Installation guide

244 Chapter 16. Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND)
Remember to place dots (.) in zone files after all FQDNs and omit them on hostnames.
The dot denotes a fully qualified domain name. If the dot is omitted, then named will place the
name of the zone or the $ORIGIN value after the name to complete it.
If you are having problems with your firewall blocking connections from your named program to
other nameservers, you may need to edit its configuration file.
By default, BIND version 9 uses random ports above 1024 to query other nameservers. Some
firewalls, however, expect all nameservers to communicate using only port 53. You can force this
behavior by adding the following line to an options statement in /etc/named.conf:
query-source address * port 53;
16.6. Additional Resources
The following sources of information will provide additional resources regarding BIND.
16.6.1. Installed Documentation
BIND features a full-range of installed documentation covering many different topics, each placed
in its own subject directory:
/usr/share/doc/bind-
version-number Contains a README file with a list of the
most recent features.
/usr/share/doc/bind- version-number /arm Contains HTML and SGML of the
BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual, which details BIND resource requirements, how to
configure different types of nameservers, perform load balancing, and other advanced topics. For
most new users of BIND, this is the best place to start.
/usr/share/doc/bind-
version-number /draft Contains assorted technical docu-
ments that look at issues related to DNS service and some methods proposed to address them.
/usr/share/doc/bind-
version-number /misc Contains documents designed to ad-
dress specific advanced issues. Users of BIND version 8 should consult the migration docu-
ment for specific changes they must make when moving to BIND 9. The options file lists all of
the options implemented in BIND 9 that are used in /etc/named.conf.
/usr/share/doc/bind-
version-number /rfc Every RFC document related to
BIND is in this directory.
The following man pages are also useful:
named — Explores assorted arguments that can be used to control the BIND nameserver daemon,
such as the use of an alternative configuration file and running on a different port number or as a
different user.
rndc Explains the different options available when using the rndc command to control a
BIND nameserver.
16.6.2. Useful Websites
http://www.isc.org/products/BIND The home page of the BIND project, where you can find
information concerning current releases and download a PDF version of the BIND 9 Administrator
Reference Manual.