[cobalt-users] DNS on RaQ 4i: primary name server defaults to host name? (long)

["cbtrussell" <cbtrussell@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm sorry to plague the list with yet another newbie DNS question, but I've
found conflicting information all over the archives & FAQ sites and don't
want to make a mistake that will compromise service for existing customers.

According to the RaQ 4 manual, page 188, "The primary name server defaults
to the host name of the RaQ 4." In a nutshell, I want to avoid this behavior
by having a nameserver (with it's own IP) on a RaQ 4 that has another host
name and separate IP for virtual sites. Here are the details:

I have 2 new RaQ 4i's, going to establish DNS for the first time.

Let's say I have 4 IP's assigned to mydomain.com: x.x.x.129,130,131,132

I originally set up each machine as follows to get them up and running in
the datacenter:

RaQ1 - hostname1.mydomain.com  x.x.x.129
RaQ2 - hostname2.mydomain.com  x.x.x.130

Now:
I want to use 129 and 130 for primary and secondary namerservers (ns1 &
ns2), and
I want to use 131 and 132 for virtual sites on RaQ1 and RaQ2, respectively.

The problem is I don't want to have machine names (host names) ns1 and ns2.
To be crytal clear, hostname1.mydomain and hostname2.mydomain should show up
on the LCD's, not ns1.mydomain and ns2.mydomain.

Here's how I think I should straighten this out:

Change RaQ1 to hostname1.mydomain.com and set main IP as x.x.x.131, reboot

Change RaQ2 to hostname2.mydomain.com and set main IP as x.x.x.132, reboot

Add virtual site ns1.mydomain.com to RaQ1 (is this necessary?), create A
record and point it at x.x.x.129, Create a PTR record for x.x.x.129 points
to ns1.mydomain.com

Add virtual site ns2.mydomain.com to RaQ2 (is this necessary?), create A
record and point it at x.x.x.130, Create a PTR record for x.x.x.130 points
to ns2.mydomain.com

On Server Management, Control Panel, Network, change primary and secondary
DNS to 129 and 130 (it's currently pointing at my upstream provider's DNS)
for both machines

Now I can add virtual site mydomain.com to RaQ1, along with an additional A
record for www.mydomain.com.

1) Is this correct? Please comment on the steps above if necessary.

2) Are there any lookup performance issues in having ns2 and ns2 *NOT* be
the default host names on a RaQ?

3) Marginally related, but how do I have HTTP requests directly to the IP
addresses 129 and 130 resolve to the main site on 131? I ask because 129 and
130 will only be used for DNS.

I know this is long, but I **REALLY** appreciate your help!

Thanks,

Brandon