BIND9 DNS secondary Server Configuration.

Resolving The Problem

BIND9 DNS secondary Server Configuration.

Contents

About this document
Checking and changing named links
How to create files
Starting the nameserver
Setting up clients
Using syslog to troubleshoot named

About this document

This document discusses how to configure named9 as a secondary nameserver.
This document applies to AIX Versions 5.2 and newer.

Checking and changing named links


Check named to verify you are linked and using named9.

1. Enter:
# cd /usr/sbin


# ls -l name*

Information similar to the following is displayed:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root system 16 Jun 22 2006 named -> /usr/sbin/named9

2. If the link is not pointing to named9, Run the command below to change link to named9.

# ln -sf /usr/sbin/named9 /usr/sbin/named

The named should now be linked to named9.
# ls -l name*

Information similar to the following is displayed:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root system 16 Feb 23 16:56 named -> /usr/sbin/named9

NOTE: If you see named-xfer linked to named8-xfer leave it alone, named-xfer is used only for bind8
zone transfers, in bind9 the zone transfer capability is built into the named9 binary.

How to create files

In this example, venus is the hostname of the slave nameserver and it will be secondary for the test.com domain.
You only need to create two files: named.conf and named.local.

The file named.conf will look like this. Enter:
# vi /etc/named.conf

options {
directory "/var/named";
};

zone "test.com" {
type slave;
masters { 10.7.5.2; };
file "named.data";
};

zone "5.7.10.in-addr.arpa" {
type slave;
masters { 10.7.5.2; };
file "named.rev.10.7.5";
};

zone "0.0.127.in-addr.arpa" in {
type master;
file "named.local";
};

If your nameserver needs to query internet addresses you may add the following zone:

zone "." {
type hint;
file "named.ca";
};

You must then place the named.ca file in /var/named
You can download one via ftp from rs.internic.net in the /domain directory.

NOTE: If your server does not have access to the internet and cannot reach the root
servers listed in named.ca file then, You may use a fordwarders statement to forward
queries unknown to this host to the specified host(s).

The syntax should look like this:

options {
forward only;
forwarders { IP1; IP2; };
};


The file named.local will look like this.

# vi /var/named.local

@ 9999999 IN SOA venus.test.com. root.venus.test.com. (
1.1 ; serial
3600 ; refresh
600 ; retry
3600000 ; expire
86400) ; minimum
9999999 IN NS venus.test.com.
1 IN PTR localhost.


Starting and testing the nameserver

To start named.

# startsrc -s named

NOTE: The named daemon can be controlled using the System Resource Controller (SRC) or the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT). Use the rc.tcpip file to start the daemon with each system startup by uncommenting the entry for named.

Pick any host in your domain, for example a machine called "jupiter": Type in:

# nslookup jupiter
jupiter.test.com is 10.7.5.2

# host 10.7.5.2
jupiter.test.com is 10.7.5.2

If you do not get results similar to the above, name resolution is not working properly. The command "nslookup jupiter" will look in the named.data for information and the command "nslookup 10.7.5.2 " will look in named.rev.10.7.5.
Look for configuration errors in the appropriate files if name resolution is not working

Setting up clients

On all clients that will use name resolution, create a file /etc/resolv.conf with the following two lines:
nameserver 10.7.5.1
domain test.com


Using syslog to troubleshoot named
Syslog may be used to capture syntax errors in the configuration files of named.
# stopsrc -s named
# stopsrc -s syslogd
# vi /etc/syslog.conf
daemon.debug /var/log/named.out
# touch /var/log/named.out
# startsrc -s syslogd
# startsrc -s named


After doing this, you may cat the named.out file for clues to use in debugging your files.