NAME

named, in.named - Internet domain name server

SYNOPSIS

in.named [ -d level ] [ -p port ] [[ -b ] bootfile ]

DESCRIPTION

named is the Internet domain name server. It is used by hosts on the Internet to provide access to the Internet distributed naming database. See RFC 1034 and RFC 1035 for more details. With no arguments named reads /etc/named.boot for any initial data, and listens for queries on a privileged port.

The following options are available:

-d level

Print debugging information. level is a number indicating the level of messages printed.

-p port

Use a different port number.

-b bootfile

Use bootfile rather than /etc/named.boot.

EXAMPLE

;
;    boot file for name server
;
; type         domain         source file or host
;
domain         berkeley.edu
primary        berkeley.edu    named.db
secondary cc.berkeley.edu 10.2.0.78 128.32.0.10
cache          .               named.ca

The domain line specifies that berkeley.edu is the domain of the given server.

The primary line states that the file named.db contains authoritative data for berkeley.edu. The file named.db contains data in the master file format, described in RFC 1035, except that all domain names are relative to the origin; in this case, berkeley.edu (see below for a more detailed description).

The secondary line specifies that all authoritative data under cc.berkeley.edu is to be transferred from the name server at 10.2.0.78. If the transfer fails it will try 128.32.0.10, and continue for up to 10 tries at that address. The secondary copy is also authoritative for the domain.

The cache line specifies that data in named.ca is to be placed in the cache (typically such data as the locations of root domain servers). The file named.ca is in the same format as named.db.

The master file consists of entries of the form:

$INCLUDE < filename >
$ORIGIN < domain >
< domain > < opt_ttl  >  <  opt_class  >  <  type  >  <
resource_record_data >

where domain is . for the root, @ for the current origin, or a standard domain name. If domain is a standard domain name that does not end with the current origin is appended to the domain. Domain names ending with are unmodified.

The opt_ttl field is an optional integer number for the time-to-live field. It defaults to zero.

The opt_class field is currently one token, IN for the Internet.

The type field is one of the following tokens; the data expected in the resource_record_data field is in parentheses.

A A host address (dotted quad).

NS An authoritative name server (domain).

MX A mail exchanger (domain).

CNAME The canonical name for an alias (domain).

SOA                 Marks  the  start  of  a  zone   of
                    authority  (5  numbers).   See  RFC
                    1035.

MB A mailbox domain name (domain).

MG A mail group member (domain).

MR A mail rename domain name (domain).

NULL A null resource record (no format or data).

WKS A well know service description (not implemented yet).

PTR A domain name pointer (domain).

HINFO               Host     information      (cpu_type
                    OS_type).

MINFO Mailbox or mail list information (request_domain error_domain).

FILES

/etc/named.boot               name server configuration boot
                              file
/etc/named.pid                the process ID
/var/tmp/named.run            debug output
/var/tmp/named_dump.db        dump of the name servers data-
                              base

SEE ALSO

kill(1), signal(3), resolver(3N), resolve.conf(4).

Mockapetris, Paul, Domain Names - Concepts  and  Facilities,
RFC  1034,  Network  Information  Center, SRI International,
Menlo Park, Calif., November 1987.

Mockapetris, Paul, Domain Names - Implementation and Specif-
ication,  RFC 1035, Network Information Center, SRI Interna-
tional, Menlo Park, Calif., November 1987.

Mockapetris, Paul, Domain System Changes  and  Observations,
RFC  973,  Network  Information  Center,  SRI International,
Menlo Park, Calif., January 1986.

Partridge, Craig, Mail Routing and the  Domain  System,  RFC
974,  Network  Information  Center, SRI International, Menlo
Park, Calif., January 1986.

NOTES

The following signals have the specified effect when sent to the server process using the kill(1) command.

SIGHUP Reads /etc/named.boot and reloads database.

SIGINT Dumps the current database and cache to /var/tmp/named_dump.db.

SIGUSR1 Turns on debugging; each subsequent SIGUSR1 increments debug level.

SIGUSR2 Turns off debugging completely.