Re: [cobalt-users] DNS and Name Servers

[Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Andrew Danneffel wrote:

> I'm hoping someone can help clarify the steps for configuring DNS/Name
> Servers on a cobalt server.  While I have successfully hosted sites on my
> RaQ4 for over a year I am not 100% if my setup is the best way.

While I agree with Eddy that you really should have a slave nameserver
on another network, you're in plenty of company; lots of people do it
your way.

Several notes, though:

> 2) On my RaQ4, I create the following DNS records for mydomain.com:
> 
> ns1.mydomain.com   (A)  =>    11.11.11.11
> ns2.mydomain.com   (A)  =>    11.11.11.12
> mail.mydomain.com (A)    =>    11.11.11.11
> www.mydomain.com (A)    =>    11.11.11.11
> mydomain.com (A)    =>    11.11.11.11
> mydomain.com (MX)    =>    mail.mydomain.com
> 11.11.11.11 (PTR)    =>    www.mydomain.com

Do you give each domain it's own nameserver, and notify each registrar
for each client's site, to use their own nameserver names?  Most of us
tell our clients to use our nameserver, so most of us don't need
ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com for any domain but our own.  If each
client has his/her own nameserver names registered then each has to
register their nameservers with their registrars; that's neither easy
nor intuitive for most domain owners, and can result in a lot of
nonworking DNS.

Has your upstream provider really delegated reverse DNS to you?  I doubt
it for only two IP#s.  If so you should have only one record for each
IP# on the box; in other words only one record for 11.11.11.11, perhaps
pointing to your main domain, and another for 11.11.11.12, also pointing
toward your domain.  If not, then your ISP will have to handle reverse
DNS, and you should tell them what you want each IP# pointed to.  You
should NOT have multiple pointer records; since the RFCs don't specify
behavior for returns of multiple names for a single IP# it's unknown
what name lookup could do in such case, and it's doubtful it would do
what you want, which is return the "right" name, depending on what
domain the user or server had in mind when querying the nameserver for
the PTR... computers are NOT mind-readers.  Pick on name, and use it.

> Is this configuration correct? Or is there a better way of doing it?  I have
> looked at the SOA portion of a domain name (in the GUI) and have noted there
> are fields there for specifying primary and secondary name servers... should
> these values be set to something or are they used for something else?

Absolutel; as Eddy says, one for each nameserver-IP# pair, for each
domain.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Lasman, nobaloney.net, P. O. Box 52672, Riverside, CA  92517 US
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