[cobalt-users] Re: Primary/Secondary DNS on RaQ3

[Jay Tingley <jayt@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

[ Brent writes... ]

> Regardless of the academic aspect of the discussion, the
> Domain Name System requires that multiple servers exist for every
> delegated host (http://www.dns.net/dnsrd/rfc/rfc2182.html) and I
> make no excuse for suggesting that the best way may very well be the
> required way.

They also recommend that you run primary and secondary DNS on
two separate networks for increased stability.
 
> } That's very admirable, but again, if the customer only has a single
> } RaQ, and less than a hundred clients, secondary DNS is a mute point.
 
> The point is not mute. Section 3.3 of RFC 2182 explains why
> this argument is "fallacious".

If a server is physically offline for any length of time, people
really don't care whether they get a "unknown" or "temporarily
unavailable" error - to them, it's the same thing.

> Regardless of the size of the load our name servers handle,
> it all started with one domain, a 10 year old Unisys with an 8mhz
> processor and an 80meg drive which I rescued from the local
> dump. Today, just a few years later, we finalized an agreement
> which will result in a distributed redundant network of name servers
> and hosts with which we fully intend to make our presence felt.

And I applaud your efforts. I certainly wouldn't have that level
of technical expertise, and I'd guess most of the people operating
Cobalts don't either. This is, afterall, why they (we) bought them
in the first place.
 
> Stuff happens... excuse me for suggesting that the person
> who posted the question prepare for the best instead of positioning
> their self to be another also ran.

> Worse yet, perhaps, as I recall, I offered to provide
> secondary name server service at no charge and I also recommended
> someone else who I strongly suspect would happily do the very same
> thing. What is it about our willingness to try and help other's do
> things the right way that bothers you?

Ignoring the slight, Brent, it was (and is) very noble of you to
offer this, and I hope they take you up on that. The question was
whether they could (yes), and how they would go about doing it
(fairly easily) - not whether it shouldn't be done.

Best Regards,

Jay Tingley
BlackSun | info@xxxxxxxxxxx