been split into two parts because of its size. - -$Id: FAQ.1of2,v 8.4 1996/12/18 04:22:33 vixie Exp $ - -A new version of this document appears monthly.  If this copy is more -than a month old it may be out of date. - -This FAQ is edited and maintained by Chris Peckham, <cdp@pfmc.net>.  The -most recently posted version may be found for anonymous ftp from - -rtfm.mit.edu : /pub/usenet/news.answers/internet/tcp-ip/domains-faq - -It is also available in HTML from -http://www.users.pfmc.net/~cdp/cptd-faq/. - -If you can contribute any answers for items in the TODO section, please do -so by sending e-mail to <domain-faq@pfmc.net> !  If you know of any items -that  are not included and you feel that they should be,  send the -relevant information to <domain-faq@pfmc.net>. - -=============================================================================== - -Index - - Section 1.  TO DO / UPDATES - Q1.1        Contributions needed  - Q1.2        UPDATES / Changes since last posting  - - Section 2.  INTRODUCTION / MISCELLANEOUS - Q2.1        What is this newsgroup ? - Q2.2        More information - Q2.3        What is BIND  ? - Q2.4        What is the difference between BIND and DNS ? - Q2.5        Where is the latest version of BIND located ? - Q2.6        How can I find the path taken between two systems/domains ? - Q2.7        How do you find the hostname given the TCP-IP address ? - Q2.8        How do I register a domain ? - Q2.9        How can I change the IP address of our server ? - Q2.10       Issues when changing your domain name - Q2.11       How memory and CPU does DNS use ? - Q2.12       Other things to consider when planning your servers   - Q2.13       Proper way to get NS and reverse IP records into DNS - Q2.14       How do I get my address assigned from the NIC ? - Q2.15       Is there a block of private IP addresses I can use? - Q2.16       Does BIND cache negative answers (failed DNS lookups) ? - Q2.17       What does an NS record really do ? - Q2.18       DNS ports - Q2.19       What is the cache file  - Q2.20       Obtaining the latest cache file - Q2.21       Selecting a nameserver/root cache - Q2.22       InterNIC and domain names - - Section 3.  UTILITIES  - Q3.1        Utilities to administer DNS zone files - Q3.2        DIG - Domain Internet Groper - Q3.3        DNS packet analyser - Q3.4        host - Q3.5        How can I use DNS information in my program? - Q3.6        A source of information relating to DNS - - Section 4.  DEFINITIONS   - Q4.1        TCP/IP Host Naming Conventions - Q4.2        What are slaves and forwarders ? - Q4.3        When is a server authoritative? - Q4.4        My server does not consider itself authoritative ! - Q4.5        NS records don't configure servers as authoritative ? - Q4.6        underscore in host-/domainnames - Q4.7        What is lame delegation ? - Q4.8        How can I see if the server is "lame" ? - Q4.9        What does opt-class field in a zone file do? - Q4.10       Top level domains - Q4.11       Classes of networks - Q4.12       What is CIDR ? - Q4.13       What is the rule for glue ? - - Section 5.  CONFIGURATION - Q5.1        Changing a Secondary server to a Primary server ? - Q5.2        Moving a Primary server to another server - Q5.3        How do I subnet a Class B Address ? - Q5.4        Subnetted domain name service - Q5.5        Recommended format/style of DNS files - Q5.6        DNS on a system not connected to the Internet - Q5.7        Multiple Domain configuration - Q5.8        wildcard MX records - Q5.9        How do you identify a wildcard MX record ? - Q5.10       Why are fully qualified domain names recommended ? - Q5.11       Distributing load using named - Q5.12       Order of returned records - Q5.13       resolv.conf - Q5.14       How do I delegate authority for sub-domains ? - Q5.15       DNS instead of NIS on a Sun OS 4.1.x system - Q5.16       Patches to add functionality to BIND  - Q5.17       How to serve multiple domains from one server - - Section 6.  PROBLEMS - Q6.1        No address for root server - Q6.2        Error - No Root Nameservers for Class XX - Q6.3        Bind 4.9.x and MX querying? - Q6.4        Do I need to define an A record for localhost ? - Q6.5        MX records, CNAMES and A records for MX targets - Q6.6        Can an NS record point to a CNAME ? - Q6.7        Nameserver forgets own A record - Q6.8        General problems (core dumps !) - Q6.9        malloc and DECstations - Q6.10       Can't resolve names without a "." - Q6.11       Err/TO errors being reported - Q6.12       Why does swapping kill BIND ? - - Section 7.  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - Q7.1        How is this FAQ generated ? - Q7.2        What formats are available ? - Q7.3        Contributors - -=============================================================================== - -Section 1.  TO DO / UPDATES - - Q1.1        Contributions needed  - Q1.2        UPDATES / Changes since last posting  - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 1.1.  Contributions needed - -Date: Fri Dec  6 00:40:00 EST 1996 - -* Expand the slave/forward section - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 1.2.  UPDATES / Changes since last posting - -Date: Fri Dec  6 00:40:00 EST 1996 - -* The FAQ is now maintained in BFNN (Bizzare format with No Name).  This -  allows me to create ASCII, HTML, and GNU info (postscript coming soon) -  from one source file. -* References to 4.9.4 changed to 4.9.5. -* memory/CPU usage question - removed uunet map reference.  Not there... -* Minor edits of information and questions for new format. -* How do I delegate authority for sub-domains ? - edited answer - -=============================================================================== - -Section 2.  INTRODUCTION / MISCELLANEOUS - - Q2.1        What is this newsgroup ? - Q2.2        More information - Q2.3        What is BIND  ? - Q2.4        What is the difference between BIND and DNS ? - Q2.5        Where is the latest version of BIND located ? - Q2.6        How can I find the path taken between two systems/domains ? - Q2.7        How do you find the hostname given the TCP-IP address ? - Q2.8        How do I register a domain ? - Q2.9        How can I change the IP address of our server ? - Q2.10       Issues when changing your domain name - Q2.11       How memory and CPU does DNS use ? - Q2.12       Other things to consider when planning your servers   - Q2.13       Proper way to get NS and reverse IP records into DNS - Q2.14       How do I get my address assigned from the NIC ? - Q2.15       Is there a block of private IP addresses I can use? - Q2.16       Does BIND cache negative answers (failed DNS lookups) ? - Q2.17       What does an NS record really do ? - Q2.18       DNS ports - Q2.19       What is the cache file  - Q2.20       Obtaining the latest cache file - Q2.21       Selecting a nameserver/root cache - Q2.22       InterNIC and domain names - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.1.  What is this newsgroup ? - -Date: Thu Dec  1 11:08:28 EST 1994 - -comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains is the usenet newsgroup for discussion on -issues relating to the Domain Name System (DNS). - -This newsgroup is not for issues directly relating to IP routing and -addressing.  Issues of that nature should be directed towards -comp.protocols.tcp-ip. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.2.  More information - -Date: Fri Dec  6 00:41:03 EST 1996 - -You can find more information concerning DNS in the following places: - -* The BOG (BIND Operations Guide) - in the BIND distribution -* The FAQ included with BIND 4.9.5 in doc/misc/FAQ -* DNS and BIND by Albitz and Liu (an O'Reilly & Associates Nutshell -  handbook) -* A number of RFCs (920, 974, 1032, 1034, 1101, 1123, 1178, 1183, 1348, -  1535, 1536, 1537, 1591, 1706, 1712, 1713, 1912, 1918) -* The DNS Resources Directory (DNSRD) http://www.dns.net/dnsrd/ -* If you are having troubles relating to sendmail and DNS, you may wish to -  refer to the USEnet newsgroup comp.mail.sendmail and/or the FAQ for that -  newsgroup which may be found for anonymous ftp at rtfm.mit.edu : -  /pub/usenet/news.answers/mail/sendmail-faq -* Information concerning some frequently asked questions relating to the -  Internet (i.e., what is the InterNIC, what is an RFC, what is the IETF, -  etc) may be found for anonymous ftp from ds.internic.net : /fyi/fyi4.txt -  A version may also be obtained with the URL -  gopher://ds.internic.net/00/fyi/fyi4.txt. -* Information on performing an initial installation of BIND may be found -  using the DNS Resources Directory at -  http://www.dns.net/dnsrd/docs/basic.txt -* Three other USEnet newsgroups: - -  * comp.protocols.dns.bind -  * comp.protocols.dns.ops -  * comp.protocols.dns.std - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.3.  What is BIND  ? - -Date: Tue Sep 10 23:15:58 EDT 1996 - -From the BOG Introduction - - -The Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND)  implements an  Internet name -server  for the BSD operating system.  The BIND consists of  a server (or -``daemon'')  and  a resolver  library.   A  name server is a network -service that enables clients to name  resources or  objects and share this -information with other objects in the network.  This in effect is a -distributed  data  base  system  for objects  in a computer network.  BIND -is fully integrated into BSD (4.3 and later releases) network  programs -for use  in  storing and  retrieving host names and address.  The system -administrator can configure the system to  use BIND as  a replacement to -the older host table lookup of information in the network hosts file -/etc/hosts.   The default configuration for BSD uses BIND. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.4.  What is the difference between BIND and DNS ? - -Date: Tue Sep 10 23:15:58 EDT 1996 - -(text provided by Andras Salamon) DNS is the Domain Name System, a set of -protocols for a distributed database that was originally designed to -replace /etc/hosts files.  DNS is most commonly used by applications to -translate domain names of hosts to IP addresses.  A client of the DNS is -called a resolver; resolvers are typically located in the application -layer of the networking software of each TCP/IP capable machine.  Users -typically do not interact directly with the resolver.  Resolvers query the -DNS by directing queries at name servers that contain parts of the -distributed database that is accessed by using the DNS protocols.  In -common usage, `the DNS' usually refers just to the data in the database. - -BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) is an implementation of DNS, both -server and client.  Development of BIND is funded by the Internet Software -Consortium and is coordinated by Paul Vixie.  BIND has been ported to -Windows NT and VMS, but is most often found on Unix.  BIND source code is -freely available and very complex; most of the development on the DNS -protocols is based on this code; and most Unix vendors ship BIND-derived -DNS implementations.  As a result, the BIND name server is the most widely -used name server on the Internet.  In common usage, `BIND' usually refers -to the name server that is part of the BIND distribution, and sometimes to -name servers in general (whether BIND-derived or not). - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.5.  Where is the latest version of BIND located ? - -Fri Dec  6 00:23:19 EST 1996 - -This information may be found at http://www.vix.com/isc/bind.html - -At this time, BIND version of 4.9.5 may be found for anonymous ftp from - -ftp.vix.com : /pub/bind/release/4.9.5/bind-4.9.5-REL.tar.gz - -Other sites that officially mirror the BIND distribution are - -* bind.fit.qut.edu.au : /pub/bind -* ftp.funet.fi : /pub/unix/tcpip/dns/bind -* ftp.univ-lyon1.fr : /pub/mirrors/unix/bind -* ftp.oleane.net : /pub/mirrors/unix/bind -* ftp.ucr.ac.cr : /pub/Unix/dns/bind -* ftp.luth.se : /pub/unix/dns/bind/beta - -You may need GNU zip, Larry Wall's patch program (if there are any patch -files), and a C compiler to get BIND running from the above mentioned -source. - -GNU zip is available for anonymous ftp from - -prep.ai.mit.edu : /pub/gnu/gzip-1.2.4.tar - -patch is available for anonymous ftp from - -prep.ai.mit.edu : /pub/gnu/patch-2.1.tar.gz - -A version of BIND for Windows NT is available for anonymous ftp from - -ftp.vix.com : /pub/bind/release/4.9.5/contrib/ntdns495relbin.zip - -and - -ftp.vix.com : /pub/bind/release/4.9.5/contrib/ntbind495rel.zip - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.6.  How can I find the path taken between two systems/domains ? - -Date: Fri Dec  6 00:10:31 EST 1996 - -On a Unix system, use traceroute.  If it is not available to you, you may -obtain the source source for 'traceroute', compile it and install it on -your system. - -One version of this program with additional functionality may be found for -anonymous ftp from - -ftp.nikhef.nl : /pub/network/traceroute.tar.Z - -Another version may be found for anonymous ftp from - -ftp.psc.edu : /pub/net_tools/traceroute.tar - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.7.  How do you find the hostname given the TCP-IP address ? - -Date: Thu Dec  1 09:55:24 EST 1994 - -For an address a.b.c.d you can always do: - -         % nslookup -         > set q=ptr -         > d.c.b.a.in-addr.arpa. - -Most newer version of nslookup (since 4.8.3) will recognize an address, so -you can just say: - -         % nslookup a.b.c.d - -DiG will work like this also: - -         % dig -x a.b.c.d - -host from the contrib/host from the bind distribution may also be used. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.8.  How do I register a domain ? - -Date: Wed Sep  4 23:59:42 EDT 1996 - -You can talk to your Internet Service Provider (ISP).  They can submit the -registration for you.  If you are not going to be directly connected, they -should be able to offer MX records for your domain for mail delivery (so -that mail sent to the new domain will be sent to your "standard" account). -In the case where the registration is done by the organization itself, it -still makes the whole process much easier if the ISP is approached for -secondary servers _before_ the InterNIC is approached for registration. - -For information about making the registration yourself, look to the -InterNIC  (or other similar organization). - -* anonymout ftp from internic.net : /templates -* gopher://rs.internic.net/ -* http://rs.internic.net/reg/reg-forms.html -* http://www.ripe.net/ - -You will need at least two domain name servers when you register your -domain.  Many ISP's are willing to provide primary and/or secondary name -service for their customers. - -Please note that the InterNIC is now charging a fee for domain names    in -the "COM", "ORG", and "NET".  More information may be found from  the -Internic at - -http://rs.internic.net/domain-info/fee-policy.html - -Many times, registration of a domain name can be initiated by sending -e-mail to the zone contact. You can obtain the contact in the  SOA record -for the country, or in a whois server: - -         $ nslookup -type=SOA fr. -         origin = ns1.nic.fr -         mail addr = nic.nic.fr -         ... - -The mail address to contact in this case is 'nic@nic.fr' (you must -substitute an '@' for the first dot in the mail addr field). - -An alternate method to obtain the e-mail address of the national NIC is -the 'whois' server at InterNIC. - -You may be requested to make your request to another email address or -using a certain information template/application. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.9.  How can I change the IP address of our server ? - -Date: Sun May  5 22:46:28 EDT 1996 - -(From Mark Andrews) Before the move. - -* Ensure you are running a modern nameserver. BIND 4.9.3-REL + Patch1 is a -  good choice. -* Inform all your secondaries that you are going to change.  Have them -  install both the current and new addresses in their named.boot's. -* Drop the ttl of the A's associated with the nameserver to something -  small (5 min is usually good). -* Drop the refesh and retry times of the zone containing the  forward -  records for the server. -* Configure the new reverse zone before the move and make sure it is -  operational. -* On the day of the move add the new A record(s) for the server.  Don't -  forget to have these added to parent domains. You will look like you are -  multihomed with one interface dead. - -Move the machine after gracefully terminating any other services it is -offering. Then, - -* Fixup the A's, ttl, refresh and retry counters.  (If you are running an -  all server EDIT out all references to the old addresses in the cache -  files). -* Inform all the secondaries the move is complete. -* Inform the parents of all zones you are primary of the new NS/A pairs -  for the relevent zones. -* Inform all the administators of zones you are secondaring that the -  machine  has moved. -* For good measure update the serial no for all zones you are primary for. -  This will flush out old A's. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.10.  Issues when changing your domain name - -Date: Sun Nov 27 23:32:41 EST 1994 - -If you are changing your domain name from abc.foobar.com to foobar.net, -the forward zones are easy and there are a number of ways to do it.   One -way is the following: - -Have a single db file for the 2 domains, and have a single machine be the -primary server for both abc.foobar.com and foobar.net. - -To resolve the host foo in both domains, use a single zone file which -merely uses this for the host: - -foo             IN      A       1.2.3.4 - -Use a "@" wherever the domain would be used ie for the SOA: - -@               IN      SOA     (... - -Then use this pair of lines in your named.boot: - -primary         abc.foobar.com  db.foobar -primary         foobar.net      db.foobar - -The reverse zones should either contain PTRs to both names, or to -whichever name you believe to be canonical currently. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.11.  How memory and CPU does DNS use ? - -Date: Fri Dec  6 01:07:56 EST 1996 - -It can use quite a bit !  The main thing that BIND needs is memory.   It -uses very little CPU or network bandwidth.   The main  considerations to -keep in mind when planning are: - -* How many zones do you have and how large are they ? -* How many clients do you expect to serve and how active are they ? - -As an example, here is a snapshot of memory usage from CSIRO Division  of -Mathematics and Statistics, Australia - -      Named takes several days to stabalize its memory usage. -  -      Our main server stabalises at ~10Mb. It takes about 3 days to -      reach this size from 6 M at startup. This is under Sun OS 4.1.3U1. - -As another example, here is the configuration of ns.uu.net (from late -1994): - -      ns.uu.net only does nameservice.  It is running a version of BIND -      4.9.3 on a Sun Classic with 96 MB of RAM, 220 MB of swap (remember -      that Sun OS will reserve swap for each fork, even if it is not needed) -      running Sun OS 4.1.3_U1. - -      Joseph Malcolm, of Alternet, states that named generally hovers at  -      5-10% of the CPU, except after a reload, when it eats it all.  - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.12.  Other things to consider when planning your servers - -Date: Mon Jan  2 14:24:51 EST 1995 - -When making the plans to set up your servers, you may want to also -consider the following issues: - -        A) Server O/S limitations/capacities (which tend to be widely -           divergent from vendor to vendor) -        B) Client resolver behavior (even more widely divergent) -        C) Expected query response time -        D) Redundancy -        E) Desired speed of change propagation -        F) Network bandwidth availability -        G) Number of zones/subdomain-levels desired -        H) Richness of data stored (redundant MX records? HINFO records?) -        I) Ease of administration desired -        J) Network topology (impacts reverse-zone volume) -  -  Assuming a best-possible case for the factors above, particularly (A), (B), -  (C), (F), (G) & (H), it would be possible to run a 1000-node domain -  using a single lowly 25 or 40 MHz 386 PC with a fairly modest amount of RAM  -  by today's standards, e.g. 4 or 8 Meg.   However, this configuration would  -  be slow, unreliable, and would provide no functionality beyond your basic  -  address-to-name and name-to-address mappings. -  -  Beyond that baseline case, depending on what factors listed above, -  you may want look at other strategies, such splitting up the DNS -  traffic among several machines strategically located, possibly larger ones, -  and/or subdividing your domain itself. There are many options, tradeoffs,  -  and DNS architectural paradigms from which to choose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.13.  Proper way to get NS and reverse IP records into DNS - -Date: Mon Jan  2 13:03:53 EST 1995 - -Reverse domain registration is separate from forward domain registration. -Blocks of network addresses have been delegated by the InterNIC.  Check if -your network a.b.c.0 is in such a block by using nslookup: - -   nslookup -type=soa c.b.a.in-addr.arpa. -   nslookup -type=soa b.a.in-addr.arpa. -   nslookup -type=soa a.in-addr.arpa. - -One of the above should give you the information you are looking for (the -others will return with an error something like `*** No start of authority -(SOA) records available for ...') This will give you the email address of -the person to whom you should address your change request. - -If none of these works, your network probably has not been delegated by -the InterNIC and you need to contact them directly. - -CIDR has meant that the registration is delegated, but registration of -in-addr.arpa has always been separate from forward zones - and for good -reason - in that the forward and reverse zones may have different -policies, contents etc, may be served by a different set of nameservers, -and exist at different times (usually only at point of creation).  There -isn't a one-to-one mapping between the two, so merging the registration -would probably cause more problems than people forgetting/not-knowing that -they had to register in-addr.arpa zones separately.  For example, there -are organizations that have hundreds of networks and two or more domains, -with a sprinkling of machines from each network in each of the domains. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.14.  How do I get my address assigned from the NIC ? - -Date: Fri Dec  6 01:11:34 EST 1996 - -You should probably ask your Internet provider to give you an address. -These days, addresses are being distributed through the providers, so that -they can assign adjacent blocks of addresses to sites that go through the -same provider, to permit more efficient routing on the backbones. - -Unless you have thousands of hosts, you probably won't be able to get a -class B these days.  Instead, you can get a series of class C networks. -Large requests will be queried, so be ready to provide a network plan if -you ask for more than 16 class C networks. - -If you can't do this through your Internet provider, you can look for a -subnet registration form on rs.internic.net.  See the answer in this FAQ -to the question "How do I register a domain" for a URL to these forms. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.15.  Is there a block of private IP addresses I can use? - -Date: Sun May  5 23:02:49 EDT 1996 - -Yes there is.  Please refer to RFC 1918: - -   1918 Address Allocation for Private Internets. Y. Rekhter, B. -        Moskowitz, D. Karrenberg, G. de Groot, & E. Lear. February 1996. -        (Format: TXT=22270 bytes) -  -RFC 1918 documents the allocation of the following addresses for use by -``private internets'': - -        10.0.0.0        -   10.255.255.255 -        172.16.0.0      -   172.31.255.255 -        192.168.0.0     -   192.168.255.255 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.16.  Does BIND cache negative answers (failed DNS lookups) ? - -Date: Mon Jan  2 13:55:50 EST 1995 - -Yes, BIND 4.9.3 and more recent versions will cache negative answers. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.17.  What does an NS record really do ? - -Date: Wed Sep  4 22:52:18 EDT 1996 - -The NS records in your zone data file pointing to the zone's name  servers -(as opposed to the servers of delegated subdomains) don't do  much. -They're essentially unused, though they are returned in the  authority -section of reply packets from your name servers. - -However, the NS records in the zone file of the parent domain are used to -find the right servers to query for the zone in question.  These records -are more important than the records in the zone itself. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.18.  DNS ports - -Date: Fri Feb 10 15:40:10 EST 1995 - -The following table shows what TCP/UDP ports DNS uses to send and  receive -queries: - -   Prot Src   Dst   Use -   udp  53    53    Queries between servers (eg, recursive queries) -                    Replies to above -   tcp  53    53    Queries with long replies between servers, zone  -                    transfers Replies to above -   udp  >1023 53    Client queries (sendmail, nslookup, etc ...) -   udp  53    >1023 Replies to above -   tcp  >1023 53    Client queries with long replies -   tcp  53    >1023 Replies to above - -   Note: >1023 is for non-priv ports on Un*x clients. On other client  -         types, the limit may be more or less. - -Another point to keep in mind when designing filters for DNS is that a DNS -server uses port 53 both as the source and destination for it's queries. -So, a client queries an initial server from an unreserved port number to -UDP port 53.  If the server needs to query another server to get the -required info, it sends a UDP query to that server with both source and -destination ports set to 53.  The response is then sent with the same -src=53 dest=53 to the first server which then responds to the original -client from port 53 to the original source port number. - -The point of all this is that putting in filters to only allow UDP between -a high port and port 53 will not work correctly, you must also allow the -port 53 to port 53 UDP to get through. - -Also, ALL versions of BIND use TCP for queries in some cases.  The -original query is tried using UDP.  If the response is longer than the -allocated buffer, the resolver will retry the query using a TCP -connection.  If you block access to TCP port 53 as suggested above, you -may find that some things don't work. - -Newer version of BIND allow you to configure a list of IP addresses from -which to allow zone transfers.  This mechanism can be used to prevent -people from outside downloading your entire namespace. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.19.  What is the cache file - -Date: Fri Dec  6 01:15:22 EST 1996 - -From the "Name Server Operations Guide" - -      6.3.  Cache Initialization -  -         6.3.1.  root.cache -  -                 The name server needs to know the servers that -            are  the  authoritative  name  servers for the root -            domain of the network.  To do this we have to prime -            the name server's cache with the addresses of these -            higher authorities.  The location of this  file  is -            specified  in  the  boot  file. ... - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.20.  Obtaining the latest cache file - -Date: Fri Dec  6 01:15:22 EST 1996 - -If you have a version of dig running, you may obtain the information with -the command - -      dig @a.root-servers.net. . ns - -A perl script to handle some possible problems when using this method -from behind a firewall and that can also be used to periodically obtain -the latest cache file was posted to comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains  during -early October, 1996.  It was posted with the subject "Keeping  db.cache -current". It is available at -http://www.users.pfmc.net/~cdp/cptd-faq/current_db_cache.txt. - -The latest cache file may also be obtained from the InterNIC via ftp  or -gopher: - -      ;       This file is made available by InterNIC registration services -      ;       under anonymous FTP as -      ;           file                /domain/named.root -      ;           on server           FTP.RS.INTERNIC.NET -      ;       -OR- under Gopher at    RS.INTERNIC.NET -      ;           under menu          InterNIC Registration Services (NSI) -      ;              submenu          InterNIC Registration Archives -      ;           file                named.root - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.21.  Selecting a nameserver/root cache - -Date: Mon Aug  5 22:54:11 EDT 1996 - -Exactly how is the a root server selected from the root cache? Does the -resolver attempt to pick the closest host or is it random or is it via -sortlist-type workings?  If the root server selected is not available (for -whatever reason), will the the query fail instead of attempting another -root server in the list ? - -Every recursive BIND name server (that is, one which is willing to go out -and find something for you if you ask it something it doesn't know) will -remember the measured round trip time to each server it sends queries to. -If it has a choice of several servers for some domain (like "." for -example) it will use the one whose measured RTT is lowest. - -Since the measured RTT of all NS RRs starts at zero (0), every one gets -tried one time.  Once all have responded, all RTT's will be nonzero, and -the "fastest server" will get all queries henceforth, until it slows down -for some reason. - -To promote dispersion and good recordkeeping, BIND will penalize the RTT -by a little bit each time a server is reused, and it will penalize the RTT -a _lot_ if it ever has to retransmit a query.  For a server to stay "#1", -it has to keep on answering quickly and consistently. - -Note that this is something BIND does that the DNS Specification does not -mention at all.  So other servers, those not based on BIND, might behave -very differently. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 2.22.  InterNIC and domain names - -Date: Sun Jun  2 11:23:49 EDT 1996 - -The current InterNIC policy on what to do if someone wants to use a domain -name that is already in use may be found at - -rs.internic.net : /policy/internic/internic-domain-4.txt - -or - -http://rs.internic.net/domain-info/internic-domain-4.html. - -The following information was submitted by Carl Oppedahl -<oppedahl@patents.com> : - -If the jealous party happens to have a trademark registration, it is quite -likely that the domain name owner will lose the domain name, even if they -aren't infringing the trademark.  This presents a substantial risk of loss -of a domain name on only 30 days' notice.  Anyone who is the manager of an -Internet-connected site should be aware of this risk and should plan for -it. - -See "How do I protect myself from loss of my domain name?" at -http://www.patents.com/weblaw.sht#domloss. - -For an example of an ISP's battle to keep its domain name, see -http://www.patents.com/nsi.sht. - -A compendium of information on the subject may be found at -http://www.law.georgetown.edu/lc/internic/domain1.html. - -=============================================================================== - -Section 3.  UTILITIES - - Q3.1        Utilities to administer DNS zone files - Q3.2        DIG - Domain Internet Groper - Q3.3        DNS packet analyser - Q3.4        host - Q3.5        How can I use DNS information in my program? - Q3.6        A source of information relating to DNS - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 3.1.  Utilities to administer DNS zone files - -Date: Wed Sep  4 22:53:53 EDT 1996 - -There are a few utilities available to ease the administration of zone -files in the DNS. - -Two common ones are h2n and makezones.  Both are perl scripts.  h2n is -used to convert host tables into zone data files.  It is available for -anonymous ftp from - -ftp.uu.net : /published/oreilly/nutshell/dnsbind/dns.tar.Z - -makezones works from a single file that looks like a forward zone file, -with some additional syntax for special cases.  It is included in the -current BIND distribution.  The newest version is always available for -anonymous ftp from - -ftp.cus.cam.ac.uk : /pub/software/programs/DNS/makezones - -More information may be found using the DNS Resources Directory - -http://www.dns.net/dnsrd/. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 3.2.  DIG - Domain Internet Groper - -Date: Thu Dec  1 11:09:11 EST 1994 - -The latest and greatest, official, accept-no-substitutes version of the -Domain Internet Groper (DiG) is the one that comes with BIND.   Get the -latest kit. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 3.3.  DNS packet analyser - -Date: Wed Sep  4 23:43:57 EDT 1996 - -There is a free ethernet analyser called Ethload available for PC's -running DOS. The latest filename is ETHLD104.ZIP. It understands lots  of -protocols including TCP/UDP. It'll look inside there and display -DNS/BOOTP/ICMP packets etc. (Ed. note: something nice for someone to add -to tcpdump ;^) ).  Depending on the ethernet controller it's given  it'll -perform slightly differently. It handles NDIS/Novell/Packet  drivers.  It -works best with Novell's promiscuous mode drivers.   A SimTel mirror site -should have the program available for anonymous ftp.   One is - -ftp.coast.net : /SimTel/msdos/lan/ethld104.zip - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 3.4.  host - -Date: Sun Dec  4 21:15:38 EST 1994 - -A section from the host man page: - -     host looks for information about Internet hosts and domain -     names.  It gets this information from a set of intercon- -     nected servers that are spread across the world. The infor- -     mation is stored in the form of "resource records" belonging -     to hierarchically organized "zones". - -     By default, the program simply converts between host names -     and Internet addresses. However, with the -t, -a and -v -     options, it can be used to find all of the information about -     domain names that is maintained by the domain nameserver -     system.  The information printed consists of various fields -     of the associated resource records that were retrieved. - -     The arguments can be either host names (domain names) or -     numeric Internet addresses. - -'host' is compatible with both BIND 4.9 and BIND 4.8 - -'host' may be found in contrib/host in the BIND distribution.  The latest -version always available for anonymous ftp from - -ftp.nikhef.nl : /pub/network/host.tar.Z - -It may also be found for anonymous ftp from - -ftp.uu.net : /networking/ip/dns/host.tar.Z - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 3.5.  How can I use DNS information in my program? - -Date: Fri Feb 10 15:25:11 EST 1995 - -It depends on precisely what you want to do: - -* Consider whether you need to write a program at all.  It may well be -  easier to write a shell program (e.g. using awk or perl) to parse the -  output of dig, host or nslookup. -* If all you need is names and addresses, there will probably be system -  routines 'gethostbyname' and 'gethostbyaddr' to provide this -  information. -* If you need more details, then there are system routines (res_query and -  res_search) to assist with making and sending DNS queries.  However, -  these do not include a routine to parse the resulting answer (although -  routines to assist in this task are provided).  There is a separate -  library available that will take a DNS response and unpick it into its -  constituent parts, returning a C structure that can be used by the -  program.  The source for this library is available for anonymous ftp at - -  hpux.csc.liv.ac.uk : /hpux/Networking/Admin/resparse-1.2 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 3.6.  A source of information relating to DNS - -Date: Tue Nov  5 23:42:21 EST 1996 - -You may find utilities and tools to help you manage your zone files -(including WWW front-ends) in the "tools" section of the DNS  resources -directory: - -http://www.dns.net/dnsrd/tools.html - -There are also a number of IP management tools available.  Data -Communications had an article on the subject in Sept/Oct of 1996.  The -tools mentioned in the article and a few others may be found at the -following sites: - -* IP Address management, http://www.accugraph.com -* IP-Track, http://www.on.com -* NetID, http://www.isotro.com -* QIP, http://www.quadritek.com -* UName-It, http://www.esm.com - -=============================================================================== - -Section 4.  DEFINITIONS - - Q4.1        TCP/IP Host Naming Conventions - Q4.2        What are slaves and forwarders ? - Q4.3        When is a server authoritative? - Q4.4        My server does not consider itself authoritative ! - Q4.5        NS records don't configure servers as authoritative ? - Q4.6        underscore in host-/domainnames - Q4.7        What is lame delegation ? - Q4.8        How can I see if the server is "lame" ? - Q4.9        What does opt-class field in a zone file do? - Q4.10       Top level domains - Q4.11       Classes of networks - Q4.12       What is CIDR ? - Q4.13       What is the rule for glue ? - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.1.  TCP/IP Host Naming Conventions - -Date: Mon Aug  5 22:49:46 EDT 1996 - -One guide that may be used when naming hosts is RFC 1178, "Choosing a Name -for Your Computer", which is available via anonymous FTP from - -ftp.internic.net : /rfc/rfc1178.txt - -RFCs (Request For Comments) are specifications and guidelines for how many -aspects of TCP/IP and the Internet (should) work.  Most RFCs are fairly -technical documents, and some have semantics that are hotly contested in -the newsgroups.  But a few, like RFC 1178, are actually good to read for -someone who's just starting along a TCP/IP path. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.2.  What are slaves and forwarders ? - -Date: Thu Dec  1 10:32:43 EST 1994 - -"forwarders" is a list of NS records that are _prepended_ to a list of NS -records to query if the data is not available locally.  This allows a rich -cache of records to be built up at a centralized location.  This is good -for sites that have sporadic or very slow connections to the Internet. -(demand dial-up, for example)  It's also just a good idea for very large -distributed sites to increase the chance that you don't have to go off to -the Internet to get an IP address. (sometimes for addresses across the -street!) - -"slave" modifies this to say to replace the list of NS records with the -forwarders entry, instead of prepending to it.  This is for firewalled -environments, where the nameserver can't directly get out to the Internet -at all. - -"slave" is meaningless (and invalid, in late-model BINDs) without -"forwarders".  "forwarders" is an entry in named.boot, and therefore -applies only to the nameserver (not to resolvers). - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.3.  When is a server authoritative? - -Date: Mon Jan  2 13:15:13 EST 1995 - -In the case of BIND: - -* The server contains current data in files for the zone in question (Data -  must be current for secondaries, as defined in the SOA) -* The server is told that it is authoritative for the zone, by a 'primary' -  or 'secondary' keyword in /etc/named.boot. -* The server does an error-free load of the zone. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.4.  My server does not consider itself authoritative ! - -Date: Mon Jan  2 13:15:13 EST 1995 - -The question was: - -  What if I have set up a DNS where there is an SOA record for -  the domain, but the server still does not consider itself -  authoritative.  (when using nslookup and set server=the correct machine.) -  It seems that something is not matching up somewhere.  I suspect -  that this is because the service provider has not given us control -  over the IP numbers in our own domain, and so while the machine listed -  has an A record for an address, there is no corresponding PTR record. -With the answer: - -  That's possible too, but is unrelated to the first question. -  You need to be delegated a zone before outside people will start -  talking to your server.  However, a server can still be authoritative -  for a zone even though it hasn't been delegated authority (it's just  -  that only the people who use that as their server will see the data). -     -  A server may consider itself non-authoritative even though it's a -  primary if there is a syntax error in the zone (see the list in the  -  previous question). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.5.  NS records don't configure servers as authoritative ? - -Date: Fri Dec  6 16:13:34 EST 1996 - -Nope, delegation is a separate issue from authoritativeness.  You can -still be authoritative, but not delegated.  (you can also be  delegated, -but not authoritative -- that's a "lame delegation") - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.6.  underscore in host-/domainnames - -Date: Mon Aug  5 22:39:02 EDT 1996 - -The question is "Are underscores are allowed in host- or domainnames" ? -        RFC 1033 allows them. -        RFC 1035 doesn't. -        RFC 1123 doesn't. -        dnswalk complains about them. - - -Which RFC is the final authority these days? - -Actually RFC 1035 deals with names of machines or names of mail domains. -i.e "_" is not permitted in a hostname or on the RHS of the "@" in -local@domain. - -Underscore is permitted where ever the domain is NOT one of these types -of addresses. - -In general the DNS mostly contains hostnames and mail domainnames.  This -will change as new resource record types for authenticating DNS  queries -start to appear. - -The latest version of 'host' checks for illegal characters in A/MX record -names and the NS/MX target names. - -After saying all of that, remember that RFC 1123 is a Required Internet -Standard (per RFC 1720), and RFC 1033 isn't.  Even  RFC 1035 isn't a -required standard.  Therefore, RFC 1123 wins, no contest. - -From RFC 1123, Section 2.1 - -   2.1  Host Names and Numbers - -      The syntax of a legal Internet host name was specified in RFC-952 -      [DNS:4].  One aspect of host name syntax is hereby changed: the -      restriction on the first character is relaxed to allow either a -      letter or a digit.  Host software MUST support this more liberal -      syntax. - -   And described by Dave Barr in RFC1912: - -      Allowable characters in a label for a host name are only ASCII -      letters, digits, and the `-' character.  Labels may not be all -      numbers, but may have a leading digit  (e.g., 3com.com).  Labels must -      end and begin only with a letter or digit.  See [RFC 1035] and [RFC -      1123].  (Labels were initially restricted in [RFC 1035] to start with -      a letter, and some older hosts still reportedly have problems with -      the relaxation in [RFC 1123].)  Note there are some Internet -      hostnames which violate this rule (411.org, 1776.com). - -Finally, one more piece of information (From Paul Vixie): - -   RFC 1034 says only that domain names have characters in them, though it -   says so with enough fancy and indirection that it's hard to tell exactly. - -   Generally, for second level domains (i.e., something you would get from -   InterNIC or from the US Domain Registrar and probably other ISO 3166 -   country code TLDs), RFC 952 is thought to apply.  RFC 952 was about host -   names rather than domain names, but the rules seemed good enough. - -        <domainname> ::= <hname> - -        <hname> ::= <name>*["."<name>] -        <name>  ::= <let>[*[<let-or-digit-or-hyphen>]<let-or-digit>] -  -There has been a recent update on this subject which may be found in - -ftp.internic.net : /internet-drafts/draft-andrews-dns-hostnames-03.txt. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.7.  What is lame delegation ? - -Date: Mon Aug  5 22:45:02 EDT 1996 - -Two things are required for a lame delegation: - -* A nameserver X is delegated as authoritative for a zone. -* Nameserver X is not performing nameservice for that zone. - -Try to think of a lame delegation as a long-term condition, brought about -by a misconfiguration somewhere.  Bryan Beecher's 1992 LISA paper on lame -delegations is good to read on this.  The problem really lies in -misconfigured nameservers, not "lameness" brought about by transient -outages.  The latter is common on the Internet and hard to avoid, while -the former is correctable. - -In order to be performing nameservice for a zone, it must have (presumed -correct) data for that zone, and it must be answering authoritatively to -resolver queries for that zone.  (The AA bit is set in the flags section) - -The "classic" lame delegation case is when nameserver X is delegated as -authoritative for domain Y, yet when you ask Y about X, it returns -non-authoritative data. - -Here's an example that shows what happens most often (using dig, dnswalk, -and doc to find). - -Let's say the domain bogus.com gets registered at the NIC and they have -listed 2 primary name servers, both from their *upstream* provider: - - bogus.com      IN      NS      ns.bogus.com - bogus.com      IN      NS      upstream.com - bogus.com      IN      NS      upstream1.com - -So the root servers have this info.  But when the admins at bogus.com -actually set up their zone files they put something like: - - bogus.com      IN      NS      upstream.com - bogus.com      IN      NS      upstream1.com - -So your name server may have the nameserver info cached (which it may have -gotten from the root).  The root says "go ask ns.bogus.com" since they are -authoritative - -This is usually from stuff being registered at the NIC (either nic.ddn.mil -or rs.internic.net), and then updated later, but the folks who make the -updates later never let the folks at the NIC know about it. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.8.  How can I see if the server is "lame" ? - -Date: Mon Aug  5 22:45:02 EDT 1996 - -Go to the authoritative servers one level up, and ask them who they think -is authoritative, and then go ask each one of those delegees if they think -that they themselves are authoritative.  If any responds "no", then you -know who the lame delegation is, and who is delegating lamely to them. -You can then send off a message to the administrators of the level above. - -The 'lamers' script from Byran Beecher really takes care of all this for -you.  It parses the lame delegation notices from BIND's syslog and -summarizes them for you.  It may be found in the contrib section of the -latest BIND distribution.  The latest version is available for anonymous -ftp from - -terminator.cc.umich.edu : /dns/lame-delegations/ - -   If you want to actively check for lame delegations, you can use 'doc' -and 'dnswalk'.   You can check things manually with 'dig'. - -The InterNIC recently announced a new lame delegation that will be in -effect on 01 October, 1996.  Here is a summary: - -* After receipt/processing of a name registration template, and at random -  intervals thereafter, the InterNIC will perform a DNS query  via UDP -  Port 53 on domain names for an SOA response for the name  being -  registered. -* If the query of the domain name returns a non-authoritative response -  from all the listed name servers, the query will be repeated four times -  over the next 30 days at random intervals approximately 7 days apart, -  with notification to all listed whois and nameserver contacts of the -  possible pending deletion.  If at least one server answers correctly, -  but one or more are lame, FYI notifications will be sent to all contacts -  and checking will be discontinued.  Additionally, e-mail notices will be -  provided to the contact for the name servers holding the delegation to -  alert them to the "lame" condition.  Notifications will state explicitly -  the consequences of not correcting the "lame" condition and will be -  assigned a descriptive subject as follows: - -     Subject: Lame Delegation Notice: DOMAIN_NAME - -  The notification will include a timestamp for when the query was -  performed. -* If, following 30 days, the name servers still provide no SOA response, -  the name will be placed in a "hold" status and the DNS information will -  no longer be propagated.  The administrative contact will be notified by -  postal mail and all whois contacts will be notified by e-mail, with -  instructions for taking corrective action. -* Following 60 days in a "hold" status, the name will be deleted and made -  available for reregistration.  Notification of the final deletion will -  be sent to the name server and domain name contacts  listed in the NIC -  database. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.9.  What does opt-class field in a zone file do? - -Date: Thu Dec  1 11:10:39 EST 1994 - -This field is the address class.  From the BOG - - -      ...is the address class; currently, only one class -      is supported: IN  for  internet  addresses  and  other -      internet information.  Limited support is included for -      the HS  class,  which  is  for  MIT/Athena  ``Hesiod'' -      information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.10.  Top level domains - -Date: Fri Dec  6 15:13:35 EST 1996 - -A section from RFC 1591: - -   2.  The Top Level Structure of the Domain Names - -   In the Domain Name System (DNS) naming of computers there is a -   hierarchy of names.  The root of system is unnamed.  There are a set -   of what are called "top-level domain names" (TLDs).  These are the -   generic TLDs (EDU, COM, NET, ORG, GOV, MIL, and INT), and the two -   letter country codes from ISO-3166.  It is extremely unlikely that -   any other TLDs will be created. - ------ - -[ Ed note:  the ISO-3166 country codes may be found for anonymous ftp -from: - -* ftp.isi.edu : /in-notes/iana/assignments/country-codes -* ftp.ripe.net : /iso3166-codes - -] - -[ Ed note: Since the Internic started charging for registration services, -(and for other reasons) there are a number of groups that want to offer -an alternative to registering a domain under a "standard" TLD.  More -information on some of these options may be found at: - -*      http://www.alternic.net/ -*      http://www.eu.org/ -*      http://www.ml.org/mljoin.html - -You may participate in one of the discussions on iTLD proposals at - -* To sign up: http://www.newdom.com/lists -* Old postings: http://www.newdom.com/archive - -] - ------ - -   ... -   Under each TLD may be created a hierarchy of names.  Generally, under -   the generic TLDs the structure is very flat.  That is, many -   organizations are registered directly under the TLD, and any further -   structure is up to the individual organizations. - -   In the country TLDs, there is a wide variation in the structure, in -   some countries the structure is very flat, in others there is -   substantial structural organization.  In some country domains the -   second levels are generic categories (such as, AC, CO, GO, and RE), -   in others they are based on political geography, and in still others, -   organization names are listed directly under the country code.  The -   organization for the US country domain is described in RFC 1480. - -   Each of the generic TLDs was created for a general category of -   organizations.  The country code domains (for example, FR, NL, KR, -   US) are each organized by an administrator for that country.  These -   administrators may further delegate the management of portions of the -   naming tree.  These administrators are performing a public service on -   behalf of the Internet community.  Descriptions of the generic -   domains and the US country domain follow. - -   Of these generic domains, five are international in nature, and two -   are restricted to use by entities in the United States. - -   World Wide Generic Domains: - -   COM - This domain is intended for commercial entities, that is -         companies.  This domain has grown very large and there is -         concern about the administrative load and system performance if -         the current growth pattern is continued.  Consideration is -         being taken to subdivide the COM domain and only allow future -         commercial registrations in the subdomains. - -   EDU - This domain was originally intended for all educational -         institutions.  Many Universities, colleges, schools, -         educational service organizations, and educational consortia -         have registered here.  More recently a decision has been taken -         to limit further registrations to 4 year colleges and -         universities.  Schools and 2-year colleges will be registered -         in the country domains (see US Domain, especially K12 and CC, -         below). - -   NET - This domain is intended to hold only the computers of network -         providers, that is the NIC and NOC computers, the -         administrative computers, and the network node computers.  The -         customers of the network provider would have domain names of -         their own (not in the NET TLD). - -   ORG - This domain is intended as the miscellaneous TLD for -         organizations that didn't fit anywhere else.  Some non- -         government organizations may fit here. - -   INT - This domain is for organizations established by international -         treaties, or international databases. - -   United States Only Generic Domains: - -   GOV - This domain was originally intended for any kind of government -         office or agency.  More recently a decision was taken to -         register only agencies of the US Federal government in this -         domain.  State and local agencies are registered in the country -         domains (see US Domain, below). - -   MIL - This domain is used by the US military. - -   Example country code Domain: - -   US - As an example of a country domain, the US domain provides for  -	the registration of all kinds of entities in the United States -	on the basis of political geography, that is, a hierarchy of -	<entity-name>.<locality>.<state-code>.US.  For example, -	"IBM.Armonk.NY.US".  In addition, branches of the US domain are -	provided within each state for schools (K12), community -	colleges (CC), technical schools (TEC), state government -	agencies (STATE), councils of governments (COG),libraries -	(LIB), museums (MUS), and several other generic types of -	entities (see RFC 1480 for details). - - -A section from RFC 1480: - -   2. NAMING STRUCTURE - -       The US Domain hierarchy is based on political geography.  The -       basic name space under US is the state name space, then the -       "locality" name space, (like a city, or county) then -       organization or computer name and so on. -     -       For example: -     -              BERKELEY.CA.US -              PORTLAND.WA.US -     -       There is of course no problem with running out of names. -     -       The things that are named are individual computers. -     -       If you register now in one city and then move, the database can -       be updated with a new name in your new city, and a pointer can -       be set up from your old name to your new name.  This type of -       pointer is called a CNAME record. -     -       The use of unregistered names is not effective and causes problems -       for other users.  Inventing your own name and using it without -       registering is not a good idea. -     -       In addition to strictly geographically names, some special names -       are used, such as FED, STATE, AGENCY, DISTRICT, K12, LIB, CC, -       CITY, and COUNTY.  Several new name spaces have been created, -       DNI, GEN, and TEC, and a minor change under the "locality" name -       space was made to the existing CITY and COUNTY subdomains by -       abbreviating them to CI and CO.  A detailed description -       follows. -     -       Below US, Parallel to States: -       ----------------------------- -     -       "FED" - This branch may be used for agencies of the federal -       government.  For example: <org-name>.<city>.FED.US -     -       "DNI" - DISTRIBUTED NATIONAL INSTITUTES - The "DNI" branch was -       created directly under the top-level US.  This branch is to be used -       for distributed national institutes; organizations that span state, -       regional, and other organizational boundaries; that are national in -       scope, and have distributed facilities.  For example: -       <org-name>.DNI.US. -     -       Name Space Within States: -       ------------------------ -     -       "locality" - cities, counties, parishes, and townships.  Subdomains -       under the "locality" would be like CI.<city>.<state>.US, -       CO.<county>.<state>.US, or businesses. For example: -       Petville.Marvista.CA.US. -     -       "CI" - This branch is used for city government agencies and is a -       subdomain under the "locality" name (like Los Angeles). For example: -       Fire-Dept.CI.Los-Angeles.CA.US. -     -       "CO" - This branch is used for county government agencies and is a -       subdomain under the "locality" name (like Los Angeles).  For example: -       Fire-Dept.CO.San-Diego.CA.US. -     -       "K12" - This branch may be used for public school districts.  A -       special name "PVT" can be used in the place of a school district name -       for private schools.  For example: <school-name>.K12.<state>.US and -       <school-name>.PVT.K12.<state>.US. -     -       "CC" - COMMUNITY COLLEGES - This branch was established for all state -       wide community colleges.  For example: <school-name>.CC.<state>.US. -     -       "TEC" - TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS - The branch "TEC" was -       established for technical and vocational schools and colleges. For -       example: <school-name>.TEC.<state>.US. -     -       "LIB" - LIBRARIES (STATE, REGIONAL, CITY, COUNTY) - This branch may -       be used for libraries only.  For example:  <lib-name>.LIB.<state>.US. -     -       "STATE" - This branch may be used for state government agencies.  For -       example:  <org-name>.STATE.<state>.US. -     -       "GEN" - GENERAL INDEPENDENT ENTITY - This branch is for the things -       that don't fit easily into any other structure listed -- things that -       might fit in to something like ORG at the top-level.  It is best not -       to use the same keywords (ORG, EDU, COM, etc.) that are used at the -       top-level to avoid confusion.  GEN would be used for such things as, -       state-wide organizations, clubs, or domain parks.  For example: -       <org-name>.GEN.<state-code>.US. - -The application form for the US domain may be found: - -* for anonymous ftp from internic.net : /templates/us-domain-template.txt -* http://www.isi.edu/us-domain/ - -The application form for the EDU, COM, NET, ORG, and  GOV domains may be -found for anonymous ftp from: - -internic.net : /templates/domain-template.txt - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.11.  Classes of networks - -Date: Wed Sep  4 22:59:27 EDT 1996 - -The usage of 'classes of networks' (class A, B, C) are historical and have -been replaced by CIDR blocks on the Internet.  That being said... - -An Internet Protocol (IP) address is 32 bit in length, divided into  two -or three parts (the network address, the subnet address (if present), and -the host address.  The subnet addresses are only present if the network -has been divided into subnetworks.  The length of the network, subnet, and -host field are all variable. - -There are five different network classes.  The leftmost bits indicate  the -class of the network. - -       # of     # of -      bits in  bits in -      network   host -Class  field    field   Internet Protocol address in binary  Ranges -============================================================================ -  A      7       24      0NNNNNNN.HHHHHHHH.HHHHHHHH.HHHHHHHH    1-127.x.x.x -  B     14       16      10NNNNNN.NNNNNNNN.HHHHHHHH.HHHHHHHH  128-191.x.x.x -  C     22        8      110NNNNN.NNNNNNNN.NNNNNNNN.HHHHHHHH  192-223.x.x.x -  D     NOTE 1           1110xxxx.xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx  224-239.x.x.x -  E     NOTE 2           11110xxx.xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx  240-247.x.x.x - -   where N represents part of the network address and H represents part of  -   the host address.   When the subnet address is defined, the needed bits  -   are assigned from the host address space. - -   NOTE 1: Reserved for multicast groups - RFC 1112 -   NOTE 2: Reserved for future use - -   127.0.0.1 is reserved for local loopback. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.12.  What is CIDR ? - -Date: Tue Nov  5 23:47:29 EST 1996 - -CIDR is "Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR).  From RFC 1517: - -      ...Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) attempts to deal with -      these problems by defining a mechanism to slow the growth of  -      routing tables and reduce the need to allocate new IP network  -      numbers.   - -Much more information may be obtained in RFCs 1467, 1517, 1518, 1520; -with primary reference 1519. - -Also please see the CIDR FAQ at - -* http://www.ibm.net.il/~hank/cidr.html -* http://www.rain.net/faqs/cidr.faq.html -* http://www.lab.unisource.ch/services/internet/direct/cidr.html - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Question 4.13.  What is the rule for glue ? - -Date: Fri Apr 28 13:31:24 EDT 1995 - -A glue record is an A record for a name that appears on the right-hand -side of a NS record.  So, if you have this: - -  -        sub.foobar.com.        IN      NS      dns.sub.foobar.com. -        dns.sub.foobar.com.    IN      A       1.2.3.4 - -then the second record is a glue record (for the NS record above it). - -You need glue records when -- and only when -- you are delegating -authority to a nameserver that "lives" in the domain you are delegating -*and* you aren't a secondary server for that domain. - -In other words, in the example above, you need to add an A record for -dns.sub.foobar.com since it "lives" in the domain it serves.  This boot -strapping information is necessary:  How are you supposed to find out the -IP address of the nameserver for domain FOO if the nameserver for FOO -"lives" in FOO? - -If you have this NS record: - -        sub.foobar.com.         IN      NS      dns.xyz123.com. - -you do NOT need a glue record, and, in fact, adding one is a very bad -idea.  If you add one, and then the folks at xyz123.com change the -address, then you will be passing out incorrect data. - -Also, unless you actually have a machine called something.IN-ADDR.ARPA, -you will never have any glue records present in any of your "reverse" -files. - -There is also a sort of implicit glue record that can be useful (or -confusing :^) ).  If the parent server (abc.foobar.com domain in example -above) is a secondary server for the child, then the A record will be -fetched from the child server when the zone transfer is done.  The glue is -still there but it's a little different, it's in the ip address in  the -named.boot line instead of explicitly in the data.  In this case  you can -leave out the explicit glue A record and leave the manually  configured -"glue" in just the one place in the named.boot file. - -RFC 1537 says it quite nicely: - -      2. Glue records -  -         Quite often, people put unnecessary glue (A) records in their  -         zone files. Even worse is that I've even seen *wrong* glue records  -         for an external host in a primary zone file! Glue records need only  -         be in a zone file if the server host is within the zone and there  -         is no A record for that host elsewhere in the zone file. -  -         Old BIND versions ("native" 4.8.3 and older versions) showed the -         problem that wrong glue records could enter secondary servers in -         a zone transfer. - - -The remainder of the FAQ is in the next part (Part 2 of 2). - | 
