Subject: Re: should getnet*(3) use the DNS?
To: None <tech-userlevel@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Guenther Grau <Guenther.Grau@bk.bosch.de>
List: tech-userlevel
Date: 08/27/1997 08:21:00
Jason Thorpe wrote:
>  > Hmm, can you elaborate on this point a little more?
>  > In what cases will route still hang? I guess in the
[...]
> 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.

Ok, then I guess an option -n (or whichever letter you choose :-) is in
order to prevent route from using getnetbyname is in order.

Or, we change route to _require_ an additional keyword 'net' for
adding networks. That way

"route add myname localhost"

will do only the following checks:
                 - Is "net" given on commandline?
                 - No, is it an IP address?
                 - No, is it a host name?

and with net:

"route add net mynet localhost"

will do only the following checks:
                 - Is "net" given on commandline?
                 - Yes, is it an IP address?
                 - No, is it a network name?

What do you think?

  Guenther