Re: Caching-only nameserver - which bind

[Stefan Srdic <linuxbox@telusplanet.net>]

Paul Wright wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm about to configure a caching only nameserver for my dialup box, and I
> noticed that there are two variants of the bind package available, bind
> and bind9.  I know that the bind package is version 8.x
>
> Which version should I use?
>
> Is there an advantage or disadvantage to the newer version?
>
> Is configuration for bind-9 so different that I should stick with bind-8?
>
> Thanks, I look forward to any advice offered.
>
> --
> Paul T. Wright <paul@cvanet.com>
> -currently seeking employment-
>

Just apt-get install bind or maybe even apt-get install named. For more
information on BIND and the differences between major version numbers read
Chapter 6 of the Linux Network Administrators Guide at Linuxdoc.org ->
http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/nag2/x-087-2-resolv.html

BIND works great as a caching only nameserver, its also very usefull if your
running a Masquerading box. The setup of BIND as a caching-only nameserver is
pretty easy. Here's how I did it:

First edit the named configuration file located @ /etc/bind/named.conf

options {
        directory "/var/cache/bind";
        query-source address * port 53;

 forwarders {
    Your ISP's nameservers;
 };

 listen-on {
                  Your internal network range;
                  127/8;
           };
};

logging {
 category lame-servers { null; };
 category cname { null; };
};

zone "." {
        type hint;
        file "/etc/bind/db.root";
};

zone "localhost" {
        type master;
        file "/etc/bind/db.local";
};


Restart BIND and then just edit /etc/resolv.conf and insert:

domain <your domain or ISP's domain
nameserver 127.0.0.1

Once done you can test this by using nslookup, execute nslookup and you should
see something like:

stef@NodeFilter:~$ nslookup
Default Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1

>

At the prompt you can enter in DNS queries to complete the test, try your ISP's
website and see what happens:

> www.telus.net
Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1

Name:    www.telus.net
Addresses:  207.194.28.174, 207.194.28.74, 207.194.28.80

And that should do it.

Stef