named.conf "option forwarder" vs. resolv.conf "nameserver"?

[Barry Margolin]

In article <fjfalqreubzrpbz.fdasnk0.pminews at news.nblvil1.in.home.com>,
Steve Snyder <swsnyder at home.com> wrote:
>Can someone explain to this DNS/BIND newbie the functional distinction 
>between the "options forwarder" in named.conf and the "nameserver" in 
>resolv.conf?
>
>To me, they sound like they act identically: if a name cannot be resolved 
>locally, the specified remote host is called upon to do the resolution.

That's only true if you're running a nameserver on the local machine.  Most
people don't run a nameserver on their workstation, and the nameserver line
in resolv.conf is how they tell the resolver where the nameserver is.

The forwarders option in named.conf is used to force the nameserver to send
its non-local queries to a specific server.  Normally, the nameserver will
perform an iterative query by starting from the root servers.

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar at bbnplanet.com
GTE Internetworking, Powered by BBN, Burlington, MA
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