Has anybody got some definitive ideas on how BIND is *supposed* to be set
up.  I have a working set up, but I was trying to rationalise it...

1) resolv.conf(5) suggests that on a 'normally configured' machine, you
shouldn't need a resolv.conf at all.  Of course, this isn't quite true, as
if you don't have a resolv.conf, the system assumes you don't have DNS and
only uses /etc/hosts.

2) resolv.conf(5) says that if there is no domain directive, the domain is
set to everything after the first dot in the hostname.  This implies that
the hostname of my machine should by elsie.mailbox.co.uk, rather than
'elsie' which is what it is now.  However... if /etc/myname is used to
initialise hostname to elsie.mailbox.co.uk, then what should be in
/etc/defaultdomain??  And will elsie.mailbox.co.uk then appear in my prompt
etc?  Are hostnames supposed to be FQ or not?

3) If there is a nameserver 127.0.0.1 directive in resolv.conf, then when
nslookup is invoked, it says "Default server: localhost\nAddress:
127.0.0.1".  If there is no such directive, or no resolv.conf file at all,
it says "Default server: elsie\nAddress 0.0.0.0".  Which is preferred
behaviour?

4) If I just want my machine to serve as a name-cache for a small local
network, it should have no primary or secondary directives in named.boot,
right?

5) This machine is not permanently on the net - it is connected by a PPP
link.  Should I put the resolver down every time I hang up the link (e.g.
in /etc/ppp/ip-down)?  This prevents my macintosh on the network from
looking even local names, since they have to use DNS.

I am particularly interesting in the answer to 3.  I have never quite got
my brain around what the 'right' way of coping with domain names is...

Jules


/----------------+-------------------------------+---------------------\
|  Jelibean aka  | jules@mailbox.co.uk           |  6 Evelyn Road      |
|  Jules aka     |                               |  Richmond, Surrey   |
|  Julian Bean   |(jelibean@jmlbhome.demon.co.uk)|  TW9 2TF    *UK*    |
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