Bug#299554: In dialup install, nameserver addresses are not written to resolv.conf
On Mon, Mar 14, 2005 at 07:19:36PM -0400, Tony Rowe wrote:
> Now here's the rub. During the base-config stage and if one's dialup ISP
> has assigned nameservers, one therefore selects "static DNS" from the
> appropriate menu in pppconfig, filling in dotted quads for primary and
> secondary nameservers. pppconfig writes this information to
> /etc/ppp/resolv/provider *only*, and does not seem to write
> /etc/resolv.conf at all. Therefore configure apt barfs and base-config
> leaves the install broken (un-updateable) until something like
>
> # cp /etc/ppp/resolv/provider /etc/resolv.conf
>
> is done manually.
Some additional information. It seems that dynamic DNS can be used with
my ISP after all <sigh>; that the correct nameserver addresses will be
negotiated successfully and a /etc/resolv.conf created properly (using
usepeerdns) as the connection is being brought up, but only if dynamic
DNS (rather than static DNS) is selected during the pppconfig session.
I am guessing that my ISP hands out the primary and secondary DNS
addresses as a general policy to satisfy users of legacy Windows and
Macintosh ppp setup "wizards" who may indeed require them to set up the
resolver successfully.
It seems to me that static DNS should also work in this case since the
addresses of the nameservers are known, and don't change. Certainly
there was a strong feeling on my part that I should try to plug the
addresses in somewhere since they were given to me by my ISP. Indeed
static DNS does work and the addresses in /etc/ppp/resolv/provider are
used to generate an /etc/resolv.conf as the connection is brought up if
an /sbin/resolvconf exists. However resolvconf is not included on the
netinst iso as far as I can tell.
So, if static DNS is selected in pppconfig and resolvconf exists,
resolvconf does something desirable that in its absence the script
/etc/ppp/ip-up.d/0dns-up fails to do, at least in this case. Any
pointers or suggestions are welcome. Finally, this part of my bug if
not due to some folly of my own, seems to reside with pppconfig and not
with the debian-installer netinst iso as such.
Thanks,
Tony Rowe
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