DNS and BIND ^{4th Ed.}

DNS and BIND discusses one of the Internet's fundamental building blocks: the distributed host information database that's responsible for translating names into addresses, routing mail to its proper destination, and many other services. As the authors write in the preface, if you're using the Internet, you're already using DNS — even if you don't know it.

The fourth edition covers BIND 9, which implements many new and important features, as well as BIND 8, on which most commercial products are currently based. DNS security is greatly improved with BIND 8 and 9.

Whether you're an administrator involved with DNS on a daily basis or a user who wants to be more informed about the Internet and how it works, you'll find that this book is essential reading.

Topics include:

• What DNS does, how it works, and when you need to use it
• How to find your own place in the Internet's namespace
• Setting up name servers
• Using MX records to route mail
• Configuring hosts to use DNS name servers
• Subdividing domains (parenting)
• Securing your name server: restricting who can query your server, preventing unauthorized zone transfers, avoiding bogus servers, etc.
• New BIND 9 features, including views and IPv6 forward and reverse mapping
• The DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) and Transaction Signatures (TSIG)
• Mapping one name to several servers for load sharing
• Dynamic updates, asynchronous notification of changes to a zone, and incremental zone transfers
• Troubleshooting: using nslookup and dig, reading debugging output, common problems
• DNS Programming using the resolver library and Perl's Net::DNS module

1. Background
• A (Very) Brief History of the Internet
• On the Internet and internets
• The Domain Name System in a Nutshell
• The History of BIND
• Must I Use DNS?
2. How Does DNS Work?
• The Domain Name Space
• The Internet Domain Name Space
• Delegation
• Name Servers and Zones
• Resolvers
• Resolution
• Caching
3. Where Do I Start?
• Getting BIND
• Choosing a Domain Name
4. Setting Up BIND
• Our Zone
• Setting Up Zone Data
• Setting Up a BIND Configuration File
• Abbreviations
• Host Name Checking (BIND 4.9.4 and Later Versions)
• Tools
• Running a Primary Master Name Server
• Running a Slave Name Server
• Adding More Zones
• What Next?
5. DNS and Electronic Mail
• MX Records
• What's a Mail Exchanger, Again?
• The MX Algorithm
6. Configuring Hosts
• The Resolver
• Sample Resolver Configurations
• Minimizing Pain and Suffering
• Vendor-Specific Options
7. Maintaining BIND
• Controlling the Name Server
• Updating Zone Data Files
• Organizing Your Files
• Changing System File Locations in BIND 8 and 9
• Logging in BIND 8 and 9
• Keeping Everything Running Smoothly
8. Growing Your Domain
• How Many Name Servers?
• Adding More Name Servers
• Registering Name Servers
• Changing TTLs
• Planning for Disasters
• Coping with Disaster
9. Parenting
• When to Become a Parent
• How Many Children?
• What to Name Your Children
• How to Become a Parent: Creating Subdomains
• Subdomains of in-addr.arpa Domains
• Good Parenting
• Managing the Transition to Subdomains
• The Life of a Parent
10. Advanced Features
• Address Match Lists and ACLs
• DNS Dynamic Update
• DNS NOTIFY (Zone Change Notification)
• Incremental Zone Transfer (IXFR)
• Forwarding Views
• Round Robin Load Distribution
• Name Server Address Sorting
• Preferring Name Servers on Certain Networks
• A Nonrecursive Name Server
• Avoiding a Bogus Name Server
• System Tuning
• Compatibility
• The ABCs of IPv6 Addressing
• Addresses and Ports
• IPv6 Forward and Reverse Mapping
11. Security
• TSIG
• Securing Your Name Server
• DNS and Internet Firewalls
• The DNS Security ExtensionS
12. nslookup and dig
• Is nslookup a Good Tool?
• Interactive Versus Noninteractive
• Option Settings
• Avoiding the Search List
• Common Tasks
• Less Common Tasks
• Troubleshooting nslookup Problems
• Best of the Net
• Using dig
13. Reading BIND Debugging Output
• Debugging Levels
• Turning On Debugging
• Reading Debugging Output
• The Resolver Search Algorithm and Negative Caching (BIND 8)
• The Resolver Search Algorithm and Negative Caching (BIND 9)
• Tools
14. Troubleshooting DNS and BIND
• Is NIS Really Your Problem?
• Troubleshooting Tools and Techniques
• Potential Problem List
• Transition Problems
• Interoperability and Version Problems
• TSIG Errors
• Problem Symptoms
15. Programming with the Resolver and Name Server Library Routines
• Shell Script Programming with nslookup
• C Programming with the Resolver Library Routines
• Perl Programming with Net::DNS
16. Miscellaneous
• Using CNAME Records
• Wildcards
• A Limitation of MX Records
• Dialup Connections
• Network Names and Numbers
• Additional Resource Records
• DNS and WINS
• DNS and Windows 2000

1. DNS Message Format and Resource Records
• Master File Format
• DNS Messages
• Resource Record Data
2. BIND Compatibility Matrix
3. Compiling and Installing BIND on Linux
• Instructions for BIND 8.2.3
• Instructions for BIND 9.1.0
4. Top-Level Domains
5. BIND Name Server and Resolver Configuration
• BIND Name Server Boot File Directives and Configuration File Statements
• BIND 4 Boot File Directives
• BIND 8 Configuration File Statements
• BIND 9 Configuration File Statements
• BIND Resolver Statements

A decent book on the Domain Name system and its implementation and care.