Wildcard DNS (pros and cons)

Jonathan de Boyne Pollard J.deBoynePollard at Tesco.NET
Sat Dec 11 12:42:11 UTC 2004


J> What is the purpoase of allowing *.example.com within a DNS Zone?

One common purpose is to set up a catch-all server, to which all 
traffic, of every type, is directed.  I said it here a month ago, and 
several times before that during the past couple of years, and I'll say 
it again:

Be aware that catch-all servers are a lot of work - more work than most 
people think.  Internet is not just HTTP, misconceptions to the contrary 
notwithstanding.  At the very least, you'll have to deal with, on your 
catch-all server, quite a large number of other popular TCP services in 
a manner that doesn't cause data loss for your customers or an invasion 
of privacy.  This is not a trivial exercise.

If you aren't either prepared or able to do this properly, I strongly 
suggest not doing it at all.



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