HP-UX IP Address and Client Management Administrator's Guide (October 2009)

added benefit of using the forwarding feature is that the forwarding server develops a
complete cache of information that all the workstations can use.
If you do not want to run a name server on your host, you can configure the resolver to query a
name server on another host. By default, the resolver is configured to query the name server on
the local host.
NOTE: Throughout this document, the terms zone and domain are used interchangeably,
though they describe different concepts. A zone describes the domain name space that a name
server has authority over. As such, a zone does not contain any delegated subdomains, whereas
a domain can contain data delegated to other name servers. Therefore, as long as subdomains
are not delegated, a zone and a domain contain the same data.
Choosing the Type of Name Server
You can use any server configuration on a host. Following are some suggestions for the
configuration:
• You must configure timeshare machines or cluster servers as master or slave servers.
• If you want the benefits of a name server but do not want to maintain authoritative data,
you can set up a caching-only server. Running a caching-only server provides you better
performance than querying a name server on a remote system, especially if the remote
system is on the other side of a gateway or router.
• You must configure PCs, workstations that do not want to maintain a server, and other small
networked systems to query a name server on another host. Cluster nodes must query the
name server on the cluster server.
• If your network is isolated from the Internet, and your host is the only BIND name server
in your organization, you must configure a root name server. See “Configuring a Root Name
Server” (page 87) for information.
Choosing Master Servers and Slave Servers
Follow these guidelines while selecting a master server and slave server:
• You must have at least two master servers per domain: a primary master and one or more
slaves for redundancy. You can configure one host as a master for multiple domains (primary
for some domains and secondary for other domains).
• You must choose hosts that are as independent as possible for redundancy. For example,
choose hosts that use different power sources or cables.
• You must choose hosts that have the most reliable Internet connectivity with the best gateway
connections.
• Name servers for a particular zone need not physically reside within the same domain. In
general, zones are more accessible to the rest of the Internet if their name servers are widely
distributed, instead of on the premises of the organization that manages the domain.
Types of Resource Records
Resource records (RRs) are entries in the data files in a name server. Typically, a resource record
is of the following format:
name ttl class type data
Where:
name
Specifies the domain name where the RRs are found
ttl
Specifies the time after which a resource record becomes inactive
class
Specifies an encoded 16-bit value that identifies a protocol family or an instance of a
protocol
Choosing Name Servers for Your Domain 65