[sf-lug] resolver problem

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Jim Stockford (jim at systemateka.com):

> I've spent time, occasionally, looking through pages of search engine
> results and other sources trying to learn how to set up a DNS server.
> There's lots of info, but what I've seen does not give me what I need
> to do the job.

That would be for _authoritative_ nameservice[1].  For _recursive_
nameservice, you do exactly this:

1.  Install nameserver package.
2.  Start the daemon.
3.  Tell clients to consult it (line in /etc/resolv.conf, 
most often sent to the client by your DHCP setup).

> What I'd like to know is what software to get and 
> what configuration files to create on the server side 
> so that a client request to resolve a domain name gets 
> access to the requested server.

For a recursive nameserver, none required.  It just works.
You turn it on; it goes.  There's nothing that needs adjusting or
administration.

> If necessary, what 
> client-side configuration files to create to access my 
> home-brewed DNS server. 

1.  Line like this in /etc/resolv.conf:

nameserver 127.0.0.1

(Substitute appropriate IP if it's not running on localhost.)

2.  Make sure the 'hosts' line in /etc/nsswitch.conf
includes keyworkd 'dns'.  It almost certainly already does, e.g.:

hosts:          files dns



[1] Which you do if you're publishing zone data for a domain you or
someone you're trying to help owns, e.g., my publishing zone data
for 'linuxmafia.com', 'unixmercenary.net', and a bunch of friends'
domains for which my nameserver is authoritative.

Types of nameservice explained:
http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/lan.html