Re: DNS and resolv.conf
> 1) How to insure that the correct DNS address is included when
> resolv.conf is generated?
>
> 2) Do ISPs change DNS addresses often? Is there a way to detect it when
> it happens, so I don't have to call them up for the new one every time
> it happens?
If you get your IP address from your ISP by DHCP, then their DNS addresses
are provided to you as part of the DHCP exchange. DHCP leases are typically
renegotiated every day or so (automatically, without you having to know or
do anything about it), and so if there's a change in DNS servers, you'll get
the new information then. The DNS server IPs won't change often, so you can
reasonably assume that they won't change between DHCP lease renegotiations.
So the question then becomes, how to get your DHCP client to put the names
of the DNS servers into resolv.conf. The simplest way to do this is to
install the resolvconf package. resolvconf acts as a mediator between
providers (such as your DHCP client) and consumers (i.e. network clients) of
DNS information. Its working are a bit complex, but fortunately you don't
have to understand them-- just install resolvconf, and read
/usr/share/doc/resolvconf/README.gz to make sure that things are set up
correctly (in particular you'll need to remove any customizations you've
already made to try to address the DNS problem). After that, everything
should just work and you won't have to think about it any more.
> I apologize if these are silly questions, but I was up half the night
> trying to figure this out and I'm pooped.
Not silly questions. We all have to learn and you're obviously putting the
work in.
Good luck,
Andrew.
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