intermittent ndc startup

Kevin Darcy kcd at daimlerchrysler.com
Tue Jun 12 21:54:05 UTC 2001


ns at linuxplanet.nu wrote:

> The root server is authorative for example.com & example.com although names
> under these zones have similar IP addreses. i.e. top.example.com will have the
> same IP address as top.example.net, similarly top.example.net have the same IP
> as top.example.com.

Okay, but if example.com and example.net are delegated from your root zone, and
your root zone refers to nameservers in those domains, then technically you should
have glue records for them in the root zone. That's all I was getting at.

> On the root servers, I created example.com & example.net zone and added A & NS
> (in-order to delegate beer) record for beer, I also created A record & NS
> records for whoever needs it under the example.com & example.net zone, all
> delegations are done within these zone files.

That's fine. My comments were directed mainly at what you showed for the root
zone.

> I am not sure what contents I should have in the master file on the root server
> itself.  Should it just be A & NS declaration of delegated ns's? (I don't think
> so).  I think I just have to define A & NS records for example.net and
> example.com and nothing else.

Which master file are you talking about now? The example.com/example.net master
file, or the root master file? The root master file should have the usual SOA and
NS records for the root zone, plus delegations and any glue records required for
those delegations.

> Like the normal Internet hints file I don't think there is any need to define
> SOA records in the root servers master file, I just have to define the A & NS
> records for the root server?

No, the root master file is like any other master file inasmuch it needs an
SOA and NS records for the zone itself (as opposed to NS records which represent
delegations). The hints file is completely different, because it is only used
ephemerally as a way to find root nameservers. You don't need an SOA record for
that. Don't try to model a root-zone master file on a hints file. They're used for
different purposes.

> >From all examples I seen including in O'Reilly DNS book page 390, SOA is not
> defined in the in name server's master file.

I assume you're referring to Third Edition. The example on page 390 is an example
of a *hints* file. Note that the subsection header is "Configuring other internal
name servers". The "other" in that title means "other than an authoritative
nameserver for the root zone". See also the first full sentence on page 390: "...
a root name server doesn't need a cache [aka hints - kcd] file to tell it where
the other roots are; it can find that in _db.root_". See also the example on page
389 of _db.root_, i.e. a root-zone master file. That example contains an SOA
record. Frankly, I think you need to carefully re-read the whole "Internal
Roots" section of the book, because you seem to have misunderstood how it all
works.


- Kevin





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