Re: [cobalt-users] RAQ2 - Still Can't send mail to AOL HELP!

[Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"E.B. Dreger" wrote:

> I don't see how anything I said "makes it look like your
> wrong"... there would have to be some sort of contradiction where
> I provide more/better evidence.  But I see no conflict.
> 
> > It doesn't look like you're disagreeing with anything I've written, so
> > I'm wondering.
> 
> No disagreement... your message seemed to be the most logical one
> to give more details.  Too much caffeine?  Not enough?  Are your
> posts sacred?  I think that this is the first time someone ever
> questioned (challenged?) why I chose their post to respond...

Nah, just very upset over a customer.  Sorry to take it out on you.  I
apologize.

> Feh.  I must have snipped out a transitional paragraph or two of
> mine, been half asleep, lost my train of thought while debugging,
> yada yada yada...

We all do that.  As I said, I was overly upset and overly sensitive. 
Did $1450 worth of business for a customer.  Missed meals and sleep. 
Then he decided he'd only pay if he could settle for much less.  Such is
life.

> Quick summary/replacement in case anyone is still following the
> thread:
> 
>         Forward DNS is delegated via an authority chain.  When
>         one registers a domain... root --> gTLD --> authority.
>         Reverse works the same way.

Though I've deleted the rest, I'm glad to see it <smile>.

>         'Whois' is not the mechanism by which authoritative DNS
>         servers are named, contrary to popular belief.  It's
>         delegation, which is handled entirely via the DNS system.

Whois is a completely separate hierarchy of databases.  But I guess
you're right; a lot of people didn't know that.

> Thanks for pointing this one out to me.  I think you're wound a
> bit too tight on the other issues, but your points there were
> well taken.

As I've said... just how I was feeling at the time; just me.  Just me. 
Just me.

(How many lashes do I have to give myself, the wet noodle is falling
apart <smlie>.)

> Your point about having posted something before?  Rare is it that
> I post something once and never again.  I'd wager that half a
> dozen of us on here have posted the same responses a few score
> times -- on DNS issues alone.

Absolutely.  I was just upset and tired.  And upset.  And tired. <wry
grin>

> > > Watch out for upstreams that claim it's a major, expensive
> > > operation to do.  It isn't.  If your provider claims that it'll
> > > take a week and a few hundred dollars, it's time to go shopping.
> > > Tell them to read RFC 2317.
> >
> > First of all, if your upstream doesn't have authority they can't
> > delegate it.  Second, if they do have authority, they're responsible for
> 
> Obviously.  (I hope, anyway.)

I was just pointing out that there are reasons why upstreams don't
delegate reverse DNS.  That's all <smile>.

> I can tell a few stories about people who forced NS authority to
> themselves, but had it set up improperly.  Suddenly, hosed DNS
> (in these specific cases) means that they can't accept mail on
> their POC handles to transfer it back.  And they wondered why
> things broke...

<smile>.  Yep we see that all the time.  Most people who come to us for
DNS services have really messed it up big time.  I like the fact that I
have contacts almost everywhere (yes, even at NSI) to fix those things. 
And I understand why NSI is switching to the same web-based interface
everyone else uses, now that it's been accepted and proved itself.

> Yup.  The "plug it in and turn it on" claims are not true.  Why
> not build a CGI tool that generates reverse DNS from forward
> info, and digs to see who is authoritative.  It would save many
> newcomers hours of headaches.

And me as well.  My client (see above) blames me because his machine is
hackable.  Says it's because I didn't secure it well enough.  The RaQ is
a lot harder to secure than any generic system, simply because you can't
upgrade things, even for security, without risking breaking something in
the gui <frown>.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Linux and Cobalt/Sun/RaQ Consulting
nobaloney.net
P. O. Box 52672, Riverside, CA  92517
voice: (909) 778-9980  *  fax: (702) 548-9484