Configuring and Managing MPE/iX Internet Services (August 2002)

Chapter 8
DNS BIND/iX
How to Run The DNS Server
130
How to Run The DNS Server
1. Configure and start Syslog/iX see Appendix E, “Configure and Run Syslog/iX.”
2. Examine /BIND/PUB/etc/named.conf and customize for your own environment.
3. Configure the zone data files referenced in your /BIND/PUB/etc/named.conf.
4. Add your server’s IP address as the first nameserver entry in /etc/resolv.conf for all MPE and HPUX
hosts that you wish to use this server for resolution queries. On MPE hosts, make sure that
/etc/resolv.cnf is actually a symlink pointing to the real data at RESLVCNF.NET.SYS.
5. :stream JNAMED.PUB.BIND
6. Stop BIND by issuing the command :ABORTJOB.
Configuring the DNS Resolver
The file RESLVCNF.NET.SYS is the configuration file for the Domain Name resolver. It should be linked to
/etc/resolv.conf. If the file does not already exist, then it can be copied from RSLVSAMP.NET.SYS to
RESLVCNF.NET.SYS and then modified to contain information about your local domain and servers.
Each entry in the resolver file consists of a keyword followed by a value separated by white space. The
keyword and its associated value must appear on a single line, and the keyword must start the line. Comment
lines start with a pound sign (#) or semicolon (;).
domain Enter the default domain name. This string will be appended to queries passed to the local
DNS server. The default names should be written without a trailing dot:
domain india.hp.com
It is important to get the syntax correct as the resolver does not report errors. If more than
one instance of the domain keyword is present, the last instance will override. To specify
multiple domains for an unqualified name lookup, use the search directive.
search The search directive is optional but overrides the domain directive for specifying which
domains should be searched for unqualified host name lookups. You should add a search
entry if users on a system commonly try to connect to nodes in another domain. The format
is the search directive followed by up to six domains, separated by a white space.
search cup.hp.com hp.com
nameserver The nameserver directive tells the resolver the IP address of a name server to query. For
example, the line:
nameserver 15.32.17.2
instructs the resolver to send queries to the name server running at IP address 15.32.17.2
instead of the local host.
The resolver will also allow you to specify up to three name servers using multiple
nameserver directives. They will be tried in the order in which they appear in the
RESLVCNF file, only passing to the next listed nameserver if the previous one is not