path: root/contrib/bind/doc/bog/files.me

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.sh 1 "Files
.pp
The name server uses several files to load its data base.
This section covers the files and their formats needed for \fInamed\fP.
.sh 2 "Boot File"
.pp
This is the file that is first read when \fInamed\fP starts up.
This tells the server what type of server it is,
which
zones it has authority over and where to get its initial data.
The default location for this file is \fI/etc\|/named.boot\fP\|.
However this can be changed
by setting the \fIBOOTFILE\fP variable when you compile \fInamed\fP 
or by specifying
the location on the command line when \fInamed\fP is started up.
.sh 3 "Domain"
.pp
A default domain may be specified for the name server
using a line such as
.(b l
.ta 0.5i +\w`secondary   `u +\w`berkeley.edu   `u +.5i +.5i
\fIdomain 	Berkeley\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIEdu\fP
.)b
.re
Older name servers use this information when they receive a query for a name
without a ``\fB.\fP'' that is not known.  Newer designs assume that the
resolver library will append its own idea of a ``default domain'' to any
unqualified names.  Though the name server can still be compiled with
support for the \fIdomain\fP directive in the boot file, the default is to
leave it out and we strenuously recommend against its use.  If you use this
feature, clients outside your local domain which send you requests about
unqualified names will have the implicit qualification of your domain rather
than theirs.  The proper place for this function is on the client, in their
\fB/etc/resolv.conf\fP (or equivalent) file.  Use of the \fIdomain\fP
directive in your boot file is strongly discouraged.
.sh 3 "Directory"
.pp
The \fIdirectory\fP directive specifies the directory in which the name server
should run, allowing the other file names in the boot file to use relative path
names.  There can be only one \fIdirectory\fP directive and it should be given
before any other directives that specify file names.
.(b l
.ta 0.5i +\w`secondary   `u +\w`berkeley.edu   `u +.5i +.5i
\fIdirectory  	/var/named\fP
.)b
.re
If you have more than a couple of named files to be maintained, you may wish
to place the named files in a directory such as /var/named and adjust the
directory command properly.  The main purposes of this command are to make
sure named is in the proper directory when trying to include files by
relative path names with $INCLUDE and to allow named to run in a location
that is reasonable to dump core if it feels the urge.
.sh 3 "Primary Service"
.pp
The line in the boot file that designates the server as a primary master server
for a zone looks as follows:
.(b l
.ta 0.5i +\w`secondary   `u +\w`berkeley.edu   `u +.5i +.5i
\fIprimary  	Berkeley\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIEdu	ucbhosts\fP
.)b
.re
The first field specifies that the server is a primary one for the zone 
stated in the second field.
The third field is the name of the file from which the data is read.
.pp
The above assumes that the zone you are specifying is a class \fIIN\fP
zone.  If you wish to designate a different class you can append
\fI/class\fP to the first field, where \fIclass\fP is either the
integer value or the standard mnemonic for the class.  For example the line 
for a primary server for a hesiod class zone looks as follows:
.(b l
.ta 0.5i +\w`secondary   `u +\w`berkeley.edu   `u +.5i +.5i
\fIprimary/HS         Berkeley\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIEdu    hesiod.data\fP
.)b
.re
Note that this support for specifying other than class \fIIN\fP zones is a
compile-time option which your vendor may not have enabled when they built
your operating system.
.sh 3 "Secondary Service"
.pp
The line for a secondary server is similar to the primary except
that it lists addresses of other servers (usually primary servers)
from which the zone data will be obtained.
.(b l
.ta 0.5i +\w`secondary   `u +\w`berkeley.edu   `u +\w`128.32.0.10  `u +\w`128.32.0.10  `u +.5i +.5i
\fIsecondary	Berkeley\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIEdu	128\fP\fB.\fP\fI32\fP\fB.\fP\fI0\fP\fB.\fP\fI10	\fP\fI128\fP\fB.\fP\fI32\fP\fB.\fP\fI0\fP\fB.\fP\fI4\fP \fIucbhosts.bak\fP
.)b
.re
The first field specifies that the server is a secondary server for
the zone stated in the second field.
The two network addresses specify the name servers which have data for the 
zone.  Note that at least one of these will be a \fIprimary\fP, and, unless
you are using some protocol other than \s-1IP/DNS\s+1 for your zone transfer
mechanism, the others will all be other \fIsecondary\fP servers.  Having your
secondary server pull data from other secondary servers is usually unwise,
since you can add delay to the propagation of zone updates if your network's
connectivity varies in pathological but common ways.  The intended use for
multiple addresses on a \fIsecondary\fP declaration is when the \fIprimary\fP
server has multiple network interfaces and therefore multiple host addresses.
The secondary server gets its data across the network from one of the listed
servers.  The server addresses are tried in the order listed.
If a filename is present after the list of primary servers, data for the zone
will be dumped into that file as a backup.
When the server is first started, the data is loaded from the backup file
if possible, and a primary server is then consulted to check that the zone
is still up-to-date.  Note that listing your server as a \fIsecondary\fP
server does not necessarily make it one \(em the parent zone must
\fIdelegate\fP authority to your server as well as the primary and the
other secondaries, or you will be transferring a zone over for no reason;
no other server will have a reason to query you for that zone unless the
parent zone lists you as a server for the zone.
.pp
As with primary you may specify a secondary server for a class other than
\fIIN\fP by appending \fI/class\fP to the \fIsecondary\fP keyword, e.g.,
\fIsecondary/HS\fP.
.sh 3 "Stub Service"
.pp
The line for a stub server is similar to a secondary.
(This feature is experimental as of 4.9.3.)
.(b l
.ta 0.5i +\w`stub   `u +\w`berkeley.edu   `u +\w`128.32.0.10  `u +\w`128.32.0.10  `u +.5i +.5i
\fIstub	Berkeley\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIEdu	128\fP\fB.\fP\fI32\fP\fB.\fP\fI0\fP\fB.\fP\fI10	\fP\fI128\fP\fB.\fP\fI32\fP\fB.\fP\fI0\fP\fB.\fP\fI4\fP \fIucbhosts.bak\fP
.)b
.re
The first field specifies that the server is a stub server for the zone stated
in the second field.
.pp
Stub zones are intended to ensure that a primary for a zone always has the
correct \fINS\fP records for children of that zone. If the primary is not
a secondary for a child zone it should be configured with stub zones for
all its children. Stub zones provide a mechanism to allow \fINS\fP records
for a zone to be specified in only one place.
.(b l
.ta 0.5i +\w`primary   `u +\w`dms.csiro.au   `u +\w`130.155.98.1  `u +.5i +.5i
\fIprimary	CSIRO\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIAU	\fIcsiro.dat\fP
\fIstub	dms.CSIRO\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIAU	130\fP\fB.\fP\fI155\fP\fB.\fP\fI16\fP\fB.\fP\fI1	\fIdms.stub\fP
\fIstub	dap.CSIRO\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIAU	130\fP\fB.\fP\fI155\fP\fB.\fP\fI98\fP\fB.\fP\fI1	\fIdap.stub\fP
.)b
.re
.sh 3 "Cache Initialization"
.pp
All servers, including ``caching only'' servers, should have a line as
follows in the boot file to prime the name servers cache:
.(b l
\fIcache		\fP\fB.\fP\fI	root\fP\fB.\fP\fIcache\fP
.)b
Do not put anything into your \fIcache\fP files other than root server
information.
.pp
All cache files listed will be read in at named boot time and any values
still valid will be reinstated in the cache.
The root name server
information in the cache files will be used until a root query is 
actually answered by one of the name servers in the cache file, after
which that answer will be used instead of the cache file until the answer
times out.
.pp
As with \fIprimary\fP and \fIsecondary\fP, you may specify a secondary
server for a class other than \fIIN\fP by appending \fI/class\fP to the
\fIcache\fP keyword, e.g., \fIclass/HS\fP.
.sh 3 "Forwarders"
.pp
Any server can make use of \fIforwarders\fP.  A \fIforwarder\fP is another
server capable of processing recursive queries that is willing to try
resolving queries on behalf of other systems.  The \fIforwarders\fP
command specifies forwarders by internet address as follows:
.(b l
\fIforwarders		\fI128\fP\fB.\fP\fI32\fP\fB.\fP\fI0\fP\fB.\fP\fI10	\fP\fI128\fP\fB.\fP\fI32\fP\fB.\fP\fI0\fP\fB.\fP\fI4\fP
.)b
.re
There are two main reasons for wanting to do so.  First, some systems may
not have full network access and may be prevented from sending any IP
packets into the rest of the Internet and therefore must rely on a forwarder
which does have access to the full net.  The second reason is that the
forwarder sees a union of all queries as they pass through its server and
therefore it builds up a very rich cache of data compared to the cache in a
typical workstation name server.  In effect, the \fIforwarder\fP becomes a
meta-cache that all hosts can benefit from, thereby reducing the total
number of queries from that site to the rest of the net.
.pp
The effect of ``forwarders'' is to prepend some fixed addresses to the list
of name servers to be tried for every query.  Normally that list is made up
only of higher-authority servers discovered via \fINS\fP record lookups for
the relevant domain.  If the forwarders do not answer, then unless the
\fIslave\fP directive was given, the appropriate servers for the domains
will be queried directly.

.sh 3 "Slave Servers"
.pp
Slave mode is used if the use of forwarders is the only possible way
to resolve queries due to lack of full net access or if you wish to prevent
the name server from using other than the listed forwarders.
Slave mode is activated by placing the simple command
.(b l
\fIoptions forward-only\fP
.)b
in the bootfile.  If this option is used, then you must specify forwarders.
When in slave mode, the server will forward each query to each of the
forwarders until an answer is found or the list of forwarders is exhausted.
The server will not try to contact any remote name server other than those
named in the \fIforwarders\fP list.
.pp
So while \fIforwarders\fP prepends addresses to the ``server list'' for each
query, \fIoptions forward-only\fP causes the ``server list'' to contain
\fIonly\fP those addresses listed in the \fIforwarders\fP declarations.
Careless use of the \fIoptions forward-only\fP directive can cause really
horrible forwarding loops, since
you could end up forwarding queries only to some set of hosts which are also
slaves, and one or several of them could be forwarding queries back to you.
.pp
Use of the \fIoptions forward-only\fP directive should be considered very
carefully.  Note that this same behaviour can be achieved using the deprecated
directive, \fIslave\fP.

.sh 3 "Nonrecursive Servers"
.pp
\s-1BIND\s+1's separation of authoritative (zone) and nonauthoritiative (cache)
data has always been somewhat weak, and pollution of the former via the latter
has been known to occur.  One way to prevent this, as well as to save memory on
servers carrying a lot of authoritative data (e.g., root servers) is to make
such servers ``nonrecursive.''  This can be achieved via the directive
.(b l
\fIoptions no-recursion\fP
.)b
in the bootfile.  A server with this option enabled will not attempt to fetch
data to help answer queries \(em if you ask it for data it does not have, it
will send you a referral to a more authoritative server or, if it is itself
authoritative for the zone of the query, it will send you an negative answer.
.pp
A nonrecursive server can be named in an \s-1NS\ RR\s+1 but it cannot be listed
in the \fIresolv.conf\fP file.

.sh 3 "Query Logging"
.pp
If the file system containing your \fIsyslog\fP file has quite a bit of space,
you can consider using the
.(b l
\fIoptions query-log\fP
.)b
directive in your bootfile.  This will cause your name server to log every
query it receives, which when combined with a Perl or \s-1AWK\s+1 script to
postprocess the logs, can be a useful management tool.

.sh 3 "Inverse Query Pseudosupport"
.pp
\s-1BIND\s+1 by default does not support inverse queries, and this has been
known to cause problems for certain microcomputer operating systems and for
older versions of \s-1BIND\s+1's \fInslookup\fP tool.  You may decide that
rather than answering with ``operation not implemented,'' \fInamed\fP should
detect the most common inverse queries and answer them with bogus information.
It is better to upgrade your clients to stop depending on inverse queries, but
if that is not possible, you should use the
.(b l
\fIoptions fake-iquery\fP
.)b
directive in your bootfile.  \fINOTE:\fP the responses are in fact bogus, in
that they contain \s-1ISO\s+18859 square brackets (\fB[\fP and \fB]\fP), so
your clients will not be able to do anything useful with these responses.  It
has been observed that no client ever did anything useful with real inverse
query responses, either.

.sh 3 "Setting Name Server Limits"
.pp
Some name server operations can be quite resource intensive, and in order to
tune your system properly it is sometimes necessary to change \s-1BIND\s+1's
internal quotas.  This is accomplished via
.(b l
\fIlimit <name> <value>\fP
.)b
directives in the bootfile.  Limits, and their default values, are as follows:
.(b I
\fIlimit transfers-in 10\fP
.)b
This is the number of simultaneous \fInamed-xfer\fP processes \s-1BIND\s+1 is
willing to start.  Higher numbers yield faster convergence to primary servers
if your secondary server has hundreds or thousands of zones to maintain, but
setting this number too high can cause thrashing due to starvation of resources
such as network bandwidth or swap space.  \fINOTE:\fP this limit can also be
expressed via the deprecated directive \fImax-fetch NN\fP.
.(b I
\fIlimit transfers-per-ns 2\fP
.)b
This is the number of simultaneous \fInamed-xfer\fP processes \s-1BIND\s+1 is
willing to initiate \fIto any given name server\fP.  In most cases, you should
not need to change it.  If your secondary server is pulling hundreds or
thousands of zones from a single primary server, increasing
\fItransfers-per-ns\fP may speed convergence.  It should be kept as
small as possible, to avoid causing thrashing and resource starvation
on the primary server.
.(b I
\fIlimit datasize <system-dependent>\fP
.)b
Most systems have a quota that limits the size of the so-called ``data
segment,'' which is where \s-1BIND\s+1 keeps all of its authority and cache
data.  \s-1BIND\s+1 will behave suboptimally (perhaps even exiting) if it runs
up against this quota.  If your system supports a system call to change this
quota for a given process, you can ask \s-1BIND\s+1 to use that system call
via the \fIlimit datasize NN\fP directive.  The value given here may be scaled
by postfixing \fIk\fP for 1024X, \fIm\fP for (1024^2)X, and \fIg\fP for
(1024^3)X.  In 1995, the root servers all use \fIlimit datasize 64m\fP.

.sh 3 "Zone Transfer Restrictions"
.pp
It may be the case that your organization does not wish to give complete
lists of your hosts to anyone on the Internet who can reach your name servers.
While it is still possible for people to ``iterate'' through your address
range, looking for \fIPTR\fP records, and build a list of your hosts the
``slow'' way, it is still considered reasonable to restrict your export of
zones via the zone transfer protocol.  To limit the list of neighbors who
can transfer zones from your server, use the \fIxfrnets\fP directive.
.pp
This directive has the same syntax as \fIforwarders\fP except that you can
list network numbers in addition to host addresses.  For example, you could
add the directive
.(b l
\fIxfrnets 16.0.0.0\fP
.)b
.re
if you wanted to permit only hosts on Class A network number 16 to transfer
zones from your server.  This is not nearly granular enough, and a future
version of \s-1BIND\s+1 will permit such access-control to be specified on a
per-host basis rather than the current per-net basis.  Note that while
addresses without explicit masks are assumed by this directive to be networks,
you can specify a mask which is as granular as you wish, perhaps including
all bits of the address such that only a single host is given transfer
permission.  For example, consider
.(b l
\fIxfrnets 16.1.0.2&255.255.255.255\fP
.)b
which would permit only host \fI16.1.0.2\fP to transfer zones from you.  Note
that no spaces are allowed surrounding the ``\fI&\fP'' character that 
introduces a netmask.
.pp
The \fIxfrnets\fP directive may also be given as \fItcplist\fP for
compatibility with interim releases of \s-1BIND\s+1 4.9.

.sh 3 "Sorting Addresses"
.pp
If there are multiple addresses available for a name server which \s-1BIND\s+1
wants to contact, \s-1BIND\s+1 will try the ones it believes are ``closest''
first.  ``Closeness'' is defined in terms of similarity-of-address; that is,
if one address is on the same \fIsubnet\fP as some interface of the local host,
then that address will be tried first.  Failing that, an address which is on
the same \fInetwork\fP will be tried first.  Failing that, they will be tried
in a more-or-less random order unless the \fIsortlist\fP directive was given
in the \fInamed.boot\fP file.  \fIsortlist\fP has a syntax similar to
\fIforwarders\fP, \fIxfrnets\fP, and \fIbogusns\fP \(em you give it a list
of dotted-quad networks and it uses these to ``prefer'' some remote name server
addresses over others.  If no explicit mask is provided with each element of
a \fIsortlist\fP, one will be inferred based on the high order address bits.
.pp
If you are on a Class C net which has a Class B net between you and the rest
of the Internet, you could try to improve the name server's luck in getting
answers by listing the Class B network's number in a \fIsortlist\fP
directive.  This should have the effect of trying ``closer'' servers before
the more ``distant'' ones.  Note that this behaviour is new as of \s-1BIND
4.9\s+1.
.pp
The other and older effect of the \fIsortlist\fP directive is to cause
\s-1BIND\s+1 to sort the \fIA\fP records in any response it generates, so as
to put those which appear on the \fIsortlist\fP earlier than those which do
not.  This is not as helpful as you might think, since many clients will
reorder the \fIA\fP records either at random or using \s-1LIFO\s+1; also,
consider the fact that the server won't be able to guess the client's network
topology, and so will not be able to accurately order for ``closeness'' to
all possible clients.  Doing the ordering in the resolver is clearly superior.
.pp
In actual practice, this directive is used only rarely since it hardwires
information which changes rapidly; a network which is ``close'' today may
be ``distant'' next month.  Since \s-1BIND\s+1 builds up a cache of the
remote name servers' response times, it will quickly converge on
``reasonable'' behaviour, which isn't the same as ``optimal'' but it's
close enough.  Future directions for \s-1BIND\s+1 include choosing
addresses based on local interface metrics (on hosts that have more than
one) and perhaps on routing table information.  We do not intend to solve
the generalized ``multihomed host'' problem, but we should be able to do a
little better than we're doing now.  Likewise, we hope to see a higher
level resolver library that sorts responses using topology information that
only exists on the client's host.

.sh 3 "Bogus Name Servers"
.pp
It happens occasionally that some remote name server goes ``bad''.  You can
tell your name server to refuse to listen to or ask questions of certain
other name servers by listing them in a \fIbogusns\fP directive in your
\fInamed.boot\fP file.  Its syntax is the same as \fIforwarders\fP,
\fIxfrnets\fP, and \fIsortlist\fP \(em you just give it a list of dotted-quad
Internet addresses.  Note that zones delegated to such servers will not be
reachable from clients of your servers; thus you should use this directive
sparingly or not at all.

.sh 3 "Segmented Boot Files"
.pp
If you are secondary for a lot of zones, you may find it convenient to split
your \fInamed.boot\fP file into a static portion which hardly ever changes
(directives such as \fIdirectory\fP, \fIsortlist\fP, \fIxfrnets\fP and
\fIcache\fP could go here), and dynamic portions that change frequently
(all of your \fIprimary\fP directives might go in one file, and all of your
\fIsecondary\fP directives might go in another file \(em and either or both
of these might be fetched automatically from some neighbor so that they can
change your list of secondary zones without requiring your active
intervention).  You can accomplish this via the \fIinclude\fP directive,
which takes just a single file name as its argument.  No quotes are needed
around the file name.  The file name will be evaluated after the name server
has changed its working directory to that specified in the \fIdirectory\fP
directive, so you can use relative pathnames if your system supports them.

.sh 2 "Resolver Configuration"
.pp
The configuration file's name is \fI/etc/resolv.conf\fP.
This file designates the name servers on the network that should 
be sent queries.
The resolver will try to contact a name server on the localhost if it cannot
find its configuration file.  You should install the configuration file
on every host anyway, since this is the only recommended way to specify a
system-level default domain, and you can still list the local host's address
if it runs a name server.
It is considered reasonable to create this file even if you run a local
server, since its contents will be cached by each client of the resolver
library when the client makes its first call to a resolver routine.
.pp
The \fIresolv.conf\fP file contains directives, one per line, of the
following forms:
.(l I
; comment
# another comment
domain \fIlocal-domain\fP
search \fIsearch-list\fP
nameserver \fIserver-address\fP
sortlist \fIsort-list\fP
options \fIoption-list\fP
.)l
Exactly one of the \fIdomain\fP or \fIsearch\fP directives should be given,
exactly once.
If the \fIsearch\fP directive is given, the first item in the given
\fIsearch-list\fP will override any previously-specified \fIlocal-domain\fP.
The \fInameserver\fP directive may be given up to three times; additional
\fInameserver\fP directives will be ignored.  Comments may be given by
starting a line with a ``\fB\|;\|\fP'' or ``\fB\|#\|\fP''; note that
comments were not permitted in versions of the resolver earlier than the one
included with \s-1BIND 4.9\s+1 \(em so if your vendor's resolver supports
comments, you know they are really on the ball.
.pp
The \fIlocal-domain\fP will be appended to any query-name that does not
contain a ``\fB\|.\|\fP''.  \fIlocal-domain\fP can be overridden on a 
per-process basis by setting the \s-1LOCALDOMAIN\s+1 environment variable.
Note that \fIlocal-domain\fP processing can be disabled by setting an 
option in the resolver.
.pp
The \fIsearch-list\fP is a list of domains which are tried, in order,
as qualifying domains for query-names which do not contain a ``\fB\|.\|\fP''.
Note that \fIsearch-list\fP processing can be disabled by setting an 
option in the resolver.  Also note that the environment variable
``\s-1LOCALDOMAIN\s+1'' can override this \fIsearch-list\fP on a per-process
basis.
.pp
The \fIserver-address\fP\|'s are aggregated and then used as the default
destination of queries generated through the resolver.  In other words,
this is the way you tell the resolver which name servers it should use.  It
is possible for a given client application to override this list, and this
is often done inside the name server (which is itself a \fIresolver\fP
client) and in test programs such as \fInslookup\fP.
Note that if you wish to list the
local host in your resolver configuration file, you should probably use its
primary Internet address rather than a local-host alias such as 127.0.0.1 or
0.0.0.0.  This is due to a bug in the handling of connected \s-1SOCK_DGRAM\s+1
sockets in some versions of the \s+1BSD\s-1 networking code.  If you must use
an address-alias, you should prefer 0.0.0.0 (or simply ``0'') over 127.0.0.1,
though be warned that depending on the vintage of your \s-1BSD\s+1-derived
networking code, both of them are capable of failing in their own ways.
If your host's IP
implementation does not create a short-circuit route between the default
interface and the loopback interface, then you might also want to add a
static route (eg. in \fB/etc/rc.local\fP) to do so:
.(b l
\fIroute add myhost.domain.name localhost 1\fP
.)b
.pp
The \fIsort-list\fP is a list of IP address, netmask pairs. Addresses
returned by gethostbyname are sorted to the order specified by this list.
Any addresses that do not match the address netmask pair will be returned
after those that do. The netmask is optional and the natural netmask will be
used if not specified.
.pp
The \fIoption-list\fP is a list of options which each override some internal
resolver variable.  Supported options at this time are:
.ip \fBdebug\fP
sets the \s-1RES_DEBUG\s+1 bit in \fB_res.options\fP.
.ip \fBndots:\fP\fIn\fP
sets the lower threshold (measured in ``number of dots'') on names given to
\fIres_query\fP() such that names with more than this number of dots will be
tried as absolute names before any \fIlocal-domain\fP or \fIsearch-list\fP
processing is done.  The default for this internal variable is ``1''.
.\" .pp
.\" Finally, if the environment variable \s-1HOSTALIASES\s+1 is set, it is
.\" taken to contain the name of a file which in turn contains resolver-level
.\" aliases.  These aliases are applied only to names which do not contain any
.\" ``\fB\|.\|\fP'' characters, and they are applied to query-names before the
.\" query is generated.  Note that the resolver options governing the operation
.\" of \fIlocal-domain\fP and \fIsearch-list\fP do not apply to
.\" \s-1HOSTALIASES\s+1.

.sh 2 "Cache Initialization File"
.sh 3 root.cache
.pp
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.  This file uses the
Standard Resource Record Format (aka. Masterfile Format) covered further on
in this paper.

.sh 2 "Domain Data Files"
.pp
There are two standard files for specifying the data for a 
domain.  These are \fIhosts\fP and \fIhost.rev\fP.
These files use the Standard Resource Record Format covered later
in this paper.  Note that the file names are arbitrary; many network
administrators prefer to name their zone files after the domains they
contain, especially in the average case which is where a given server
is primary and/or secondary for many different zones.
.sh 3 hosts
.pp
This file contains all the data about the machines in this zone.
The location of this file is specified in the boot file.
.sh 3 hosts.rev
.pp
This file specifies the IN-ADDR\|.\|ARPA domain.
This is a special domain for allowing address to name mapping.
As internet host addresses do not fall within domain boundaries,
this special domain was formed to allow inverse mapping.
The IN-ADDR\|.\|ARPA domain has four
labels preceding it. These labels correspond to the 4 octets of
an Internet address. 
All four octets must be specified even if an octet contains zero.
The Internet address 128.32.0.4 is located in the domain
4\|.\|0\|.\|32\|.\|128\|.\|IN-ADDR\|.\|ARPA.
This reversal of the address is awkward to read but allows 
for the natural grouping of hosts in a network.
.sh 3 named.local
.pp
This file specifies the \fIPTR\fP record for the local loopback interface,
better known as \fIlocalhost\fP, whose network address is 127.0.0.1.  The
location of this file is specified in the boot file.  It is vitally
important to the proper operation of every name server that the 127.0.0.1
address have a \fIPTR\fP record pointing back to the name
``\fBlocalhost.\fP''.  The name of this \fIPTR\fP record is always
``\fB1.0.0.127.\s-1IN-ADDR.ARPA\s+1\fP''.  This is necessary if you want
your users to be able to use hostname-authentication (\fIhosts.equiv\fP or
\fI~/.rhosts\fP) on the name ``\fBlocalhost\fP''.  As implied by this
\fIPTR\fP record, there should be a ``\fBlocalhost.\fP\fImy.dom.ain\fP''
\fIA\fP record (with address 127.0.0.1) in every domain that contains hosts.
``\fBlocalhost.\fP'' will lose its trailing dot when
\fB1.0.0.127.in-addr.arpa\fP is queried for; then, the DEFNAMES and/or
DNSRCH resolver options will cause ``\fBlocalhost\fP'' to be evaluated as a
host name in the local domain, and that means the top domains (or ideally,
every domain) in your resolver's search path had better have something by
that name.
.sh 2 "Standard Resource Record Format"
.pp
The records in the name server data files are called resource records.
The Standard Resource Record Format (RR) is specified in RFC1035.
The following is a general description of these records:
.TS
l l l l l.
\fI{name}	{ttl}	addr-class	Record Type	Record Specific data\fP 
.TE
Resource records have a standard format shown above.
The first field is always the name of the domain record
and it must always start in column 1.
For all RR's other than the first in a file, the name may be left blank;
in that case it takes on the name of the previous RR.
The second field is an optional time to live field.
This specifies how long this data will be stored in the data base.
By leaving this field blank the default time to live is specified
in the \fIStart Of Authority\fP resource record (see below).
The third field is the address class; currently, only one class is supported:
\fIIN\fP for internet addresses and other internet information.  Limited 
support is included for the \fIHS\fP class, which is for MIT/Athena ``Hesiod''
information.
The fourth field states the type of the resource record.
The fields after that are dependent on the type of the RR.
Case is preserved in names and data fields when loaded into the name server.
All comparisons and lookups in the name server data base are case insensitive.
.bl
.b
The following characters have special meanings:
.ip ``\fB.\fP''
A free standing dot in the name field refers to the root domain.
.ip ``@''
A free standing @ in the name field denotes the current origin.
.ip "``\eX''"
Where X is any character other than a digit (0-9),
quotes that character so that its special meaning does not apply.
For example, ``\e.'' can be used to place a dot character in a label.
.ip "``\eDDD''"
Where each D is a digit, is the octet corresponding to the
decimal number described by DDD.  
The resulting octet is assumed to be text and 
is not checked for special meaning.
.ip "``( )''"
Parentheses are used to group data that crosses a line.  
In effect, line terminations are not recognized within parentheses.
(At present, this notation only works for SOA RR's and is not optional.)
.ip "``;''"
Semicolon starts a comment; the remainder of the line is ignored.  Note
that a completely blank line is also considered a comment, and ignored.
.ip "``*''"
An asterisk signifies wildcarding.  Note that this is just another data
character whose special meaning comes about only during internal name
server search operations.  Wildcarding is only meaningful for some RR
types (notably \fIMX\fP), and then only in the name field \(em not in
the data fields.
.pp
Anywhere a name appears \(em either in the name field or in some data field
defined to contain names \(em the current origin will be appended if the
name does not end in a ``\fB\|.\|\fP''.
This is useful for appending the current domain name to the data,
such as machine names, but may cause problems where you do not want 
this to happen.
A good rule of thumb is that, if the name is not in the domain for which
you are creating the data file, end the name with a ``\fB.\fP''.
.sh 3 $INCLUDE
.pp
An include line begins with $INCLUDE, starting in column 1,
and is followed by a file name, and, optionally, by a new
temporary $ORIGIN to be used while reading this file.
This feature is
particularly useful for separating different types of data into multiple files.
An example would be:
.(b l
$INCLUDE /usr/local/adm/named/data/mail-exchanges
.)b
The line would be interpreted as a request to load the file
\fI/usr/local/adm/named/data/mail-exchanges\fP.  The $INCLUDE command does not cause
data to be loaded into a different zone or tree. This is simply a way to
allow data for a given primary zone to be organized in separate files.  
Not even the ``temporary $ORIGIN'' feature described above is sufficient
to cause your data to branch out into some other zone \(em zone boundaries
can only be introduced in the boot file.
.pp
A $INCLUDE file must have a name on its first RR.  That is, the first 
character of the first non-comment line must not be a space.  The current
default name in the parent file \fIdoes not\fP carry into the $INCLUDE
file.
.sh 3 $ORIGIN
.pp
The origin is a way of changing the origin in a data file.  The line starts
in column 1, and is followed by a domain origin.  This seems like it could
be useful for putting more then one zone into a data file, but that's not
how it works.  The name server fundamentally requires a given zone to map
entirely to some specific file.  You should therefore be very careful to use
$ORIGIN only once at the top of a file, or, within a file, to change to a
``lower'' domain in the zone  \(em never to some other zone altogether.
.sh 3 "SOA - Start Of Authority"
.(b L
.TS
l l l l l l.
\fIname	{ttl}	addr-class	SOA	Origin	Person in charge\fP
@		IN	SOA	ucbvax\fB.\fPBerkeley\fB.\fPEdu\fB.\fP	kjd\fB.\fPucbvax\fB.\fPBerkeley\fB.\fPEdu\fB.\fP (
			1995122103	; Serial
			10800	; Refresh
			1800	; Retry
			3600000	; Expire
			259200 )	; Minimum
.TE
.)b
The \fIStart of Authority, SOA,\fP record designates the start of a zone.
The name is the name of the zone and is often given as ``@'' since this
is always the current $ORIGIN and the SOA RR is usually the first record
of the primary zone file.
Origin is the name of the host on which this data file resides (in other
words, the \fIprimary master\fP server for this zone.)
Person in charge is the e-mail address for the person responsible
for the name server, with ``@'' changed to a ``.''.
The serial number is the version number of this data file and must be a
positive integer.
This number must be incremented whenever a change is made to the data.
Older servers permitted the use of a phantom ``.'' in this and other
numbers in a zone file; the meaning of n.m was ``n000m'' rather than the
more intuitive ``n*1000+m'' (such that 1.234 translated to 1000234 rather
than to 1234).  This feature has been deprecated due to its
obscurity, unpredictability, and lack of necessity.
Note that using a ``YYYYMMDDNN'' notation you can still make 100 changes
per day until the year 4294.  You should choose a notation that works for
you.  If you're a clever \fIperl\fP programmer you could even use \fIRCS\fP
version numbers to help generate your zone serial numbers.
The refresh indicates how often, in seconds, the secondary name servers
are to check with the primary name server to see if an update is needed.
The retry indicates how long, in seconds, a secondary server should wait
before retrying a failed zone transfer.
Expire is the upper limit, in seconds, that a secondary name server
is to use the data before it expires for lack of getting a refresh.
Minimum is the default number of seconds to be used for the Time To Live
field on resource records which do not specify one in the zone file.
It is also an enforced minimum on Time To Live if it is specified on
some resource record (RR) in the zone.
There must be exactly one \fISOA\fP record per zone.
.sh 3 "NS - Name Server"
.TS
l l l l l.
\fI{name}	{ttl}	addr-class	NS	Name servers name\fP
		IN	NS	ucbarpa\fB\|.\|\fPBerkeley\fB\|.\|\fPEdu\fB.\fP
.TE
The \fIName Server\fP record, \fINS\fP, lists a name server responsible 
for a given domain, creating a \fIdelegation point\fP and a \fIsubzone\fP.
The first name field specifies the zone that is serviced by 
the name server specified by the second name.
Every zone needs at least two name servers.
.bp		\" ----PLACEMENT HACK----
.sh 3 "A - Address"
.TS
l l l l l.
\fI{name}	{ttl}	addr-class	A	address\fP
ucbarpa		IN	A	128\fB.\fP32\fB.\fP0\fB.\fP4
		IN	A	10\fB.\fP0\fB.\fP0\fB.\fP78
.TE
The \fIAddress\fP record, \fIA\fP, lists the address for a given machine. 
The name field is the machine name and the address is the network address.
There should be one \fIA\fP record for each address of the machine. 
.sh 3 "HINFO - Host Information"
.TS
l l l l l l. 
\fI{name}	{ttl}	addr-class	HINFO	Hardware	OS\fP
		IN	HINFO	VAX-11/780	UNIX
.TE
\fIHost Information\fP resource record, \fIHINFO\fP, is for host specific
data.  This lists the hardware and operating system that are running at the
listed host.  If you want to include a space in the machine name you must
quote the name (using ``"'' characters.)  There could be one \fIHINFO\fP
record for each host, though for security reasons most domains don't have
any \fIHINFO\fP records at all.  No application depends on them.
.(b L
.sh 3 "WKS - Well Known Services"
.TS
l l l l l l l.
\fI{name}	{ttl}	addr-class	WKS	address	protocol	list of services\fP
		IN	WKS	128\fB.\fP32\fB.\fP0\fB.\fP10	UDP	who route timed domain
		IN	WKS	128\fB.\fP32\fB.\fP0\fB.\fP10	TCP	( echo telnet
						discard sunrpc sftp
						uucp-path systat daytime
						netstat qotd nntp
						link chargen ftp 
						auth time whois mtp
						pop rje finger smtp
						supdup hostnames 
						domain
						nameserver )
.TE
The \fIWell Known Services\fP record, \fIWKS\fP, describes the well known
services supported by a particular protocol at a specified address.  The
list of services and port numbers come from the list of services specified
in \fI/etc/services.\fP There should be only one \fIWKS\fP record per
protocol per address.  Note that RFC1123 says of \fIWKS\fP records:
.)b
.(l L
   2.2  Using Domain Name Service
   ...
      An application SHOULD NOT rely on the ability to locate a WKS
      record containing an accurate listing of all services at a
      particular host address, since the WKS RR type is not often used
      by Internet sites.  To confirm that a service is present, simply
      attempt to use it.
   ...
      5.2.12  WKS Use in MX Processing: RFC-974, p. 5

         RFC-974 [SMTP:3] recommended that the domain system be queried
         for WKS ("Well-Known Service") records, to verify that each
         proposed mail target does support SMTP.  Later experience has
         shown that WKS is not widely supported, so the WKS step in MX
         processing SHOULD NOT be used.
   ...
         6.1.3.6  Status of RR Types
   ...
                 The TXT and WKS RR types have not been widely used by
                 Internet sites; as a result, an application cannot rely
                 on the existence of a TXT or WKS RR in most
                 domains.
.)l
.sh 3 "CNAME - Canonical Name"
.TS
l l l l l. 
\fIalias	{ttl}	addr-class	CNAME	Canonical name\fP
ucbmonet		IN	CNAME	monet
.TE
The \fICanonical Name\fP resource record, \fICNAME\fP, specifies an
alias or nickname for the official, or canonical, host name.
This record must be the only one associated with the alias name.
All other resource records must be
associated with the canonical name, not with the nickname.
Any resource records that include a domain name as their value
(e.g., NS or MX) \fImust\fP list the canonical name, not the nickname.
Similarly, a CNAME will be followed when searching for A RRs, but not
for MX RRs or NS RRs or most other types of RRs.  CNAMEs are allowed
to point to other CNAMEs, but this is considered sloppy.
.pp
Nicknames are useful when a well known host changes its name.  In that
case, it is usually a good idea to have a \fICNAME\fP record so that
people still using the old name will get to the right place.
.sh 3 "PTR - Domain Name Pointer"
.TS
l l l l l. 
\fIname	{ttl}	addr-class	PTR	real name\fP
7.0		IN	PTR	monet\fB\|.\|\fPBerkeley\fB\|.\|\fPEdu\fB\|.\fP
.TE
A \fIDomain Name Pointer\fP record, \fIPTR\fP, allows special names to point
to some other location in the domain.  The above example of a \fIPTR\fP
record is used in setting up reverse pointers for the special
\fIIN-ADDR\fP\fB\|.\|\fP\fIARPA\fP domain. This line is from the example
\fIhosts.rev\fP file.  \fIPTR\fP records are needed by the
\fIgethostbyaddr\fP function.  Note the trailing ``\fB\|.\|\fP'' which
prevents \s-1BIND\s+1 from appending the current \s-1$ORIGIN\s+1 to that
domain name.
.sh 3 "MX - Mail Exchange"
.TS
l l l l l l. 
\fIname	{ttl}	addr-class	MX	preference value	mail exchange\fP
Munnari\fB\|.\|\fPOZ\fB\|.\|\fPAU\fB\|.\fP		IN	MX	0	Seismo\fB\|.\|\fPCSS\fB\|.\|\fPGOV\fB\|.\fP
*\fB\|.\|\fPIL\fB\|.\fP		IN	MX	0	RELAY\fB\|.\|\fPCS\fB\|.\|\fPNET\fB\|.\fP
.TE
\fIMail eXchange\fP records, \fIMX\fP, are used to specify a list of hosts
which are configured to receive mail sent to this domain name.  Every name
which receives mail should have an \fIMX\fP since if one is not found at the
time mail is being delivered, an \fIMX\fP will be ``imputed'' with a cost
of 0 and a destination of the host itself.  If you want a host to receive
its own mail, you should create an \fIMX\fP for your host's name, pointing
at your host's name.  It is better to have this be explicit than to let it
be imputed by remote mailers.
In the first example, above,
Seismo\fB\|.\|\fPCSS\fB\|.\|\fPGOV\fB\|.\fP is a mail gateway that knows how
to deliver mail to Munnari\fB\|.\|\fPOZ\fB\|.\|\fPAU\fB\|.\fP.  These two
machines may have a private connection or use a different transport medium.
The preference value is the order that a mailer should follow when there is
more than one way to deliver mail to a single machine.  Note that lower
numbers indicate higher precedence, and that mailers are supposed to randomize
same-valued \fIMX\fP hosts so as to distribute the load evenly if the costs
are equal.  See RFC974 for more detailed information.
.pp
Wildcard names containing the character ``*'' may be used for mail routing
with \fIMX\fP records.  There are likely to be servers on the network that
simply state that any mail to a domain is to be routed through a relay.
Second example, above, all mail to hosts in the domain IL is routed through
RELAY.CS.NET.  This is done by creating a wildcard resource record, which
states that *.IL has an \fIMX\fP of RELAY.CS.NET.  Wildcard \fIMX\fP records
are not very useful in practice, though, since once a mail message gets to
the gateway for a given domain it still has to be routed \fIwithin\fP that
domain and it is not currently possible to have an apparently-different set
of \fIMX\fP records inside and outside of a domain.  If you won't be needing
any Mail Exchanges inside your domain, go ahead and use a wildcard.  If you
want to use both wildcard ``top-level'' and specific ``interior'' \fIMX\fP
records, note that each specific record will have to ``end with'' a complete
recitation of the same data that is carried in the top-level record.  This
is because the specific \fIMX\fP records will take precedence over the 
top-level wildcard records, and must be able to perform the top-level's
if a given interior domain is to be able to receive mail from outside the
gateway.  Wildcard \fIMX\fP records are very subtle and you should be careful
with them.
.sh 3 "TXT - Text"
.TS
l l l l l l. 
\fIname	{ttl}	addr-class	TXT	string\fP
Munnari\fB\|.\|\fPOZ\fB\|.\|\fPAU\fB\|.\fP		IN	TXT	"foo"
.TE
A \fITXT\fP record contains free-form textual data.  The syntax of the text
depends on the domain where it is found; many systems use \fITXT\fP records
to encode local data in a stylized format.  MIT Hesiod is one such system.
.sh 3 "RP - Responsible Person"
.TS
l l l l l l.
\fIowner	{ttl}	addr-class	RP	mbox-domain-name	TXT-domain-name\fP
franklin		IN 	RP	ben.franklin.berkeley.edu.	sysadmins.berkeley.edu.
.TE
.pp
The Responsible Person record, \fIRP\fP, identifies the name or group name of
the responsible person for a host.  Often it is desirable to be able to
identify the responsible entity for a particular host.  When that host
is down or malfunctioning, you would want to contact those parties
who might be able to repair the host.
.pp
The first field, \fImbox-domain-name\fP, is a domain name that specifies the
mailbox for the responsible person.  Its format in a zone file uses
the \s-1DNS\s+1 convention for mailbox encoding, identical to that used for
the \fIPerson-in-charge\fP mailbox field in the SOA record.
In the example above, the \fImbox-domain-name\fP shows the encoding for
``\fB<ben@franklin.berkeley.edu>\fP''.
The root domain name (just ``\fB\|.\|\fP'') may be specified
to indicate that no mailbox is available.
.pp
The second field, \fITXT-domain-name\fP, is a domain name for which
\fITXT\fP records exist.  A subsequent query can be performed to retrieve
the associated \fITXT\fP resource records at \fITXT-domain-name\fP.  This
provides a level of indirection so that the entity can be referred to from
multiple places in the \s-1DNS\s+1.  The root domain name (just
``\fB\|.\|\fP'') may be specified for \fITXT-domain-name\fI to indicate
that no associated \fITXT\fP RR exists.  In the example above,
``\fBsysadmins.berkeley.edu.\fP'' is the name of a TXT record that might
contain some text with names and phone numbers.
.pp
The format of the \fIRP\fP record is class-insensitive.
Multiple \fIRP\fP records at a single name may be present in the database,
though they should have identical TTLs.
.pp
The \fIRP\fP record is still experimental; not all name servers implement
or recognize it.
.sh 3 "AFSDB - DCE or AFS Server"
.TS
l l l l l l. 
\fIname	{ttl}	addr-class	AFSDB	subtype	server host name\fP
toaster.com.		IN	AFSDB	1	jack.toaster.com.
toaster.com.		IN	AFSDB	1	jill.toaster.com.
toaster.com.		IN	AFSDB	2	tracker.toaster.com.
.TE
\fIAFSDB\fP records are used to specify the hosts that provide a style of
distributed service advertised under this domain name.  A subtype value
(analogous to the ``preference'' value in the \fIMX\fP record) indicates
which style of distributed service is provided with the given name.
Subtype 1 indicates that the named host is an AFS (R) database server for
the AFS cell of the given domain name.  Subtype 2 indicates that the
named host provides intra-cell name service for the DCE (R) cell named by
the given domain name.
In the example above, jack\fB\|.\|\fPtoaster\fB\|.\|\fPcom and
jill\fB\|.\|\fPtoaster\fB\|.\|\fPcom are declared to be AFS database
servers for the toaster\fB\|.\|\fPcom AFS cell, so that AFS clients
wishing service from toaster\fB\|.\|\fPcom are directed to those two hosts
for further information.  The third record declares that
tracker\fB\|.\|\fPtoaster\fB\|.\|\fPcom houses a directory server for the
root of the DCE cell toaster\fB\|.\|\fPcom, so that DCE clients that wish
to refer to DCE services should consult with the host
tracker\fB\|.\|\fPtoaster\fB\|.\|\fPcom for further information.  The
DCE sub-type of record is usually accompanied by a \fITXT\fP record for
other information specifying other details to be used in accessing the
DCE cell.  RFC1183 contains more detailed information on the use of
this record type.
.pp
The \fIAFSDB\fP record is still experimental; not all name servers implement
or recognize it.

.sh 3 "PX - Pointer to X.400/RFC822 mapping information"
.TS
l l l l l l l. 
\fIname	{ttl}	addr-class	PX	prefer	822-dom	X.400-dom\fP
*.ADMD-garr.X42D.it.		IN	PX	50	it.	ADMD-garr.C-it.
*.infn.it.		IN	PX	50	infn.it.	O.PRMD-infn.ADMD-garr.C-it.
*.it.		IN	PX	50	it.	O-gate.PRMD-garr.ADMD-garr.C-it.
.TE
.pp
The \fIPX\fP records (\fIPointer to X.400/RFC822 mapping information\fP) 
are used to specify address mapping rules between X.400 O/R addresses and 
RFC822 style (domain-style) mail addresses. For a detailed description of the 
mapping process please refer to RFC1327.
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Mapping rules are of 3 different types:
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1) mapping from X.400 to RFC822 (defined as "table 1 rules" in RFC1327)
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2) mapping from RFC822 to X.400 (defined as "table 2 rules" in RFC1327)
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3) encoding RFC822 into X.400   (defined as "gate table" in RFC1327)
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All three types of mapping rules are specified using \fIPX\fP Resource
Records in DNS, although the \fIname\fP value is different: for case 1, the
\fIname\fP value is an X.400 domain in DNS syntax, whereas for cases 2 and
3 the \fIname\fP value is an RFC822 domain. Refer to RFC-1664 for details
on specifying an X.400 domain in DNS syntax and for the use of the
\fIX42D\fP keyword in it. Tools are available to convert from RFC1327
tables format into DNS files syntax.  \fIPreference\fP is analogous to the
\fIMX\fP RR Preference parameter: it is currently advised to use a fixed
value of 50 for it. \fI822-dom\fP gives the RFC822 part of the mapping
rules, and \fIX.400-dom\fP gives the X.400 part of the mapping rule (in DNS
syntax). It is currently advised always to use wildcarded \fIname\fP
values, as the RFC1327 tables specifications permit wildcard
specifications only. This is to keep compatibility with existing services
using static RFC1327 tables instead of DNS \fIPX\fP information.
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Specifications of mapping rules from X.400 to RFC822 syntax requires the
creation of an appropriate X.400 domain tree into DNS, including thus specific
\fISOA\fP and \fINS\fP records for the domain itself. Specification of mapping 
rules from RFC822 into X.400 can be embedded directly into the normal direct 
\fIname\fP tree.
Again, refer to RFC1664 for details about organization of this structure.
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Tools and library routines, based on the standard resolver ones, are available
to retrieve from DNS the appropriate mapping rules in RFC1327 or DNS syntax.
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Once again, refer to RFC1664 to use the \fIPX\fP resource record, and be careful
in coordinating the mapping information you can specify in DNS with the same
information specified into the RFC1327 static tables.
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The \fIPX\fP record is still experimental; not all servers implement or
recognize it.

.sh 2 "Discussion about the TTL"
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The Time To Live assigned to the records and to the zone via the
Minimum field in the SOA record is very important. High values will
lead to lower BIND network traffic and faster response time. Lower
values will tend to generate lots of requests but will allow faster
propagation of changes.
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Only changes and deletions from the zone are affected by the TTLs.
Additions propagate according to the Refresh value in the SOA.
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Experience has shown that sites use default TTLs for their zones varying
from around 0.5 day to around 7 days. You may wish to consider boosting
the default TTL shown in former versions of this guide from one day
(86400 seconds) to three days (259200 seconds). This will drastically
reduce the number of requests made to your name servers.
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If you need fast propagation of changes and deletions, it might be wise
to reduce the Minimum field a few days before the change, then do the
modification itself and augment the TTL to its former value.
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If you know that your zone is pretty stable (you mainly add new records
without deleting or changing old ones) then you may even wish to consider
a TTL higher than three days.
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Note that in any case, it makes no sense to have records with a TTL
below the SOA Refresh delay, as Delay is the time required for secondaries
to get a copy of the newly modified zone.

.sh 2 "About ``secure zones''
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Secure zones implement named security on a zone by zone basis.  It is
designed to use a permission list of networks or hosts which may obtain
particular information from the zone.
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In order to use zone security, \fInamed\fP must be compiled with SECURE_ZONES
defined and you must have at least one secure_zone TXT RR.  Unless a
\fIsecure_zone\fP record exists for a given zone, no restrictions will be
applied to the data in that zone.  The format of the secure_zone TXT RR is:
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secure_zone\h'0.5i'addr-class\h'0.5i'TXT\h'0.5i'string
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The addr-class may be either \fIHS\fP or \fIIN\fP.  The syntax for the TXT
string is either ``network address:netmask'' or ``host IP address:H''.
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``network address:netmask'' allows queries from an entire network.  If the
netmask is omitted, named will use the default netmask for the network
address specified.
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``host IP address:H'' allows queries from a host.  The ``H'' after the ``:''
is required to differentiate the host address from a network address.
Multiple secure_zone TXT RRs are allowed in the same zone file.
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For example, you can set up a zone to only answer Hesiod requests from the
masked class B network 130.215.0.0 and from host 128.23.10.56 by adding the
following two TXT RR's:
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secure_zone\h'0.5i'HS\h'0.5i'TXT\h'0.5i'``130.215.0.0:255.255.0.0''
secure_zone\h'0.5i'HS\h'0.5i'TXT\h'0.5i'``128.23.10.56:H''
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This feature can be used to restrict access to a Hesiod password map or to
separate internal and external internet address resolution on a firewall
machine without needing to run a separate named for internal and external
address resolution.
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Note that you will need to include your loopback interface (127.0.0.1) in
your secure_zone record, or your local clients won't be able to resolve
names.

.sh 2 "About Hesiod, and HS-class Resource Records
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Hesiod, developed by \s-1MIT\s+1 Project Athena, is an information service
built upon \s-1BIND\s+1.  Its intent is similar to that of Sun's
\s-1NIS\s+1: to furnish information about users, groups, network-accessible
file systems, printcaps, and mail service throughout an installation.  Aside
from its use of \s-1BIND\s+1 rather than separate server code another
important difference between Hesiod and \s-1NIS\s+1 is that Hesiod is not
intended to deal with passwords and authentication, but only with data that
are not security sensitive.  Hesiod servers can be implemented by adding
resource records to \s-1BIND\s+1 servers; or they can be implemented as
separate servers separately administered.
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To learn about and obtain Hesiod make an anonymous \s-1FTP\s+1 connection to
host \s-1ATHENA-DIST.MIT.EDU\s+1 and retrieve the compressed tar file
\fB/pub/ATHENA/hesiod.tar.Z\fP.  You will not need the named and resolver
library portions of the distribution because their functionality has already
been integrated into \s-1BIND as of 4.9\s+1.  To learn how Hesiod functions
as part of the Athena computing environment obtain the paper
\fB/pub/ATHENA/usenix/athena-changes.PS\fP from the above \s-1FTP\s+1 server
host.  There is also a tar file of sample Hesiod resource files.
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Whether one should use Hesiod class is open to question, since the same
services can probably be provided with class IN, type TXT and type
CNAME records.  In either case, the code and documents for Hesiod will
suggest how to set up and use the service.
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Note that while \s-1BIND\s+1 includes support for \fIHS\fP-class queries,
the zone transfer logic for non-\fIIN\fP-class zones is still experimental.

.sh 2 "Sample Files"
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The following section contains sample files for the name server.
This covers example boot files for the different types of servers
and example domain data base files.