Subject: Re: should getnet*(3) use the DNS?
To: Guenther Grau <Guenther.Grau@bk.bosch.de>
From: Jason Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>
List: tech-userlevel
Date: 08/26/1997 10:36:45
On Tue, 26 Aug 1997 14:42:20 +0200 
 Guenther Grau <Guenther.Grau@bk.bosch.de> wrote:

 > Hmm, can you elaborate on this point a little more?
 > In what cases will route still hang? I guess in the
 > cases where the needed information is not found in the
 > neccessary file (/etc/hosts?). IMHO, this is a perfectly
 > valid behaviour. Same things happens if you invoke 
 > nslookup and you dns-server is not answering.

Here is the problem:

	Say you run the command "route add myname localhost".
	Route performs the following checks on "myname":
		- Is it an IP address?
		- No, is it a network name?
		- No, is it a host name?
	So, it performs a getnetbyname() early, _before_ the
	network has been brought up enough to contact the
	name server.  Even if you have "lookup file bind" in
	your /etc/resolv.conf, since "myname" isn't in /etc/networks,
	it attempts to contact the name server, which times out.

"It's really annoying."

Thankfully, /etc/netstart no longer performs the "route add myname localhost"
(mmm, lukem).  However, the problem still does exist, and should be fixed.

Jason R. Thorpe                                       thorpej@nas.nasa.gov
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