Technical data

Configuring and Managing BIND
5.1 Key Concepts
5.1 Key Concepts
This section serves as a review only and assumes you are acquainted with the
InterNIC, that you applied for an IP address, and that you registered your
domain name. You should also be familiar with BIND terminology, and you
should have completed your preconfiguration planning before using this chapter
to configure and manage the BIND software.
If you are not familiar with DNS and BIND, see the DIGITAL TCP/IP
Services for OpenVMS Concepts and Planning guide. If you need more in-depth
knowledge, see O’Reilly’s DNS and BIND, Third Edition. For details on BIND 8
configuration, see the ISC BIND 8 documentation at
http://www.isc.org/ .
5.1.1 How the Resolver and Name Server Work Together
BIND is conceptually divided into two components: a resolver and a name server.
The resolver is software that queries a name server; the name server is the
software process that responds to a resolver query.
Under BIND, all computers use resolver code but not all computers run the name
server process.
The BIND name server runs as a distinct process called TCPIP$BIND. On UNIX
systems, the name server is called
named (pronounced name-dee). Name servers
are typically classified as master (previously called primary), slave (previously
called secondary), and caching-only servers, depending on their configurations.
5.1.2 Common BIND Configurations
You can configure BIND in several different ways. The most common
configurations are resolver-only systems, master servers, slave servers, forwarder
servers, and caching-only servers. A server can be any of these configurations or
can combine elements of these configurations.
A group of database files containing BIND statements and resource records are
used by servers. These files include:
• The forward translation file, domain_name.DB
This file maps host names to IP addresses.
• The reverse translation file, address.DB
This file maps the address back to the host names. This address name lookup
is called reverse mapping. Each domain has its own reverse mapping file.
• Local loopback forward and reverse translation files, LOCALHOST.DB and
127_0_0.DB
These local host databases provide forward and inverse translation for
the widely used LOCALHOST name. The LOCALHOST name is always
associated with the IP address 127.0.0.1 and is used for loopback traffic.
• The hint file, ROOT.HINT
This file contains the list of root name servers.
A configuration file, TCPIP$BIND.CONF, contains statements that pull all of the
database files together and governs the behavior of the BIND server.
5–2 Configuring and Managing BIND