Subject: Info: Named / Bind / Name Resolver config FAQ.
From: Named_Linux_User@
Sender: Named_Linux_User@

			http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/std/named.txt

Named / Bind / Name Resolver config FAQ by Julian H. Stacey.

> I'm stuck configuring Named / Bind on Linux.

Sorry, I've no unpaid time available for Linux.  I'm exclusively
FreeBSD &/or *BSD in my personal time.  At commercial rates, I can
provide BSD, Linux, & other Unix consultancy.

PREAMBLE (then helpful Hints & Pointer later):
    Though I do configure Bind / Named :
    	For my internal network:
		Because I have a Lot of machines, & ant the flexibility
		(& complexity) of a named (V. /etc/hosts approach),
		to simulate full corporate internal network complexity,
		& am happy to spend time necessary, reading documentation
		& code to learn any server skills necessary.
    	For my public (berklix etc) servers:
		Of necessity, self hosting.
    Normal end internet user friends of mine, don't bother to spend time to
    configure Named/Bind for domestic use ( despite some being highly
    skilled, they don't need to, so they don't )  :
	They just use /etc/host.conf & /etc/resolv.conf (& maybe
	NAT or router) to point their PC at the ISP's name server,
	(& use static /etc/hosts for any internal)
    Those who still want to config named after reading the above, thus either :
	May realise they don't need to ?
	May want to learn by reading documentation. I've URL'd below ?
	Maybe are configuring for a business associate or employer ?
		In which case please cut me a slice of the pie &
		we'll work together, - I'm a consultant, I do
		commercial work at commercial rates.

HINTS & POINTERS:

First remove (or shrink) Linux & install a BSD such as FreeBSD.
	Bind works well on both FreeBSD & Linux & other Unixes, but
	I only do FreeBSD (or *BSD) in my unpaid time, I do Linux
	& other Unixes etc at commercial rates. I'm not interested in
	helping Linux users unpaid.
   If you insist on Linux:
	Linux is also good, though I prefer BSD, If you want Linux:
	There's a Linux group in Munich: http://www.muc-lug.de  , but
	Berkeley In Munich is here too:  http://www.berklix.org/bim

Install FreeBSD's /usr/ports/dns/nslint
	Or install nslint on you Linux or other Unix however you choose.
	Pointers to the OS neutral nslint sources are in
	FreeBSD-5.3 Makefile appended:
		# New ports collection makefile for:    nslint
		# Date created:         27 October 1997
		# Whom:                 dglo@ssec.wisc.edu
		# $FreeBSD: ports/dns/nslint/Makefile,v 1.18 2004/02/06 13:11:13 trevor Exp $
		PORTNAME=       nslint
		PORTVERSION=    2.1.a3
		CATEGORIES=     dns
		MASTER_SITES=   ftp://ftp.ee.lbl.gov/
		DISTNAME=       ${PORTNAME}-${PORTVERSION:S/.a/a/}
		MAINTAINER=     petef@FreeBSD.org
		COMMENT=        Perform consistency checks on DNS zone files
		GNU_CONFIGURE=  yes
		ALL_TARGET=     nslint
		INSTALL_TARGET= install install-man
		MAN8=           nslint.8
		PLIST_FILES=    bin/nslint
		.include <bsd.port.mk>

Books.
     O-Reillys at least two: "DNS & Bind" & "TCP/IP Network Admin",
     helpful, but the DNS book I read was dated, (It didn't include
     m4 as used by FreeBSD), maybe I was reading an old edition.

FreeBSD web site has current documentation. :
    http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/network-dns.html
The OS neutral Bind original :
	http://www.isc.org/index.pl?/sw/bind/

Mail lists exist :
	freebsd-net@freebsd.org 
	Other OS eg Linux etc may have equivalents. 

Try running it first in in foreground debug mode, for BSD :
	man named
	su ; named -f -d debug-level

Look for errors, for BSD :
	/dev/console
	/var/log/messages
	/var/log/named 
	/var/named/var/log/named  on chrooted FreeBSD-5.3
	man syslog

Test it:
	man nslookup	
	man dig

If you want my public configs:
	If you have a login on user.berklix.org, 
	then commands such as this work:
		nslookup
		help
		server ns.berklix.org
		ls -d berklix.org

If you want my personal configs:
	I'd first want to know which publicly documented web examples
	per FreeBSD configs you had looked at that presumably didn't
	help you.  I'd wank to know if you wanted my public (berklix)
	configs or my private home configs (& why - think security
	& privacy ).

If I missed something, feel free to mail me, http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/mail/

http://www.berklix.com   		Computer Consultancy
http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/cv/ 	My Resume - English & German
http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/contact/	Contact - German for business also OK.
http://www.berklix.com/free/    	Free Software
http://www.berklix.org    		Free Organisations & Clubs