Primary DNS server configuration

If you are going to do anything serious with DNS, you probably want a copy of "DNS and Bind", published by O'Rielly.

The process is really fairly simple for most cases. it's just a matter of installing bind (), creating the named.conf file and the zone and reverse lookup files.

There are some conditions however. If the DNS server is to be publically accessible, you have to have a full time Internet connection, an IP netblock that's been delegated to you by your service provider, a second nameserver or someone that will provide your second nameserver, and a properly registered domain name.

Another case that's a bit special is if your nameserver won't be publically assessible, say behind a firewall. In this case you aren't required to have a second nameserver, and you aren't required to use a registered domain name (providing you don't let it leak out through the firewall).

I can help you set either of these up, I just need to know what you are trying to do, and in the case of a publically available server what the IP block is, what the domain name is and who is to be your secondary.

uhm, why take the long route? RH6.x has this all in linuxconf. DNS howto just confuses things for this. What do you want?

Greetings.

The long route is needed, because linuxconf makes DNS look simple, but it really "ain't" - as jlevie's answer highlights.

Cheers,
    alf

I didn't know how to setup DNS, I followed the documentation in /usr/doc/howto/DNS-howto, and that worked. It explains pretty good what steps are involved. just take the time to do, because it really ain't simple...

Uhm, lets see, itmakes DNS look easy.. Well, DNS _is_ easy, i just dont really understand why doing it the "howto" way (and messing up parts of Redhat in the process) would be better. (And yes, i personally speak fluent bind and sendmail.cf) ;)

Greetings.

My comment was just intent at pointing out that - regardless of the tools - setting up DNS requires some understanding of what you're doing and of why you're doing it. The HOWTO may not be the best text to follow, and linuxconf may be great for the mechanics and keeping a consistent view of the system configuration: but what's keeping you from awardng yoourself sun.com as domain name and picking an address in the 224.x.x.x - AKA multicast - range, if all the theory is missing?

And if it's easy what are all this lame delegations doing in my log? :->

Cheers,
    alf

Yeah, and what about all the folks who said "Hmm, I'll just set it up with linuxconf, it looks easy enough...". And then later don't understand why, since they've got their own nameserver and it has a MX record for their mailserver, that all the email is still going to someplace else. And that reverse lookups for their domain hosts don't work, and tightly controlled  mailservers refuse to accept their email, and I could go on and on... personal rant mode OFF.

alien_life_form is dead right. If you don't know DNS cold, you need to learn it or get someone who does to at least get it set up correctly.