RE: [cobalt-users] DNS-network serial numbers?

[Patrick <rockdog@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>In BIND, this is the mechanism used by Slave (Secondary depricated)
servers
>to determine if an update is needed.  The fact that your Master
(Primary
>depricated) Name Server has a higher serial number should force an
update to
>the Slave.  If the file was edited, and the serial number was
incremented,
>you will need to reload the domain (using [r]ndc or
/etc/rc.d/init.d/named
>reload) to make the change "live".

Thanks for this Chris. I'm new to the Raq and new to Linux...

I found the cisco resource document at
www.cisco.com/warp/public/477/CNR/dns_resource.html
useful. It states:
"serno
The serial number of the current version of the DNS database for this domain. The serial number is the means by which other
nameservers realize that your database has been updated." and "If the primary namserver's
serno is a higher number, the secondary nameserver performs a zone transfer and updates its own DNS database."

I automatically assume I am behind... As you point out in your mail my primary serial is higher that my secondary serial. So my local DNS registry is telling me I have an error when I don't? The secondary should update automatically? The error is actually on the secondary (the fact that it is not updating?)

Generally - big education in DNS - Gee.

I see that the serial number is the one thing you cannot set through the SOA records... you can set TTL etc but not...

If I had to do this I would have to go in on the CLI...

Still looking for a good net document similar to 'An introduction to unix,' at http://wks.uts.ohio-state.edu/unix_course/unix.html (short of buying O'Reilly, Running Linux, and the O'Reilly on BIND.) Have been through the Linux Documentation Project etc.

Thanks.
- Patrick.