Open System Services System Calls Reference Manual (G06.29+, H06.08+, J06.03+)

resolv.conf(5) OSS System Calls Reference Manual
NAME
resolv.conf - BIND 9 Domain Name System resolver configuration file
DESCRIPTION
The default configuration file /etc/resolv.conf provides an explicit default domain name for the
Domain Name System (DNS) to use, and identifies name servers on other processors. The BIND
9 resolver system can be used with other, nondefault versions of resolv.conf.
Each entry in a resolv.conf file is a directive that consists of a keyword followed by one or more
values:
keyword value
The keyword and value must appear on a single line. Start the line with the keyword,
followed by the value, separated by white space.
The /etc/resolv.conf file can contain the following directives:
nameserver address
The Internet address of a domain name server, in standard dot notation. Up to
MAXNS multiple domain name server addresses may be listed.
The resolver queries the domain name servers in the order they are listed in the
file, stopping when it receives a response, or moving to the next in the list if the
query times out. If the resolver reaches the end of the domain name server list
without receiving a response, it will start from the beginning of the list and query
each domain name server again, until a maximum number of retries is reached. If
/etc/resolv.conf contains no nameserver directives, the resolver uses the loop-
back address. Therefore, a domain name server must be running on the proces-
sor on which the file resides.
domain name The default domain to append to names that do not contain a domain, and the
default domain name to be used in searches. No trailing spaces are allowed after
the value in name.
If resolv.conf does not contain a domain directive, then the resolver uses the the
hostname for the processor, but removes the first part of the name. For example,
if the host name is set to "yojimbo.dev1.anyfirm.com," the resolver uses the
name "dev1.anyfirm.com."
Most queries for names within this domain can use short names relative to the
local domain. (Everything after the first "." is presumed to be the domain name.)
If the hostname does not contain a domain part, the root domain is assumed. You
can use the LOCALDOMAIN environment variable to override the domain
name.
The domain and search keywords are mutually exclusive. If more than one
instance of these keywords is present, the last instance takes precedence.
search name ... The explicit search order that you want the resolver to use when looking up host-
names. The search keyword can accept up to six domain names as values, with a
total of 256 characters.
The resolver will perform its search using the order specified after the search
keyword.
The search list is normally determined from the local domain name. By default,
it contains only the local domain name. You can change the default behavior by
listing the desired domain search path following the search keyword, with
spaces or tabs separating the names. Most resolver queries are attempted using
each component of the search path in turn until a match is found. This process
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