Subject: Re: HEADS UP: nsswitch about to go `live' in NetBSD-current
To: None <Havard.Eidnes@runit.sintef.no>
From: Luke Mewburn <lukem@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au>
List: current-users
Date: 01/17/1999 10:06:29
Havard.Eidnes@runit.sintef.no writes:
> > 	By default, lookups only occur from /etc/hosts (and not the DNS).
> > [...]
> > 	By default, lookups only occur from /etc/networks (and not the DNS).
> 
> If we're speaking of the default setting in the nsswitch.conf file
> we distribute, can we please change this so that DNS is also used?
> IMHO DNS should be used by default on the systems as distributed.

I was referring to the default setting as set by the nsdispatch(3)
routines; if /etc/nsswitch.conf isn't parsable, or there isn't an
entry for a database (in this case `hosts'), it defaults to `files'.
Hardcoding other specific rules into the nsdispatch(3) strikes me as
a kluge.

FYI, I've already created /usr/src/etc/nsswitch.conf which contains
an entry of the form:
	hosts: files dns

I'm sure the system installation tools can be modified to ensure the
appropriate `hosts' line is created. The only people who will be
affected are those who following -current and who don't create an
/etc/nsswitch.conf as recommended in my `HEADS UP' message.